Do you think we should incorporate ALFA ?

ThinkTank · Post by **ThinkTank** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 9:47 am

ALFA + Money = Problems

Do it personaly and unofficaly between yourselves, with people you personaly trust and rely upon. If problems arise, deal with it yourself and again personaly. The only problem with dealing with money problems personaly is that you likly wont raise all the $$$.

Grand Fromage · Post by **Grand Fromage** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 4:03 pm

White Warlock wrote:Could you detail this, as well as the company u are using? I mean, if it's so cheap, then why aren't all the other hosters here doing the same thing? Also, how much would it cost for what is needed for 7 computers (or modules)? What's the bandwidth for each module?

The company I'm using is pure webhosting, not game servers or the like, so it's not directly relevant. But bandwidth is bandwidth, and the professional rates are a lot lower than home service. And we could take advantage of cheap rates in Norway or Sweden, since their internet service is government subsidized and we aren't paying the taxes to fund it.

fluffmonster · Post by **fluffmonster** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 4:15 pm

the more i think about it, the more I think we should use a service.

Incorporation is a big deal when there's ownership of expensive hardware, or being responsible for a big wad of cash. We can get centralization without either of those things.

Using a service offloads the ownership (and maintenance) of the hardware. Donations can be under more of a trickle-in model instead of folks giving big lump sums, thus if someone does decide to abscond with the money they would get maybe one or at tops two month's worth. We could operate kinda like PBS...have a posted goal each month, and how far we are to that goal, and people could contribute whatever they felt was "just enough" to make monthly goals.

I think that approach reduces the trust burden considerably and puts some of the headache in the hands of professionals, and gives room for a donation model to facilitate centralization.

darrenhfx · Post by **darrenhfx** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 4:23 pm

fluffmonster wrote:We could operate kinda like PBS...have a posted goal each month, and how far we are to that goal, and people could contribute whatever they felt was "just enough" to make monthly goals.

For donations of $50 dollars or more you get an ALFA tote bag and coffee mug. For donations of $100 or more we'll send you an autographed collection of "A Land Nearby"... so call one of our operators now and make that pledge.

In all seriousness, I think while the proposal to form a corporation makes for an interesting debate, I'm not so sure that we are at a point to move in that direction. If we can keep it slightly less formal and achieve what we need to achieve I think we'll have done well.

Twiggy · Post by **Twiggy** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 4:27 pm

ROFL

Want me to make tshirts?

Mulu · Post by **Mulu** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 4:49 pm

Guess I should have read this thread before posting my "let's use a service" suggestion in the other thread.

Seems like professional hosting service + monthy donation = continuous ALFA without headaches.

Hialmar · Post by **Hialmar** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 5:00 pm

Just to give some idea about the price differences between rented dedicated servers and colocation (ie you buy the computer and have it hosted somewhere):

Dedicated servers:
http://www.serverpronto.com/

Basically we would need at least the AMD Power Plus ($99.95/month) for hosting a NWN2 server there (you can set it with 2 GB if you pay a one time $300 fee when ordering it).

Colocation:
http://www.colopronto.com/

There the 1U server rented space costs $24.95/month.

Please note that serverpronto is very cheap and isn't very good for reliability and bandwidth/ping.
Zic knows a lot of people in this sector and I trust he can have a way better solution for the $80/month.

Mikayla · Post by **Mikayla** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 5:17 pm

The contract with the webhosting service will have to be between one person and the service, not between "ALFA" and the service, as "ALFA" has no legal existence. "ALFA" cannot contract with anybody for anything - "ALFA" does not exist. So, the donations would have to go to some person, and that person then contracts with the webhosting service. Hopefully. Because once you make a 'donation' to that person, you have essentially made a gift of money and they can now do with it as they please.

Pick your person wisely if this is the route ALFA goes.