A Statement Regarding the Future of the Forum

[Sandy Larsen]

From everything I've seen here, it appears that the PayPal account should be a US dollar one (not UK pound) since most members are in the U.S. and Invision is also in the U.S. That way there will be very little money lost for currency exchange.

BTW, I'm with Kathy... against a pay-to-post system and for donations. Those with higher incomes -- and especially those who post the  most -- are willing to pay more. Those with low incomes --and especially those who post the least -- may not be able to donate much if at all.

 

[James R Gordon]

I understand Sandy.

However the Paypal account is based in the UK. Contributions from the USA are usually in dollars and I have no alternative but to exchange the funds into pounds.

James

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, Sandy Larsen said:

From everything I've seen here, it appears that the PayPal account should be a US dollar one (not UK pound) since most members are in the U.S. and Invision is also in the U.S. That way there will be very little money lost for currency exchange.

I am with you here, it should be based wherever is most efficient (taxes and fees considered). 

 

6 minutes ago, Sandy Larsen said:

BTW, I'm with Kathy... against a pay-to-post system and for donations. Those with higher incomes -- and especially those who post the  most -- are willing to pay more. Those with low incomes --and especially those who post the least -- may not be able to donate much if at all.

This makes sense also. 3 people or more have expressed financial hardship of late and I wouldn’t want them to be excluded from posting. We may not all get on but, there is a community. 

[Sandy Larsen]

9 minutes ago, James R Gordon said:

I understand Sandy.

However the Paypal account is based in the UK. Contributions from the USA are usually in dollars and I have no alternative but to exchange the funds into pounds.

James

 

But James, that particular PayPal account doesn't have to be used to pay Invision. Any PayPal account can be used. If we continue using that PayPal account, then we end up paying a currency exchange fee in BOTH directions.

 

[James R Gordon]

Sandy,

That Paypal account was setup for collection.
I agree a PayPal account based in the US and payments made from it would be preferable.
For that to happen someone else will need to make payments to Invision as well as set up their Paypal account with them.
Though my account is not ideal it is a workable solution in the short time.

James.

 

[James R Gordon]

Sandy,

I do not envisage my account as a permanent solution. I accept all you say about currency transfer.

In 27 days we have a payment to make to Invision. If we are not to use my account - in the short term - then what is your proposal?

James.

 

[Sandy Larsen]

9 minutes ago, James R Gordon said:

For that to happen someone else will need to make payments to Invision as well as set up their Paypal account with them.

 

Yes that is true. And I would add that there should be more than one person's name on the account just in case something happens to one of the people. I believe it is easy to add people to a PayPal account.

As you mentioned earlier, it is easy to set up an automatic monthly payment from PayPal to Invision. So payments would take care of themselves. I'll bet that PayPal has a feature to notify the owners when the balance drops below a certain amount. Upon receiving that, an admin could announce a donation drive.

I believe that a donation drive would occur once every couple of years.

[James R Gordon]

That would work Sandy.
I suspect linking the Paypal account to Invision might be more complex than it first seems.
Also that Paypal account cannot be mine for the reasons you have stated.
That said we have an immanent payment to make. Do we stay with the present system to make that payment?
James

 

[Sandy Larsen]

Yes James, since your PayPal account currently has enough money to make the next Invision payment, you should do just that.

In the meantime we should be setting up an America-based PayPal account. Unless, of course, others disagree with me on that.

 

[Sandy Larsen]

Assuming others go along with my idea to open an America-based PayPal account, I'll explore the next step.

The next question is this: In whose name should the PayPal account be opened under?

FYI, to open a PayPal account all you need is a person's name, his address, and his phone number.

(Opening the account is easy. I wouldn't mind doing it for someone. Problem is, I suspect that it will call the phone number as part of setting up the account.)

Okay, you also need an e-mail address. And in fact, the way people send money to a particular PayPal member is by sending it to their e-mail address. It is for this reason that I believe we should set up a special gmail account for the forum. (I can do this.) Give it a name like educationforum@gmail.com. Any mail PayPal sends to this address can be easily forwarded to the Education Forum admin staff members' e-mail addresses.

 

Edited August 4, 2022 by Sandy Larsen

[Sandy Larsen]

1 minute ago, Sandy Larsen said:

The next question is this: In whose name should the [America-based] PayPal account be opened under?

 

We need a volunteer for this. But it can't be just anybody... it needs to be somebody we trust with access to the money. And somebody very unlikely to switch from the CT side to the LN side.

It would be great if this person is active on the forum, or has been in the past.

A younger, healthier person would be ideal.

Not that any of the above is absolutely necessary. I mean, after all, if things don't go well with the PayPal account owner, we can just create a new account to replace the current one if necessary.

 

P.S. The person must live in America.

 

[Sandy Larsen]

To find a person to own the PayPal account, maybe we can nominate people. Even nominate ourselves (i.e. volunteer) if we want.

We could submit names to the admin staff. Then they could vote privately and choose the right person. They could contact their choice and confirm that he/she is willing to own the account

Or maybe, rather than the above procedure, an American in the admin staff can volunteer.

 

[James R Gordon]

Having the admin staf choose the Paypal owner - especially Kathy who has an excellent knowledge of members - seems a good way forward.

Because of currency transfer I agree the Paypal account owner needs to be American.

It would seem logical if the account is also linked to Invision.

 

[Ty Carpenter]

If no one else steps up, I would be happy to take care of the PayPal account and ensure the monthly payment is made.

I don't post often, but I visit the site multiple times a day just to absorb as much info as possible.

Also, James made a somewhat dire statement earlier in the thread about the forum potentially being in danger due to financial issues. That is not the case. We have plenty of members willing to pony up, plus I would fund the forum myself if necessary. 

I also fit Sandy's request of the holder being a "younger, somewhat healthy" person. I am 38 years old, and don't plan on going anywhere for a long time.

I don't want this to be interpreted as me advocating for the position. I would prefer someone else take over, but if needed I am willing to step in to keep this thing going. 

[Gil Jesus]

On 8/1/2022 at 11:24 AM, James R Gordon said:

Hi,

The Energy Crisis is now a serious problem for me. Costs have gone up for me in the last few days and I am having to make decisions I hoped not to make. My electricity company has today suggested that I immediately raise my payment by 30%. One implication of this is that I have a personal web site that I am possibly no longer going to be able to maintain the costs of.

Put simply I am facing financial oblivion if I do not take steps now. I am probably going to loose my website because I am likely to be unable to pay the firms Hosting charge [ as well as other charges ] for the site. And an energy increase of a further 30% is just not possible in my present conditions.

And that is before January when rumours suggest a further even higher rise in energy prices.

I know I have suggested pulling out before but this time I am facing a personal financial disaster unless I act now. I will pay the EF August 2022 payment but someone else will need to fund from September 2022 onwards.

On previous occasions members have very kindly raised monies but it is not just funding the EF that I need to reconsider. The total impact of the energy crisis - both now and in the coming months - is beyond the cost of funding the EF.

Sorry. But after August 2022 others will need to provide the EF funding.

James

 

I hope the powers to be will consider making the forum a "pay to post" format. I don't think it's fair to ask people to cough up money for the priviledge of being insulted by "freebies" who claim they can't afford it. The alternative would be to move the forum to a free forum carrier, like https://www.proboards.com/ .