To all lurkers, quiet members and warbirdlibrary downloaders

***huub vink*** · April 6th, 2019, 01:40

Dear all,

As already mentioned elsewhere, the flightsim community is shrinking and aging fast. Many of the members live a on a small allowance, and don't have that much to spend.
On the other side costs are rising.

The Sim-Outhouse has always been free and donations voluntary and I don't think that will change in the near future. But In the past there were many strong shoulders which carried the Outhouse and the donation run was a matter of days. The number of shoulders have been decreasing for many years already and they are often not that strong any more. The donation drive has been running for over a month now and we still didn't reach our target.Therefore we are seeking more shoulders to enable us to carry the Outhouse into the future.

Therefore I kindly request you to check your wallet or debit/creditcard and see what you can donate to keep Sim-Outhouse available.

Thanks for your attention,
Huub

**kdl** · April 6th, 2019, 03:37

It might be interesting for members/readers/downloaders of SimOuthouse, what the 10,000 US$ per year are needed for.
Is this only to pay the server?
A brief statement of the costs could cause a change of mind for one or the other.

Dieter

***Priller*** · April 6th, 2019, 05:10

Originally Posted by kdl

It might be interesting for members/readers/downloaders of SimOuthouse, what the 10,000 US$ per year are needed for.
Is this only to pay the server?
A brief statement of the costs could cause a change of mind for one or the other.

Dieter

I agree.

Moreover, I donated anonymously. I'm not looking for my name to be displayed in a fancy colour with a title underneath or whatever. I value my privacy a lot more than status.

Oh and calling people "lurkers, quiet members and warbirdlibrary downloaders" is degrading, derogatory and condescending. Not a very nice thing to do. Just saying.

Priller

***stovall*** · April 6th, 2019, 05:53

[QUOTE=Priller;1180334]I agree.

Oh and calling people "lurkers, quiet members and warbirdlibrary downloaders" is degrading, derogatory and condescending. Not a very nice thing to do. Just saying.

QUOTE]

This is a simple request for help. No one is degrading or being condescending in any way. The facts are we are trying to stay alive without charging anything for any of our services. Any and all contributions of any size are greatly appreciated by all SOH members.

**stansdds** · April 6th, 2019, 05:55

I am also an anonymous donor, not a lurker, not just a downloader.

**LouP** · April 6th, 2019, 06:02

Thank you for the reminder that I'm getting old lol.

Contribution made,

I've been here for a long time and have fun memories. Definitely worth the contribution to have this site up and running. A lot of sim hangouts seem to be disappearing (hovercontrol and OzX comes to mind).

LouP

***stovall*** · April 6th, 2019, 06:14

LouP, very much appreciated. I too have noticed the great sites drying up. We will prevail thanks to folks like you.

***huub vink*** · April 6th, 2019, 06:39

Thanks guys, all donations help. But its not the normal members I'm addressing. When you look at the statistics, you will see that there are many more people who never leave a message, but visit the forums quite often and do their occasional download once in a while.

I'm sure many of those are not fully aware that there are also bills to pay. But I'm also sure they will miss their occasional visit and download once the Sim-Outhouse is gone. Therefore I kindly requested those people; "..........to check your wallet or debit/creditcard and see what they can donate to keep Sim-Outhouse available".

For Dieter and Priller, when the donation drive started Dangerousdave gave an explanation, with several options. This has been a banner at the top of the forum for a month.
In case you missed it, you can re-read it here: http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforum...ement.php?f=44

So please read before you start commenting on something which wasn't exactly directed to you.......

Cheers,
Huub

**mal998** · April 6th, 2019, 07:31

Just so every one has a basis for comparison membership at Flightsim.com is $30.00 a year. Here's what you get:

* Gives you faster, unlimited downloads from member servers...you already get that here.
* Displays a “First Class Member” tag for others to see in the forums...does it matter that much?
* Helps us offset the huge costs of running the site and paying for bandwidth...yeah, us too.
* Supports the long hours and hard work the people do everyday to bring you this site...yep same goes for SOH.
* We are totally committed to giving you the best possible resource so that you can enjoy your hobby...ditto.
* You can find fresh carefully organized files, latest news, reviews, features, forums and more...at SOH all you have to do is ask. You'll get all the input you want.

Here at SOH you get the same things and all they're asking for is support from the community to help keep the site up and running. Not too much to ask.

**SSI01** · April 6th, 2019, 10:32

Originally Posted by Priller

I agree.

Moreover, I donated anonymously. I'm not looking for my name to be displayed in a fancy colour with a title underneath or whatever. I value my privacy a lot more than status.

Oh and calling people "lurkers, quiet members and warbirdlibrary downloaders" is degrading, derogatory and condescending. Not a very nice thing to do. Just saying.

Priller

Same here.

Shhhhhhhhh!!

***Penzoil3*** · April 6th, 2019, 15:31

Donated, but less than I used to. Social Security just doesn't stretch like a paycheck, when you could do a little overtime to help.
Sue

***Jafo*** · April 6th, 2019, 19:52

The 'lurkers and downloaders' who aren't contributing at the site I [help] Admin [Wincustomize.com] has 6 million registered users who largely 'lurk and download' and $10 thou would last about 12 days server-wise [10 year old stats....may be better [or worse] now]....

Give us a couple of weeks and I'll see if I can put in a little more. I'm "all-for" user-pays and I get more out of SOH than I ever put in...

**mrogers** · April 6th, 2019, 20:02

I just had to donate again to help inch the line closer to the finish.
To the lurkers and those in the background, If we don't get the funds, SOH as we know it will disappear forever along with a huge base of downloads and knowledge, and of course the people there too. And I am so thankful that we have SOH to read everyday and for the people that run and maintain it. I do get a lot, in fact I get so much out of SOH.

**511Flyer** · April 7th, 2019, 00:10

I think it's great value for the money, that's why I always contribute. Grab a couple of coffees, and they're gone in a few minutes. The same money lasts for a whole year at SOH.

Den.

**mikewmac** · April 7th, 2019, 02:13

I just donated a second time to help reach the $10K goal. Well worth it to me.

**therealjambo** · April 7th, 2019, 03:17

Happy to help again, i'd hate to see anything happen. This place feels like home.

**thunderstreak** · April 7th, 2019, 04:43

I guess I fall under the “Lurker” banner!
I make an occasional post and a download here and there.
Not offended by this post at all.
I also donated for the first time.

Keep up the good work gents, would hate to see this site go the way of the Dodos!

**Bushi** · April 7th, 2019, 04:50

Can't remember if I hit anon with my donation or not!! LOL..

And as someone who both downloads some extremely incredible stuff graciously uploaded without ANY expectation of reward by the developer or artist.. (save for appreciation).. I also upload some of my work.. and help out with testing etc. when asked, as one does when a member of a 'community' :-)

But as has been pointed out, sites are going away.. Hovercontrol is no longer with us, and there was quite a lot of great content there that sadly, can be found no where else.

This site has a great group of people, and an insane amount of fantastic freeware to enhance our FS experience, and I for one do not wish to see it too 'go away'.

As it was, I had to wait till the beginning of the month to donate.. as last month presented me with thousands of dollars in unexpected expenses..(bang your head repeatedly against the wall expenses.. just.. sigh....) life.. it's like that LOL

But always happy to contribute a little towards upkeep, ..and I see we are past the goal now.. :-)

Well done...

Cheers, and hoping all of us are still around when next years donation drive comes around. And if I suddenly stop posting, downloading, and uploading.. well.. sadly.. I'm dead....

Dave