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Forum donations
You will notice a new link in the right column of the Forum for making a donation to help support the ongoing costs of maintaining this Forum. Some of the old-timers will remember that we had an earlier topic where I asked everyone's opinion regarding required vs. optional payments for the Forum. There was certainly a mix of answers. In the end, I've decided to go with an optional payment, trusting that those who find this Forum of great value and are financially able will choose to donate on a regular basis.
There are many members who have stated that the Forum has literally changed their careers. Other members who teach workshops or sell teaching tools get new contacts through this Forum.
The Portrait Artist Forum may appear to be "free." However, as with all things, there are costs associated with maintaining it. For example:
(1) Renewal of software license every year
(2) Installation of software upgrades during the year. Usually these are due to the developer finding a security loophole, so these upgrades important to maintain. We pay a technician to do these installations. Usually there are an average of 2-3 of these a year.
(3) Spellcheck feature does not automatically come with the vBulletin forum software. This is paid to a third party provider and is priced at $10/1,000 checks.
(4) Bandwidth costs. These are difficult to exactly identify since they are included in with the main Stroke of Genius web site. However, the bandwidth and associated costs definitely jumped up significantly after the creation of the Forum.
We appreciate your support!
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