World Wide Web James Horner Shrine

[vertigelt]

I forgot that I changed email addresses from what my domain registrar had on file, so I received no notifications that the domain name reigstration was about to expire.

oops.

well, we're back up and running...
_________________
"But these go to eleven."

/Tom

[Jeremy]

haha! it's happened before...

I had faith in you though! Semper Hornershrine!
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[soundtech]

Good to see the site back after a day or so downtime. Happened around this same time in 2007, 2008 and now 2009, as the annual renewal date is Dec 17, so it's tradition in a sense! Maybe I could suggest you move the domain registration to an auto-renewing plan or a multi-year term that some registrars offer (2 or even 5 years) to make it less of an annual hassle for you? Great to see it back, anyway.

[vertigelt]

Two things:

1) It was on auto-renew, but my debit card numbers changed over the year, so it couldn't charge.

2) It's been a rough year for me, financially, and I wouldn't have the $35 to cover the next year's registration until the 18th. I mean, basically, it was the Shrine, or my mortgage. Guess which came first on this list of priorities. Luckily, though, I got paid the same day Avatar came out, so I was able to see it opening night.

As far as paying in advance for five years... you got $175 you'd like to donate? I know, $35 a year is a rip, and if I did it as along-term contract, the yearly fee goes down. But still. Just consider that for the nearly 14 years I've maintained this site (if "maintain" is the right word), it's cost me over two grand out of pocket.

Wow, I didn't mean to just kinda gripe like that. It's a labour of love, even if it's on auto-pilot most of the time. But it certainly ain't free, is all.
_________________
"But these go to eleven."

/Tom

[soundtech]

Well, you could take up a Paypal collection drive if carrying the load of the domain and hosting is too much to shoulder - I've seen it happen successfully for even the smallest of communities (say, 10 people). People will rally together/chip in and pay for a unique content/experience, and I think it's a good bunch of people here, quality-wise. A good month before the expiry date you just make a post appealing.

As for "you got $175 to donate?", if I knew the Shrine was in trouble of some down time, and I saw the money was put in as an investment in the site, than yes, I probably would (as would others). My post's point was that silly or correctable technical problems (wrong E-mail address on file, wrong debit # linked) shouldn't get in the way of the larger aim of conversation or "social networking" as it were - that's the cool and thought-changing/thought-provoking stuff. My post wasn't really meant as a criticism, just a "Dude, let's get the basics of the ground floor and the architecture cemented here, that's stable so we don't have to worry about it, and let's get to the real potential of this place, the sharing of ideas". I hadn't known it was financial (and I've been there myself, believe me - even skipping meals to keep a domain running because I knew hundreds of people were getting use/enjoyment out of it, and it was growing into something), just lack of knowledge/concern for technical stuff, but maybe a post a month before saying "Guys, the domain will lapse, let's raise a bit of money" or "Heads-up, there may be a few days of downtime, don't panic" would be cool.

Anyway, I'm sorry to hear your finances have to weigh on you around this Christmas time. I'm glad for this place!