Appreciation

[spro]

I addressed an envelope months ago. Between this time I have been overwhelmed by organizations who think they own me. They all need a piece and the more they send, the less I respond. One that doesn't bug me, is this site.
It takes time and work to make This site as cool as it is. The continual upgrades allow most anyone to access without annoying pop-ups and viri.
Before a request is made, I need to do what has to be done.

[earlgo]

We get requests daily for donations to a myriad of organizations, sometimes 3-4 a day. Some are for outlandish amounts starting at thousands of dollars. Apparently we are on someone's 'A' list.
****
Does this site still take donations? I agree with spro that this is one I could support on occasion.

--earlgo

[curtis cutter]

I agree with you both. It is refreshing to go to a site where there is no disrespect shown to other members, there is no foul language used and above all everyone seems to just be concerned about the interest of others and helps to the best of their abilities.

Sometimes I am somewhat of an insomniac. I will come to this site and just look at odd things posted years ago and learn.

Thanks to everyone for maintaining the character of this site.

Gregg

[neanderman]

Ditto. If there is still a need(?) for donations, please let us know!

[Harold_V]

You folks are the best!
For years the board operated through the kindness of Mike's generosity. Only very recently did he ask for help, with a resounding response by the readers, for which I am very grateful. You all may understand that I take a personal interest in this board, looking after it as if it was my own.

I do not get involved in the financial end of running the board, but I have asked Mike to check this thread, if for no other reason, so see how appreciative the readers are for his efforts in maintaining the board.

Harold

[Marty_Escarcega]

It's gratifying to know there are users that appreciate the efforts and expense to maintain such a wonderful resource to the home hobbyist. Mike the site owner is one of us...as time permits a metalworking hobbyist. Many many years ago, he started the site as a resource life got in the way and he wasn't able to monitor it as closely as he wished. Being new to metalworking myself, and finding all the unselfish people willingly sharing their knowledge and experiences with each other, led me to reach out to Mike and lend a hand to keep the site going and available to those interested in the hobby. Mike agreed, and has invested time, effort and financial resources to keep it going. As many noticed, he's kept it pretty much clutter free of advertising.

When he needed a financial hand recently in order to do some much needed upgrades and move the site to a more reliable provider, many users reached in their pockets and chipped in, to Mikes amazement, the money was raised in such a short period of time. A testament to the appreciativeness and the class of users we have. It flattered him and astonished me.

While I am not involved in the forums as much as I would like to be, I most expediently approve the memberships and tweak the back end when needed, including setting up new forums. Harold has been a great asset to the board because he cares. I think it's also his way of giving back to the trade in which he has made a livelyhood for all his life. Harold diligently takes the time out of his day nearly each and every day, to check in on each forum. He alerts me when I have missed an errant subscription request or when he'd like some eyes on a topic. None of us are perfect, and we certainly give our best efforts, it's not said hardly enough, but thank you Harold for all that you do and the personal experiences that you share with the users.

At the end of the day, this site and all the effort is dedicated to you, the user, in the hopes that some how it helps you get started, continue along in your journey, to give back some of what you learned in the craft. You will always be welcomed here and your contributions you make will be appreciated by all who visit.

Thanks again Mike and Harold for providing such a great resource to all of us.
Marty

[JackF]

Not being lazy but Ditto all of the above, I couldn't have added anything.


Jack.

[dorin]

I appreciate the good thoughts!
Keeping chaski going is definitely a team effort...I could not do it alone.
Without Harold and Marty, I know we could not have lasted this long.
I appreciate all the volunteer moderators too!

I sure also appreciate the willingness of the members to support this operation.
During the next couple days, I will take a peek at the finances and how we are.

A lot of appreciation going around eh?

It is very nice to run this site without having to have things framed with advertisements and popups.
(Who would want to visit if it were like that???)

Once again, thank you everybody...
-Mike