This stuff isnt free folks. I am sure that the paying gold members are apreciated, but if anyone can, maybe cut out a fast food meal or new cd or trip to the movies, and send it to keeping the server up, it does add up.

I know on my meger wages I find a way to do it. It doesnt have to be hundreds or thousands of dollars, although for those in higher tax brackets I'm sure this site wont complain about that kind of donation.

I am not speaking on behalf of RRS, just myself as a poster. But this oasis in a world of theism is needed. I know without sites like this I would be much more lonely and it would be more difficult to express myself.

Show your apreciation for the hard work of the admin and for RRS by donating.  

lol yeah thats right, I read recently that all atheists smoke (tho I don't smoke, so im sure someone would try to claim that means im not an atheist using some really shoddy logic) ;p

Thanks guys, anything helps (and I do mean anything ;p).  We are hoping that soon we will have a bunch more sites on here like ComedyJesus and Greydon's so the more the merrier.  Also don't forget to Digg/etc stories as that brings more traffic which in turn brings more ad revenue. 

Thanks  

25 dollars heading your way.  I wish I could afford more.

.

Thanks Thandarr   And yeah, movies lately have been going down in quality. 

Gizmo initially started this chip in module asking for $1,000, however the server fees are phenomonally high and will only get higher with the addition of new sites that are being brought on for free... per Gizmo suggesting it.

It's been a goal of mine to help build up other atheist sites that work together online that share the same name and password so a large community can be built even if there are diverging views. The last person who operated our server and helped incurr it's expense was not helping in this area nearly as much as Gizmo. In the last month or two Gizmo has volunteered no less than 50 hours per week of his time and about $250 per month of his money to help pay for the server. In my ideal world our server bill would be $500 per month as we would need a server fit for running a network of sites all within the top 25,000 most popular in America... and that day could come.

Yes technically RRS headquarters could now afford this cost. It would be tight, but it could be done. We've budgeted and got accustomed to having help paying our server fees. As far as I know the money from the chip in module that Gizmo has set up goes straight to him. Please consider contributing to help the following sites stay online, and many more to come.

• Margaret Downey
• Atheist Volunteers
• Prayers To Jake
• Free Thinking Teens
• Ask the Atheist
• Mr. GAWN
• WOTM Watchdog
  Coming Soon...
  • Greydon Square
  • Comedy Jesus
  • ReligionIsRetarded

Server costs as they stand are $3,000 per year. They'd be higher if I knew I could add more sites on (that need our help, and were not created by us). We'll keep this chip in module up for a while to help cover this over the long run. Seriously, please keep in mind this server will help many others, not just us.

With that knowledge, we donated $100 tonight.  Thanks for everything. 

*bump*

I severely doubt any mods would get upset about bumping this one ;p

I certainly am happy (tho mind you this post is stickied, however if responded to it does show up in the recent posts.)  So thanks for the bump

And again thanks to everyone who has contributed. 

daft question, how do i donate?

Bump

I talked with Gizmo at length today and he has alerted me that the financial situation is rougher than originally thought on his end. He's working on debt consolidation plans just so he can maintain paying the cost of our server. I put $50 in the chip in this time instead of $5 and plan to do so as often as I can. Obviously RRS funds will have to cover any differences when it comes down to it, and I'll do so if neccessary.

Please contribute with the chip in module above, any amount. It all goes directly to Gizmo who has done an amazing job at maintaining our server in addition to paying for it. If we had the money to afford it we'd be on an even more expensive server, in an ideal world we'd be paying $100 more per month for a total of $350 a month for even higher speeds.

I've made many alterations to the site in the last few days.

Some of those changes include:

1. removal of buddy lists (we weren't using them as intended and they slow us up)

2. removal of search function (slows up loads on all pages and taxes server when used, it was also broken anyway) Search here now: http://www.rationalresponders.com/google_search_rationalresponders_com

3. reduction of images and the size of images loaded on the sides of pages

4. complete removal of the right sidebar for anything on the message board forum.

5. reduction in sidebars that load up on homepage itself

And much much more... Additionally in the last 3 weeks our site has gone from the 240,000th most popular site in the world to the 170,000th. In the last week we were the up to the 49,000th most popular site in the world, and the 25,000th in the US. We are on a mission to have our ideas win out in the marketplace of ideas. Increasing page load speed, and ability to access our server at all times without error is of vital importance to the goal.

6. While we still believe theism is irrational, and should be listed in the DSM so that extraordinary cases of theistic delusion can be treated with the appropriate medication, we have removed that wording from the header banner. This move will reduce the amount of traffic that views one page of the site and then leaves (due to being instantly turned off).

Every move we've made in the last 3 weeks has been highly centered on increasing web traffic which increases server load, while at the same time Gizmo is worried that he wont make rent. Traffic alone on our website doesn't always convert to dollars. Google ads, amazon, and subscriptions alone simply don't cover it all. If we are to have a secured spot in the number two slot (RDF #1) we need to prepare to not only afford to pay for the server we have now, but to be prepared to pay $100-$300 more per month as we grow.

We currently have several websites interested in becoming part of our shared network in which name and passwords are shared amongst all sites. However we are reluctant to jump on all offers and inquiries due to the potential problem it would cause for our own site if the new sites are also as successful as we are.

Sites that could be on board now if Gizmo (and crew) had the time/money to dedicate to the effort....

www.greydonsquare.com (the new www.thecomptoneffect.com)

www.comedjesus.com

www.religionisretarded.com

www.fsgp.org

And 5 other sites run by semi-large atheist organizations that would all come on board if I knew that we could handle the load.

So instead of sending RRS an extra $20 this month... would you please send it directly to Gizmo using the chip in module in the first post?

RRS is fiscally responsible!

At their recent convention FFRF (Freedom from religion foundation) boasted a membership base of over 11,000 people. They have memberships ranging from $25-$500 (most memberships are $50 or more). If we take an average of $50 per member at 11,000 people they are pulling in $550,000 a year to maintain their organization. Our gross income will be about 1/10th that number for this year. AND WE GET MORE TRAFFIC!

We also get more traffic than Way of the Master: Way of the Master currently has a donation drive (above and beyond the hundreds of thousands they pull in on merchandise) to help keep their tv show alive. They've raised almost $400,000 in a few weeks. Again this is above and beyond the money they take in on merchandise. Putting your ideas in the marketplace is not cheap.

We are equally as effective as FFRF and WOTM at what we do, and we do it with one tenth the income.

We feel we manage our limited funds wiser than all of the comparable sites in our genre, we hate asking for money... but it's a neccessary evil. Please donate directly to Gizmo today! Any excess money will eventually go to increasing the strength of our server, but from the looks of it, we won't have any excess.

LINKS TO PROVIDE PROOF OF OUR GROWTH OVER WOTM AND FFRF:

Our WORLDWIDE SITE RANK for the last seven days compared to FFRF and WOTM. (at the time of posting FFRF doesn't even make the chart, wotm barely gets on, and we are kicking both of their asses)

Our WORLDWIDE SITE RANK for the last MONTH compared to FFRF and WOTM. (at the time of posting FFRF barely makes the the chart, and we are still crushing wotm)

This graph represents PAGE VIEWS over the last month. Notice our steady incline since the beginning of the campaign for growth (about Oct 20).

If you can't donate... at least help us crash this server by using Digg, reddit, stumbleupon, and de.licio.us!