Taking Nominations for DBB Finance Committee ...

KoolBear · Post by **KoolBear** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 8:10 pm

I am working on setting up a DBB Donatation account and intergrating those donations into the DBB Database.

I would like the community to nominate trustworthy and respected people to act as overseers on any donations brought into the DBB.

I will take the top nominations from this thread and start a poll. Then I will take the Top 2 or 3 names as members of the DBB Finance Committee.

Please be sincere in your nominations.

KB

fyrephlie · Post by **fyrephlie** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 12:07 am

would anyone step up and say they are willing to take on the responsibility first? i wouldn't want to nominate someone that wasn't willing to do it.

whuppinboy · Post by **whuppinboy** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 6:56 am

i think u need guidelines on what the finance committee is going do, rather than nominate someone unwillingly without any foreknowledge of what they're getting in to. i think it speaks for itself, but that's just me.

i don't post enuff to be respected

but i'd be willing to help in whatever way i could.

Richard Cranium · Post by **Richard Cranium** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 8:44 am

Well, this isn't a popularity contest or if they post enough. This is who you think would be responsible enough to control a little bit of money. Just because someone is nominated doesn't require him or her to actually do the job if they don't want to. Lets just get some ideas out here first and then see if that person is willing.

I was really trying to think of who I would want to nominate and I came up with Stresstest. Stresstest has already done lots for the Descent community and I think we can trust him to watch over a little bit of money too.

RC

TheCope · Post by **TheCope** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 8:49 am

I nominate someone who is independently wealthy.

KoolBear · Post by **KoolBear** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 8:54 am

Finance Committee

As I see it is really just an oversite committee, since I or anyone ever involved with the administration of the DBB have never wanted to profit from the DBB I thought it a good idea to set a committee that could report to the DBB memebers that the funds donated to the DBB were indeed used for the DBB.

Basically all they will need to do is verify that funds are spent for the function intended.

They can also verfy if and when funds aren't available for hosting fees. They will have read permissions on the paypal account for these purposes.

You see I have NO intenetion of maintaining the DBB in a co-located environment. If you, the DBB want it that's fine but the community must cover the additional expenses incurred above and beyond what is already provided in a shared hosting environment.

In retrospect this "Committee" isn't really needed but I never wanted anyone to come back and say hey KoolBear has made a million bucks! And it came from DBB donations! He never moved us to a co-located server, you see if there are overseer's then at least they will know the truth no matter what rumors might float around.

Krom · Post by **Krom** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 10:01 am

I'll vote for Xciter then, any of the current admins would do fine in my book.

Top Gun · Post by **Top Gun** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 11:05 am

I'll put in votes for Lothar and Xciter.

fyrephlie · Post by **fyrephlie** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 11:13 am

i would say the top 3 most active admins/mods.

i would also add a nomination for Lothar, if willing.

(if my vote counts

)

Dedman · Post by **Dedman** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 11:45 am

I'm willing

Isaac · Post by **Isaac** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 4:47 pm

how much do you need? i get paid this week

Richard Cranium · Post by **Richard Cranium** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 6:37 pm

Isaac wrote:how much do you need? i get paid this week

$28 per month and we want 6 months ahead in an account to get started so $168 to start.

I think thats what we came up with.

roid · Post by **roid** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 11:26 pm

TheCope wrote:I nominate someone who is independently wealthy.

damn, i KNEW there was a puprose to those "check out my latest car" threads.

we need a "Finance Committee Nomination Committee" made up of people who pay attention to who is and isn't independently wealthy. I should not be on this committee.

Suncho · Post by **Suncho** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 2:25 am

I nominate:
Stresstest
Punisher
Xciter

Punisher
Stresstest
Xciter

EDIT: Reorganized them to form the acroynim PSX. =D

BUBBALOU · Post by **BUBBALOU** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 5:43 am

Xciter
Lothar
Topher

[spoiler]these guys are on the level[/spoiler]

KoolBear · Post by **KoolBear** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 8:51 am

Ok I successfully installed the Donate Mod on the DBB Test Board.

It's pretty easy to switch over as soon as everything else is in place.

KB

Isaac · Post by **Isaac** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 12:41 pm

roid wrote:
TheCope wrote:I nominate someone who is independently wealthy.
damn, i KNEW there was a puprose to those "check out my latest car" threads.

we need a "Finance Committee Nomination Committee" made up of people who pay attention to who is and isn't independently wealthy. I should not be on this committee.

i could make it an even 200 if ur not kidding around

KoolBear · Post by **KoolBear** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 1:08 pm

Issac,

We are not kidding but, preferably not anyone person will foot the bill for a dedicated server.

Here's how we arrived at the numbers RC posted above. We multiplied $28 x 12months = $336. annually

We then split that into 6 month chunks totalling $168 for dedicated hosting fees. This will be a recurring charge. So every 3-4 months a donation drive will have to take place.

Maybe a yearly plan would be easier to manage but let's test the water with a 6 month jaunt.

KB

CDN_Merlin · Post by **CDN_Merlin** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 1:28 pm

As soon as I make it to a bank I will send mky donation. I don't have a paypal account so can't do it that way.

Richard Cranium · Post by **Richard Cranium** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 1:40 pm

Any extra money will be held in the Paypal account so if we get too much for the current month we will have some left over. By having at least 6 months in advance in the account we are making a commitment to the DBB community and the Co-Location host that we are serious about keeping things running. The Finance Committee will monitor the account balance and authorize the funds transfer to the Co-Location host so people that donate feel secure that the money isn't going where is doesn't belong.

Personally, I don?t think we have committed to co-location until we have a Finance Committee and Paypal account setup. The polls show a very high level of interest in doing this and we are making progress. KB is about ready to turn on the Donate button on the DBB and once that is done we will just have to see how it goes.

Once we have the go-ahead I will need to schedule entry in to the co-location site in order to get in. The facility is a secure site requiring me to have an escort to get in. Depending on my providers available time it might take me a few days to get that worked out. The server equipment is ready to be installed at the co-location site but I?m hoping a couple parts for my other servers arrive before I make a trip to do the install so I can do everything at the same time and save me a trip.

Hope I didn't babble too much here.

RC

KoolBear · Post by **KoolBear** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 2:55 pm

Merlin,

Cuda68 was going to send some funds too but I asked him to hold off until everything was finalized.

There's no need sending moneies until all issues are hashed out.

KB

KoolBear · Post by **KoolBear** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 3:01 pm

Nice clarification RC, actually, The committee will only verify that donated funds are used where they are supposed to be used, they will not have any approval rights at this time.

Ultimately I am the responsibile person I am only asking for a few respected people to verify what I am doing.

Their sole purpose is to verify that funds are used as we agreed they would be.

KB

Grendel · Post by **Grendel** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 3:27 pm

KoolBear wrote:Ultimately I am the responsibile person I am only asking for a few respected people to verify what I am doing.

Their sole purpose is to verify that funds are used as we agreed they would be.

I'd nominate Xciter, RC and myself (only one I trust a 100%

), ascending order.

KoolBear · Post by **KoolBear** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 3:30 pm

RC is a good nomination BUT since he is involved in the hosting of the DBB he isn't eligable, IMHO.

Xciter may or may not go for it, I know he doesn't like the idea of taking donations any more than I do.

KB

Richard Cranium · Post by **Richard Cranium** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 3:54 pm

KoolBear wrote:RC is a good nomination BUT since he is involved in the hosting of the DBB he isn't eligable, IMHO.

Xciter may or may not go for it, I know he doesn't like the idea of taking donations any more than I do.

KB

I agree with KB on this. I must remain out of the financial decisions. I hadn?t mentioned this before because I was just hoping it wouldn?t come up.

RC

fyrephlie · Post by **fyrephlie** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 8:46 pm

just a side note... kinda

paypal does have a regular balance email availiable which tells of all transactions, also you can SS the balance screen so that you see all transactions in 90 days. doing this once a month and posting it in the announcements forum might also help people feel better about their donations.

i personally have no reason not to trust KB in anyway, so i don't think that would be necessary, but if it sets peoples minds at ease....

Lothar · Post by **Lothar** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 12:03 am

fyrephlie wrote:if it sets peoples minds at ease....

There have been... issues... with donations in this community before, resulting in some serious allegations. Because of that, I think being entirely transparent about hosting costs and donations is necessary. Remember, the committee doesn't authorize anything -- they just monitor. So it seems to me we want people who aren't all in the same city and aren't particularly close friends, just to eliminate all possibility of conspiracy.

I'll second, or twelfth, or whatever, Xciter and Topher's nominations. Also add Grendel, MD-2389, roid, and Flabby Chick to my list. For those who nominated me, I'm willing. I think that would give us a diverse enough monitoring group...

I also suggest that if RC is the one directly in contact with the hosting company, he should be the only one who is able to authorize payments. That just streamlines the process a little bit.

Richard Cranium · Post by **Richard Cranium** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 4:18 am

Lothar wrote: I also suggest that if RC is the one directly in contact with the hosting company, he should be the only one who is able to authorize payments. That just streamlines the process a little bit.

Just to clarify... I am the one that will be receiving the payment for the services since it will be my equipment that is installed in to the location I currently have leased space at. The $28 per month is what it will cost me per month for the rack space, power, and data connection for placing an additional 1U server there. My working relationship with my provider is very good and that?s why I'm getting this incredibly good rate. With the addition of this server I?ll be paying over $100 per month for my servers to be at this co-location facility not to mention my Detroit servers. All I?m asking is to cover the additional expense.

If you are interested the facility is located in Seattle Washington, USA at a place called Peer1 (www.peer1.com). Peer1 is located in a building called The Westin in Seattle. The Westin is the hub for ALL Data and Voice communications in the Pacific Northwest. I wish I could show you pictures of the location because it is truly a jaw-dropping site. There are rows and rows of cabinets holding thousands of servers. I?ve never experienced an outage at this location and I don?t think I ever will. Jezz, I hope I didn?t jinx it

RC

Sarge · Post by **Sarge** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 5:30 pm

Lothar wrote:I also suggest that if RC is the one directly in contact with the hosting company, he should be the only one who is able to authorize payments. That just streamlines the process a little bit.

It would hafta be more than one person, as a backup.

KoolBear · Post by **KoolBear** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 6:08 pm

Since I am the owner it is utimately my responsibility to make and authorize payments.

I will make payments to RC or to peer1 per RC's request.

fliptw · Post by **fliptw** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 9:40 pm

If you really wanted to do the due dilligence on the accountability and transparency end of things, something like a non-profit would pretty much require both.

woodchip · Post by **woodchip** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 7:23 am

Lothar wrote: There have been... issues... with donations in this community before, resulting in some serious allegations.

Since transparency is the issue, how about a stickied thread where each person that donates, posts how much they give. This will give a total amount up front and as such the recipient can't say they recieved less than what was given. When more money is need another thread could be started and people cannot donate again. Kinda like the donation drives NPR puts on. Once the server costs are determined we will all know how much money is given and how far it will go. This will eliminate the need for some sort of oversite committee and determining who is "trustworthy" (or who is not by stint of not being "nominated").

The long and the short of it is that the amount of money is not high dollars and I suspect most of us who will contribute do so out of a sense of wanting to aid the cause and not for some kind of honorarium.

KoolBear · Post by **KoolBear** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 7:48 am

All online donations to the DBB are automatically logged into the database, and the donataions are viewable any time by anyone. That's pretty transparent.

Any snail mail donations of course would have to be manually entered.

Sarge · Post by **Sarge** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 7:57 pm

woodchip wrote:....and I suspect most of us who will contribute do so out of a sense of wanting to aid the cause and not for some kind of honorarium.

Bingo!

I'm not able to contribute at this time (house re-modeling, hoping to be done by Friday!) I'll certainly contribute something by January!

Good job to all for showing support!

CDN_Merlin · Post by **CDN_Merlin** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 8:07 pm

Hye I clicked the donate and thought I could donate via CC but can't. I'll just snail mail you the money order KB.

BUBBALOU · Post by **BUBBALOU** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 9:02 am

you can setup paypal to use a credit card and bank account, for security select always login option for credit card use

KoolBear · Post by **KoolBear** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 4:42 pm

I have found the information that will allow me to add users to the [aypal account, I will set it up so the elected Commitee members will have the ability to login and see all transactions in and out of the account.

From what I gather here in the thread these are the nominations. Please have these members drop in and either accept ot decline thier nominations!

2 Stresstest
2 Punisher
3 Topher
6 Xciter
4 Lothar
Richard Cranium declined
2 Grendel
MD-2339
roid
Flabby Chick
Iceman
DCrazy

I nominate ...
Lothar
Iceman
DCrazy
Punisher

Richard Cranium · Post by **Richard Cranium** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 5:20 pm

I must decline. I feel it would be inappropriate for me to accept since I am the one that will be receiving the payments.

Ferno · Post by **Ferno** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 8:54 pm

I nominate Lothar

CDN_Merlin · Post by **CDN_Merlin** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 9:49 pm

Ferno wrote:I nominate Lothar

x²