Got To See This!!! Very Important!!!

[Greg Richardson]

If you are like me you have learned a lot at Simply.

Not only have you gained knowledge that has saved your expensive fish when sick, you have gained knowledge on how to raise and breed them.

You've obtained contacts on where to buy items that has saved you a lot of $$$$$$$$!!!

Isn't it time to give something back? Sure it is!

What if there was a way not only to give to Simply, but to obtain one of Peggy's beautiful educational "Discus Anatomy Prints' at the same time?

This is what it looks like framed. Your print will be even more colorful then this one as this one was done on parchment paper for that old world look.

http://img.clubphoto.com/jerboa/170783748/512/null/image.jpg


I'm going to auction off one of Peggy's "Discus Anatomy Prints' with all proceeds going to Simply.

This will run through Wednesday evening.
You can either place your bid on here or PM it to me.

Once Simply receives the money they will notify me and I will ship this print out immediately.

This beautiful educational print sells for the ridiculously low price of $30.00 plus $5.00 for shipping.

If you don't win the auction you can still help out Simply by buying this beautiful print which Peggy donates a portion to at http://forum.simplydiscus.com//showthread.php?t=50387

Or by sending in what you can to Simply through PayPal at http://forum.simplydiscus.com//billspaypal.php?

Check or money order works also to...........

Al Sabetta
75 Maltby Lane
Northford, CT 06472

[brewmaster15]

Thanks for thinking of us Greg! This is much appreciated.:)

thanks again!!!
-al

[Kindredspirit]

I have no picture:( It is just a lil red x in a box:confused: How come?


I have wanted this print for like EVER! Good idea Greg!


Marie ~ http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/29/29_5_2.gif

[brewmaster15]

No idea why Marie....I see it fine..


heres a copy...

[Greg Richardson]

Al. No, No, NO! Thank YOU!
I hope people step up to the plate here and do their part.
If they are like me I've been thinking of doing something for quite some time. Finances are tight these days I understand that real well. LOL!

That being said I'd sure would like to see more participation.

[Greg Richardson]

Come on Simply Members!
Now is the time to participate here giving back to the forum!
This would look great on your wall!
Place bid here or PM me.

img.clubphoto.com/jerboa/171096016/512/null/image.jpg

[Darren's Discus]

mate dont know if i can bid being in oz ? if so put me down for $25.

cheers

[poconogal]

Come on Simply Members!
Now is the time to participate here giving back to the forum!
This would look great on your wall!
Place bid here or PM me.

img.clubphoto.com/jerboa/171096016/512/null/image.jpg
I just bought one from Peggy. Hope to receive it soon.

Connie

[Greg Richardson]

Darren. If you win I'll check shipping situation.

Connie. You'll love it! Go buy a frame and do the framing yourself. Very easy. Takes a minute and you are done.

[kjmillerfw]

I'll up the bid to $35.

Peggy has already been compensated and the site will receive the full benefit of this sale...that's a nice gesture Greg.

[brewmaster15]

Thanks for the support Greg, Darren, and Kathy! Its very much appreciated here!:)


take care and Good luck bidding,
al

[Greg Richardson]

Thanks Kathy. So far you are top bid! Wednesday night 8:00 PST is deadline.

[Darren's Discus]

put me down for $40.

cheers

[Greg Richardson]

You got it Darren!

[kjmillerfw]

Hmmmm....alrighty then, I'll go to $50.

[Greg Richardson]

Kathy you got it! $50.00 it is!
Only 22 hours left!

[Greg Richardson]

Only 2.5 hours left!
8:00 PST tonight auction is over for Peggy's print that identify's all exterior and inner parts.

You get a beautiful and an educational one also!

All $$$ goes to SD to help with costs.

http://img.clubphoto.com/jerboa/171095737/512/null/image.jpg

[alpine]

Kathy... you can do better than that.. :) I will go $60.00 .
" Great cause "
roberto.

[Dave_Discus]

Just curious at to the actual cost of a website like this...

Domain registration is cheap.
Hosting is cheap.


Is it the traffic or am I missing something...

I had a forum with alot bandwidth for like 15 a month?

Maybe more would be compelled to donate if they knew the actual
costs involved.

[Greg Richardson]

Thanks Robert!

Dave. Al or Ryan be the one to fill you in on that.
I know a lot of time goes into just moderating a site as well as depending on the features involved I would think one pays more.

My guess is 95% of the people who use SD have saved hundreds of dollars from potential lost fish as well as have made great contacts on where to buy fish, equipment, food, etc.

[Dave_Discus]

Admining a busy forum would have to be a nightmare. Talk about babysitting.

[kjmillerfw]

Admining a busy forum would have to be a nightmare. Talk about babysitting.


You have no idea! I'm a admin at DAAH and it is a challenge at times...especially over there.

I agree Greg, these resources are priceless!!!

I up my bid to $70

[alpine]

Well... $100.00 . What a Great cause.

roberto.

[kjmillerfw]

Congrats Roberto!...and I will still pledge $75 to the site for a poster if Al (Simply) will honor that.

[alpine]

Kathy, I knew you would come through.. One of the best discus site administrators (DAAH) contributing to one of the better discus sites (Simply)... WOW..

roberto.

[kjmillerfw]

Where would we be as discus hobbiest without these great resources? Especially the members of these sites that share their experiences, trials/tribulations, time, efforts, etc. to help each other out and improve the hobby.

There are always going to be clashes in opinions and personalities in groups like this; however, IMO knowing that you have resources where you can ask for advice, or search through endless amounts of valuable posts, and get almost instantaneous responses is worth a lot! I think it's safe to say that we all have one commonality...we love Discus and we want to see as many people as possible have success in the hobby.

It's my pleasure to help support efforts like these.

Kathy

[Greg Richardson]

Congrats to Roberto!!! WOW!

$100.00 to Simply!

PM me your address and as soon as Al receives your payment I will immediatly ship it to you.

Thanks goes to Peggy for such a great print!

[Greg Richardson]

Kathy.
There are always going to be clashes in opinions and personalities in groups like this; however, IMO knowing that you have resources where you can ask for advice, or search through endless amounts of valuable posts, and get almost instantaneous responses is worth a lot! I think it's safe to say that we all have one commonality...we love Discus and we want to see as many people as possible have success in the hobby.


I agree.

Congrats to you as well for showing so much class.

Thanks again!
That says a lot in my book!

[alpine]

Thanks to Kathy , she was my inspiration.

By the way I have contributed to Simply the last two years I have been a member. I hope everyone else follows in the same steps. It takes a lot to run a board like this.

roberto.

[Kindredspirit]

Congrats! Roberto! Your A Good Man Charlie Brown:) Kathy you are an inspiration to us all:)


Marie ~ http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/16/16_14_27.gif

[Ryan]

Wow! You guys are amazing!

Thank you so much to everyone who participated.

Dave, I'm not going to post exact figures... I want to talk to Al first. I can tell you that it costs a lot to run Simply, mainly because of the dedicated server we run and the amount of bandwidth. Not to mention all the software we run is paid software now after our free software was hacked a few years ago. Lesson learned...

The actual amounts are a private matter considering Al and I pay for most of them out of pocket. But they can be a burden sometimes. Not to mention the actual time invested into the forum. There've been a lot of sleepless nights :) Take now for instance, it's 2:40am and I'm up answering posts on Simply... and I have to be at work in 5 hours ;)

If people feel that Simply has helped them at all and they want to donate, it is GREATLY appreciated. Even the smallest little bit helps. And in reality, it doesn't just help us, it helps ALL of you, because those types of donations keep the site going and allow us to continue providing this service for free.

Again, I want to thank Greg, Kathy, Darren, and Roberto for taking the time to stop and bid for a good cause.

Hopefully in the future we'll have some interactive things like raffles or drawings, maybe even auctions.......

Ryan

[brewmaster15]

I agree , Thank you everyone that participated here...:) Your help is greatly appreciated by Ryan and I!:)

Thank you!
-al


ps.. on the funding questions.... I'll post about that soon in as much detail as I can.

[brewmaster15]

This should answer all questions...

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//showthread.php?p=346542#post346542


Please ...lets not have a public discussion about it here..:)

Thanks again everyone that participated in this thread...YOU helped us alot!:)
-al

[kjmillerfw]

Alrighty...I've purchased a poster and donated the remainder of my pledge to Simply. :D

I would also like to encourage others to do the same. ;)

Kathy

[Greg Richardson]

Kathy. You going to love that print!

[jeep]

Good going guys!! I am impressed!!!

[Dave_Discus]

I had no idea it cost that much. That sure puts it all into perspective.

Didn't mean to pry..or open a can of worms, but now that I see what all is
involved, I feel more compelled to assist.

Thank you...and I do enjoy the site.

One thing I do notice though....

There can be 80 people logged in....but some simple posts and questions
go unanswered, even when there are dozens of experts logged on.
Anyway that response time might be improved?

I seem to get the help I need usually..but I do notice alot of
stuff seems to get passed on by some of the heavy hitters.

[Ryan]

There can be 80 people logged in....but some simple posts and questions
go unanswered, even when there are dozens of experts logged on.
Anyway that response time might be improved?

I seem to get the help I need usually..but I do notice alot of
stuff seems to get passed on by some of the heavy hitters.

Well, we really can't do anything about member participation. If people want to post, they can. If they don't feel comfortable, that's really up to them. A lot of times people avoid answering "common" questions because they've been answered several times before. This is where the Search function comes in handy.

Also, there are times that people don't feel comfortable posting advice because they feel they don't have enough experience/insight to do so. That's understandable, too.

Ryan

[brewmaster15]

Dave,

We have a pretty good staff of Moderators here..and though they and The admins try to get to all the questions...we do miss alot.. I personally find myself having to perform mental triage and deal with the posts that I feel are more critical or need my personal attention...I try to have a little fun here and there as well.

We do however have to rely on our member base to jump and help where they can...Most of the time they are able and willing.:)

If anyone ever feels they aren't getting help or have been missed (unintentionally) we have an open door policy here...By all means try directly contacting a Moderator or admin by PM... we are here to help as best we can.

HTH,
al

[White Worm]

Well, we really can't do anything about member participation. If people want to post, they can. If they don't feel comfortable, that's really up to them. A lot of times people avoid answering "common" questions because they've been answered several times before. This is where the Search function comes in handy.

Also, there are times that people don't feel comfortable posting advice because they feel they don't have enough experience/insight to do so. That's understandable, too.

Ryan


I had no idea it cost that much. That sure puts it all into perspective.

Didn't mean to pry..or open a can of worms, but now that I see what all is
involved, I feel more compelled to assist.

Thank you...and I do enjoy the site.

One thing I do notice though....

There can be 80 people logged in....but some simple posts and questions
go unanswered, even when there are dozens of experts logged on.
Anyway that response time might be improved?

I seem to get the help I need usually..but I do notice alot of
stuff seems to get passed on by some of the heavy hitters.

I think Ryan is right on with this answer. Simple questions can easily be answered by simply typing in your question to the search function because it has more than likely been answered 25 times before or more and probably recently like "How many discus can I keep in a 55g tank?" Once you do some searching and reading and still have questions then state that in your post. Through your research by reading old threads, you may even answer your next few questions. I know I have.

Also, some will stop by and view the post to learn but not get involved by posting. Even the heavy hitters pick up a thing here and there and maybe learn something new.

[Ryan]

Believe it or not, most of our guests and lurkers access the Search feature more than anything else. People seem to enjoy doing research on topics :) What would we do without the internet?

[Dave_Discus]

A great discussion.


You have passed the test. (I'm kidding)
I have found my Discus home.

I understand about the search and I lurked
unregistered for awhile.


The only forums I have experienced are Mustang
forums, and they are very rowdy. Usually 20 something
hard arses who think they are billy tough guy.

It's pretty peaceful here, and I like that.

As far as the search feature...I use it, but
being a wierdo left/right brained ambidextrous
person..I have to have all the information...
the old posts....and the live action.

Unfortunately when I get into something...
I have to learn everything and have thousands
of questions. Might as well hit the ingore user
now....:D