<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Apr 15, 2009 at 8:49 AM, Davor Ocelic <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:docelic@hcoop.net">docelic@hcoop.net</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
On Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:55:19 +0100<br>
<div class="im">Michal <<a href="mailto:michalcharemza@gmail.com">michalcharemza@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
<br>
</div><div class="im">> > If the answer to these questions are both yes, then there is no issue with<br>
> > you hosting these websites under your account, even if you are charging the<br>
> > customer for creating or hosting the website.<br>
> Great!<br>
><br>
> > You may but are in no way<br>
> > obligated to pledge more.<br>
> I will consider it. It wouldn't seem fair to me that the business (and<br>
> so me, indirectly) would be making money from a non-profit<br>
> organization, without giving any money to it.<br>
<br>
</div>In the past, we used a fee approach where we start with a total monthly<br>
expense and divide it by the number of members (and later pledges)<br>
to get a per-month/per-person fee. This was leading to fees that<br>
were IIRC in the $2.41 to $7 range per month.<br>
<br>
Some time ago we have fixed the basic pledge at $5. It means that<br>
after the colocation costs and the minimal costs of running a non-profit<br>
are covered, new members or extra pledges put us in a position where we<br>
can accumulate a "reserve" and use it for expanding our services<br>
(through new hardware, colocation plans etc.).<br>
<br>
So, knowing the above, pledging more does help HCoop's prosperity, and may<br>
as well make you feel you're getting just the right deal with HCoop, without<br>
hitting either end of the spectrum (paying too much, or unconsideratively<br>
"abusing" HCoop's services).<br>
<br>
But, it is in no way mandatory to pledge more. Personally, I like to view<br>
HCoop as an organization that is delighting its members base. So, as long<br>
as you're paying the minimal $5 monthly fee to keep things running and you're<br>
not "reselling" the services, it is completely up to you to decide what<br>
constitutes "fairness", how you want to use HCoop, and how much you want to<br>
pledge for it, without judgement from any HCoop official or member</blockquote><div><br>I think its worth mentioning that a number of people are generously pledging above the minimum $5 per month. Although I don't know the status today, it used to be said that without those additional pledges the minimum pledge would have to be raised. I think it is completely reasonable to assume that there be an increase in membership dues for those members acting as a commercial entity providing services that piggy back on the core functionality of HCoop.<br>
<br>-Rob<br></div></div><br>