When we can get some money together we'll get some new hardware and then we'll be able to restore search for everybody, but getting enough money together is likely to take a while. :grumpy:
Not trying to stir the pot, just putting in an opinion...as a vet, I fought for my right to an opinion and freedom of speech so I am going to say it since it is my right.
I contribute to 3 bowhunting forums. I do so NOT BECAUSE I AM ASKED OR CERTAIN PRIVILEGES WILL BE TAKEN AWAY, but because I want to. Terrabytes have replaced megabytes for server space at the same price as it used to be, fiber optic and T5 lines with nearly unlimited bandwidth have replaced 56K for nearly the same cost as what it once was, I can look up life threatening procedures and illnesses for free...this in part to educate those that are ignorant and want to know more...and yes, Google is powerful, but when I see THOUSANDS of members in a brief look through the millions of posts, then look at the AVATARS and SIGS of so many of them (which BTW are hosted ENTIRELY FREE thanks to PHOTOBUCKET and the like so it costs NOTHING to the forum...just think of the thousands of terrabytes of server space to house all those pics), only to realize that they are paying members or they wouldn't have this feature, a quick mathematical deduction proves that there is literally thousands of dollars being flooded to this server annually which could purchase easily the most elaborate bandwidth needed to keep this forum operating smoothly. Getting new hardware is not simply a flick of a switch...I will give you that, but cost incurred is no-where near a major Fortune 500 expense. Heck, I have GMAIL and get 2,500 MB of FREE storage. Does anyone have a clue as to how many MILLIONS of people have GMAIL for free?
When this forum was started in 1998 (?), with a COMMON INTEREST and desire for a community, I shudder to think that there was a COST benefit brewing in the mind of the forum owner. Common interests take care of themselves in the long run...people see a good thing and want to keep it going, and just for the record, the vast majority of any forum member does not make a contribution nor is that person ever asked to do so under the pretense that certain privileges will be relinquished. At least I have never found a forum that does so and I have registered with and viewed THOUSANDS of forums. I looked and found that there are over 100,000 members...definitely a lot of server bandwidth at any time. I can safely say that it would appear that 1% give of their money annually which would provide at a minimum 10K a year...I am certain that number is far greater but use it for argument sake. The most ever online was a tad over 2000 in June this year. Go ahead and calculate the needed bandwidth to accommodate 2000 members and set a throttle at, say, 300 MB/sec for most high speed users and you will find that a T5 line, heck even a T1 or T3 for that matter, could easily take care of such a volume...yes for less than what this forum is bringing in annually. Call me a freeloader...I am cool with that since anytime I google search ANYTHING I am "freeloading" for information although I would consider it to be ASPIRING...you know...when you want to further yourself in knowledge as a human being? I guess that is the power of the worldwide web, but when I have something taken away only to be given it back upon compensation, that is really EXTORTION, albeit on a small scale, but extortion none-the-less. I will continue to contribute to the forums that I feel deserve it, but when resources are not being utilized as far as I see it to the maximum they can be and then a call is made to the non-paying members to pony up or you will lose certain rights that can be had on any other forum out there for the price of free registration, I am sorry but it leaves a sour taste in my mouth. The money is not the issue, my posh annual wage is of no concern to any but I am not a cheap skate, this is simply a matter of principle.