brewmaster15
10-05-2002, 07:23 AM
Hi everyone!
Before I get into this post I want to thank all of you again for your participation on this board. Together I think we have created a truly great resource for Discus hobbysists and breeders around the world. I am still amazed by how fast we have grown in the 6 short months we have been in existence!
I wanted to give you all a little history on the site and some ideas as to our future directions. When this site was first started it was made possible by the generous free use of server space given to us by Ryan’s friend Charles. Ryan set up a template for a forum using free software and a small core group of us starting using this forum. We registered with search engines, word of mouth , emails to various people, and mutual collaborations with other like minded sites, and our membership soared. We have gone thru several software updates and are currently in the process of testing a new board software for the site.
Our rapid growth though was also a strain on the resources of the server we were using , and was having a negative impact on the other sites hosted by that server. It was time for us to find another hosting service, but as a site we use a large amount of bandwidth and it would have been very expensive for us to pay for this kind of service. Ryan and I came to the conclusion that we would be far better off owning our server, and so that is just what we did. Simply Discus is now hosted by its own server. This was not an inexpensive venture by any means, but there are many benefits to it .
The most immediate benefit is that we have the ability to offer our members webpage hosting, complete with emails, large file storage all at a reasonable price. In many cases we should be able to save you money compared to what you may now pay. Commercial breeders and suppliers are also welcome and we will try to work with any body that is interested in these services. It is our hopes that this will offset the cost of acquiring our own server, and may provide additional money for contest prizes and shipping, while at the same time being of a benefit to Simply Discus members. Contact either myself or Ryan if you are interested.
Other ways we will be trying to recoup the cost of our server is thru activating the donation link above. Any gifts to the site will be greatly appreciated. We will also be offering T-shirts ( with the generous help of Gipper) and other neat stuff for sale. I am also considering auctions of fish from breeders donations ( some my fish included).
Where is this site going? Up and Up and Up, The skys the limit! . We are working on new web page layout, with permanent archiving of information. There are also many commercial sites showing a strong interest in us , and we’ll be working with them as well. We hope to see our site become more involved in supporting the formation of regional clubs, and possibly we can host sites for those clubs and associations on our server to bring down their membership costs.
Where are we not going…Pop-up advertisements and floating banners will never be on this site. Nor will there ever be a membership fee for this site. This site was created out of love and admiration for Discus, and its sole purpose is to continue helping hobbyist better their knowledge of this fish, and meet some great people along the way. This site was never about Money and never will.
Thanks,
Al and Ryan
Before I get into this post I want to thank all of you again for your participation on this board. Together I think we have created a truly great resource for Discus hobbysists and breeders around the world. I am still amazed by how fast we have grown in the 6 short months we have been in existence!
I wanted to give you all a little history on the site and some ideas as to our future directions. When this site was first started it was made possible by the generous free use of server space given to us by Ryan’s friend Charles. Ryan set up a template for a forum using free software and a small core group of us starting using this forum. We registered with search engines, word of mouth , emails to various people, and mutual collaborations with other like minded sites, and our membership soared. We have gone thru several software updates and are currently in the process of testing a new board software for the site.
Our rapid growth though was also a strain on the resources of the server we were using , and was having a negative impact on the other sites hosted by that server. It was time for us to find another hosting service, but as a site we use a large amount of bandwidth and it would have been very expensive for us to pay for this kind of service. Ryan and I came to the conclusion that we would be far better off owning our server, and so that is just what we did. Simply Discus is now hosted by its own server. This was not an inexpensive venture by any means, but there are many benefits to it .
The most immediate benefit is that we have the ability to offer our members webpage hosting, complete with emails, large file storage all at a reasonable price. In many cases we should be able to save you money compared to what you may now pay. Commercial breeders and suppliers are also welcome and we will try to work with any body that is interested in these services. It is our hopes that this will offset the cost of acquiring our own server, and may provide additional money for contest prizes and shipping, while at the same time being of a benefit to Simply Discus members. Contact either myself or Ryan if you are interested.
Other ways we will be trying to recoup the cost of our server is thru activating the donation link above. Any gifts to the site will be greatly appreciated. We will also be offering T-shirts ( with the generous help of Gipper) and other neat stuff for sale. I am also considering auctions of fish from breeders donations ( some my fish included).
Where is this site going? Up and Up and Up, The skys the limit! . We are working on new web page layout, with permanent archiving of information. There are also many commercial sites showing a strong interest in us , and we’ll be working with them as well. We hope to see our site become more involved in supporting the formation of regional clubs, and possibly we can host sites for those clubs and associations on our server to bring down their membership costs.
Where are we not going…Pop-up advertisements and floating banners will never be on this site. Nor will there ever be a membership fee for this site. This site was created out of love and admiration for Discus, and its sole purpose is to continue helping hobbyist better their knowledge of this fish, and meet some great people along the way. This site was never about Money and never will.
Thanks,
Al and Ryan