Ray Saintonge wrote:
There was some discussion a couple months ago about forming a non-profit corporation, but that was quickly forgotten.
Not forgotten at all. In the works. Announcements forthcoming soon.
A project that continues to depend on funding from a single source is always at risk. Similarly, depending on ad hoc demands of $50 from everybody may work once or twice, but it does not give any kind of financial security. Aside from any moral issues about depending on handouts from a single benefactor, there is the reality that no person's pockets are bottomless and we have no idea where the bottom is. It is irresponsible for the group as a whole to wait for a message from Jimbo like "I want to contribute more, but I can't." Messages like that never come at convenient times; they often coincide with major equipment breakdowns or necessary technical expansion.
That's all 100% correct. With the layoff of Larry Sanger and Toan Vo, both excellent people working full-time on Nupedia, this has already happened. I've gone from support at a level exceeding $100k per year, to current levels, which are difficult to measure exactly. (My time, Jason sometimes, the server, the bandwidth).
What I am current planning is a nonprofit corporation with a separate bank account, with the ability to accept credit cards, whereby people can sign up for various levels of monthly or quarterly or annual support. The contributors will be able, within some limits, to earmark contributions for particular uses (server, bandwidth, promotion, etc.).
I think that many regulars will be willing and able to sign up at the $20 per month level. Just 100 people at that level would give us $2000 a month, which would fairly quickly translate into a pretty serious server farm.
--Jimbo