Support Our Site

Julie, do you Venmo?

You first find this site from googling words related to some question you have about high-school baseball or college baseball recruiting.  You find a discussion thread, then multiple threads, and realize that you are not the only person who has this question. You see that there are lots of discussions, in fact, new ones started every day.  You start reading more, first the ones that look relevant to you, then others with interesting-looking titles, then all at once you are reading all of them.  You discover that the people posting on them have backstories and personalities, that some have been on for a really long time, that some are famous or semi-famous (whoa, that's mind-blowing), and some are completely obscure, just random parents of baseball-playing kids somewhere out there.  You find the search function, and see who has said what.  You post your question, and get your first Private Message.  Suddenly you are personally connected to other people who are also living baseball stories.

People come and go, sometimes related to the changing role of baseball in their lives, sometimes because of something someone says that causes a ruckus.  Baseball achievements are celebrated, MLB controversies are debated, oldtimers come back and give updates about grandchildren, and always, advice is given about every possible topic.  It's an incredibly diverse and generous and quarrelsome yet (mostly) civil community of people, all linked through baseball.

Thank you, Julie, for making it possible for us to talk to each other.

@LousyLefty posted:

Julie, do you Venmo?

Yes I do, I'll pm you my account info. :-)

Thank you to the members who have donated this year to help keep the site going. You have covered almost half of the direct costs for the site during February, March and April. My family and I have continued, of course, to cover the remainder.

I'd appreciate your help with the May bill. If every active member contributed $10 to $20 per year, that would help immensely. Thank you!

Julie

TO DONATE, just click this button:

Hi friends, thank you to the few members who have donated in the past month to support our site.

I'm still paying the majority of each monthly bill out of my pocket. In recent years I have paid most of the monthly bill myself, adding up to almost $5,000 per year. But I'm nearing retirement age and honestly cannot continue to do that. I truly do need your help on an ongoing basis to keep the site going, otherwise will need to consider shutting it down.

TO DONATE, just click this button:

Thanks,
Julie

Hi, Julie. I just tried to donate and the PayPal site says the page is broken.

@smokeminside, thank you for letting me know. I think I have fixed the Donate button. Can you please refresh the page and try again? Thanks!

@MN-Mom posted:

@smokeminside, thank you for letting me know. I think I have fixed the Donate button. Can you please refresh the page and try again? Thanks!

It works fine, Julie. Thanks for keeping this most coveted site going.

@anotherparent posted:

You first find this site from googling words related to some question you have about high-school baseball or college baseball recruiting.  You find a discussion thread, then multiple threads, and realize that you are not the only person who has this question. You see that there are lots of discussions, in fact, new ones started every day.  You start reading more, first the ones that look relevant to you, then others with interesting-looking titles, then all at once you are reading all of them.  You discover that the people posting on them have backstories and personalities, that some have been on for a really long time, that some are famous or semi-famous (whoa, that's mind-blowing), and some are completely obscure, just random parents of baseball-playing kids somewhere out there.  You find the search function, and see who has said what.  You post your question, and get your first Private Message.  Suddenly you are personally connected to other people who are also living baseball stories.

People come and go, sometimes related to the changing role of baseball in their lives, sometimes because of something someone says that causes a ruckus.  Baseball achievements are celebrated, MLB controversies are debated, oldtimers come back and give updates about grandchildren, GUILTY! ,  and always, advice is given (fortunately for sons of HSBBW, NOT GUILTY!) about every possible topic.  It's an incredibly diverse and generous and quarrelsome yet (mostly) civil community of people, all linked through baseball.

Thank you, Julie, for making it possible for us to talk to each other.

Julie, I would like the Venmo info as well.

@MN-Mom posted:

Hi friends, thank you to the few members who have donated in the past month to support our site.

I'm still paying the majority of each monthly bill out of my pocket. In recent years I have paid most of the monthly bill myself, adding up to almost $5,000 per year. But I'm nearing retirement age and honestly cannot continue to do that. I truly do need your help on an ongoing basis to keep the site going, otherwise will need to consider shutting it down.

TO DONATE, just click this button:

<form action="https://www.paypal.com/donate" method="post" target="_blank"><input name="hosted_button_id" type="hidden" value="52WELAAVS32YL" /> <input alt="Donate with PayPal button" name="submit" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_donate_LG.gif" title="Support HSBaseballWeb with a PayPal donation" type="image" /> </form>

Thanks,
Julie

Whats your Venmo?  Thanks for all you do!

Thank you to the members who donated in the past few months to help support our site. The month of July was the first one in a very, very long time when your donations covered ALL of the monthly fee for our hosting and forum management, and I did not have to pay out of pocket. Thank you!

Julie

For those who would like to donate for the August bill, just click this button:

@MN-Mom posted:

Thank you to the members who donated in the past few months to help support our site. The month of July was the first one in a very, very long time when your donations covered ALL of the monthly fee for our hosting and forum management, and I did not have to pay out of pocket. Thank you!

Julie

For those who would like to donate for the August bill, just click this button:

<form action="https://www.paypal.com/donate" method="post" target="_blank"><input name="hosted_button_id" type="hidden" value="52WELAAVS32YL" /> <input alt="Donate with PayPal button" name="submit" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_donate_LG.gif" title="Support HSBaseballWeb with a PayPal donation" type="image" /> </form>

Done....thanks for all you do!

Done!

Thanks again to the members who have donated this year to help support our site. In August your donations paid about 2/3 of the monthly fee for our hosting and forum management software. The remainder came out of my pocket but I truly appreciate the portion you all contributed. Thank you!

Julie

If you are able to help with the September hosting bill, just click this button:

Done!  and thanks.

As fyi, this "donate" button does not link to anything on my computer, but the "Step up to the plate" button does.

Julie can you set up a Venmo account and publish it here?

....Sorry just read the thread, IM it to me and I don't think there is any risk to publish it in the thread, plus set up a link at the top of the HSBBW header and have a "donate" tab.

Donate works for me.  Very simple, and I do use Paypal too.  Half the donation is from me and the other half is from IATG.

@Gunner Mack Jr. posted:

... Half the donation is from me and the other half is from IATG ...

Surprised he doesn't claim 100%

Thank you to the members who were able to help with our monthly hosting fee for September, it is truly appreciated!

I'm sure most of us are busy watching MLB playoffs, but if you would like to take a few minutes to help with the October hosting bill, just click this button:

Happy Fall everyone!

Julie

Venmo me please.

Thanks.

Amy

@Iowamom23, here's my Venmo name:

Julie-Sigfrinius

Thanks!

Hi folks!

I need your help.

Since March this year when I started asking you all for help in covering the approx $400 per month expense for this site, you stepped up and helped with from 50% to 100% of each month's bill. But in October, only two donations were made, totaling $50 (minus PayPal fees). I truly appreciate those who did donate in October and previous months. But I simply cannot continue covering the shortfall out of my pocket. As I mentioned above, I'm nearing retirement and my own income will be dropping significantly in the near future.

I hate asking for help. That's the main reason that for quite a few years, I covered much of the cost of this site without asking. But for November and into the future, I need to ask members to step up and donate. If we, as a community, can't support the site going forward, I'll need to make a very tough decision to shut down the site before I retire.

Julie

I just made a donation. Frankly, the site was very useful to me during my son's recruitment, so I should have donated sooner and more often, and I should have given more, but the unfortunately there many other individuals and organizations that I want to support.

Respectfully and with gratitude, as @SpeedDemon says in another thread, I would say that this forum is probably not sustainable unless you don't mind paying the $400 per month to host the site.  If I was unwilling to do that, what I would do is make the site at least a break even operation.  The current software is great -- but how great does it have to be? To cut costs I would downgrade to phpBB or Vbulletin, or one of many WordPress bulletin board plugins, which would decrease the cost enormously, and I would add some ads  to defray the remaining expense. 

Thanks and good luck.

It sounds scary to start talking about major alterations to the structure of the site. (I fear change )

I would hope that if something like that happens, that major emphasis is put into retaining all of the historical posts.  In my opinion, the archival content is invaluable.

I believe that with this family of wonderful posters that we should be able to come up with $400 per month. I don't have access to any of the analytics, but my gut feeling is that there are at least 50 who read every post every day.  If these fine folks gave $10 per month, we're done and covered.

I have made sporadic contributions in the past, mostly when Julie asks, but I'm going to commit to being more regular.  She shouldn't have to beg us every month, and the community here is certainly worth more than other stuff I spend $10/month on...

How many people make ten posts or more per month? Are there eighty? If so, charge $5 per month. When people sign up give them the first month free. They should be able to se the value in thirty days. If nothing else if they return to ask aquestion they will have to pay $5 for that month.

On a personal level I have nothing more to gain. My kids are past playing. But I would pay $5 per month to stay.

HSBBW blue checkmarks for $8 a month? Just an idea I came up with on my own.

@IAmThatGuy posted:

HSBBW blue checkmarks for $8 a month? Just an idea I came up with on my own.

LOL....do ya think you would pass  verification?!? If not I can verify, you are really IATG!

Send @MN-Mom $96 for blue check mark for year ($8 x 12 months).  If 50 of us do problem solved. She gave me my check mark, now my avatar.  

@IAmThatGuy posted:

Send @MN-Mom $96 for blue check mark for year ($8 x 12 months).  If 50 of us do problem solved. She gave me my check mark, now my avatar.  

Good for you! I verified you really exist!

Thank you to the members who donated in November to cover the October and November bills.

I have not posted another request for help since my early November comment because the topic is stressful to me and I needed a break from thinking about it.

Anyway, I paid the December bill out of my pocket, and will need to pay the January bill this week. Your help would be appreciated.

P.S. I've received a few suggestions about moving the site to a cheaper hosting provider, but unfortunately that is not an option. The domain is locked in to the current provider and I do not have control over moving it.

I am a sucker for the blue check benefit!  Just sent a payment

@keewart posted:

I am a sucker for the blue check benefit!  Just sent a payment

I am a sucker for this site and the great posters on it.

... for almost 16 1/2 years, now.

2023 is my 10th anniversary...amazing. this site has gotten me past countless days in the office when I didn't feel like working!! Send my blue check mark pls

@old_school posted:

2023 is my 10th anniversary...amazing. this site has gotten me past countless days in the office when I didn't feel like working!! Send my blue check mark pls

Donation Sent!  Blue Check, here I come! lol

@IAmThatGuy posted:

Send @MN-Mom $96 for blue check mark for year ($8 x 12 months).  If 50 of us do problem solved. She gave me my check mark, now my avatar.  

i wanna green one

Hi friends! YOUR HELP IS NEEDED...

Thank you to the members who donated in January toward our site hosting costs. Several generous donations helped cover the bills thru April. I've paid the May, June, July and now August bills out of my pocket but need your help to continue the site.

Thank you for your help. And for anyone who cannot help financially at this time, you can help by making a post with a link to this comment, spreading the news that member help is needed for the site to continue.

~ Julie

Done!