I have been wondering who is funding the Bristol Channel Cutter and Falmouth Cutter forums and did several inquiries. Cape George, although they own the tooling and rights to produce the BCC and FC, did not pick up the check for maintaining the sites on the Internet. Nor do they support the Cape George user forum. The Cape George user forum is funded by the users of the Cape George forum. Hence, we are on our own. The choice to keep the BCC & FC sites running, secure and spam free is up to us.
Coledata has upgraded the sites to keep them current with respect to Internet developments and security issues. As is prevalent with most websites they are constantly under attack by hackers. Why? They want your information - name, telephone number, address, e-mail address, etc. etc. This information has value to companies as well as criminals. The BCC & FC Forums are attacked about 200 times per day. Thanks to Coledata’s efforts, the site has never been breached. To constantly upgrade the site and keep it secure, Coledata constantly donates time and labor free of charge, and at their own considerable expense built the “Who’s Where” page for the site.
On checking with John Cole I find there was a request by Coledata for funding when the Sam L. Morse Company was terminated in February 2007. Only 21 donations were received out of a membership of 188 listed vessels, 567 subscribers and 850 regular viewers and yielded enough funds to carry us as far as July of this year (2008).
Still, the sites require considerable server resources, power and maintenance. As of the current date, the cost of these services has exceeded the funds we raised last year by $300. The Forums, that’s us, are $300 in debt.
We need to raise money to keep the site on the Internet. Yes, we need a fund raising campaign. I would like to suggest a goal of $1,000. These funds will keep the site online for the current year and the next year (remainder of 2008 and the year 2009). What do the BCC & FC sites do for us? Let me list some of the benefits:
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Knowledge Database (There are 4,995 posts on the BCC forum and 120 on the FCC forum. There are a further 8,000 archived records.),
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Exchange of ideas and projects,
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Photo gallery for a visual Internet presence,
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Private messaging
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Keep people interested in the BCC & FC,
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Help maintain the BCC’s & FC’s market value,
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Maintains a BCC & FC presence on the Internet,
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It’s a place where your BCC & FC questions are answered (Actual hits on the site (where data was viewed) is ~ 57,500 since January 2008.).
Please, I do not want to hear screams of charlatan, etc. etc. It’s our site and we have a choice. We can raise the funds and keep the Bristol Channel Cutter and Falmouth Cutter forums on the Internet. I do not want to think about the other option.
I am asking you to make a donation to pay the current debt and keep the forums on the Internet. To kick off the campaign, Lenora and I of the Bristol Channel Cutter IDUNA have donated $250. You can make a donation via PayPal by clicking on the Sam L. Morse Co. logo at the top of the webpage and selecting “Owners Page” - http://www.samlmorse.com/. When the "Owners Page opens select “Donation” in the top menu bar or click on the following link - http://www.samlmorse.com/?a=donations. Checks should be posted to Coledata, BCC & FC Forums, 419D Concorde Street, Havre de Grace, MD 21078 USA
Fair Winds Shipmates,
Rod & Lenora