Let's try to keep it going

[Mike]

After one more email of support than our (my) resistance was capable of absorbing, we came to the following decision last night:

That the site will continue as normal until the new year, and that we will do everything possible to continue after that.

I am worried that I dismissed Charlie's option without saying how much I appreciated the thought behind it, or giving sufficicent reason for dismissing it. That post Charlie, was one of the reasons that we want to find a way through this. I couldn't accept it for the reasons I gave in my response earlier, but also because not everyone would donate and it would create an imbalance. I too have a history of involvement in clubs and groups and I know how destructive that imbalance can be.

I will continue to explore ways of raising money that won't compromise the operation of the site and I will continue to develop and promote Magpie Mail. We have 3 months to find out if it's a reasonable to expect that the site can finance itself. That means I have to raise $1000 by January. That will secure the Bulletin Board for ever, because we'll be purchasing it, and give us enough to cover the other outgoings for 12 months.

I'd like to continue to donate my time. Nick won't be able to make that promise. He finishes High School this year so next year will be full on for him. This term is also very important to him so I have to work this out without counting on him.

I'll design a friendlier web based front-end to the scoreboard so that I can then ask for volunteers to give us a break from that every now and then, but I warn you, it's not much fun having to hang around to the end of a game keeping score when we're getting thrashed.

So the main short term aim is to raise the money. I'll keep you informed of how we're going with that.

To date we have 10 subscribers. that gives us about $150 after gst and gateway and bank costs - so we're on the way.

I've emailed several magpie clubs suggesting that the address would be a nice addition to membership packages and have offered bulk discounts. It would be nice to have the whole operation financed without worrying any of the members of this site.

I've noticed that Bluey who runs Big Footy has offered to start a Magpies forum for displaced magpies. He's quick to spot an opportunity, but let's hope that he won't have to do that.

... and I just need to say to you all: thank you - we really had no idea.

[jeff#2001]

Hey mike

i am so happy- your decision has rekindled my passion
well a little anyway.This is the best site around and
i consider it an honor to come along here and write my dribble.

I feel like i have just won tattslotto....lol

Maybe just maybe this is some kinda sign that things will get better from here.

Hey the pies might even make the 8 next year and.....
umm ok well i wont get too carried away.

SO COME ON EVERYONE PLEASE GET YOUR MAGPIES .NET EMAIL
mike has given this a 2nd chance lets not let him down ok

SEND YOUR PAYMENT OF 25 BUCKS TO....
magpie mail
computer support tasmania
p o box 1982
launceston
tas
7250

AND NO SHEEP JOKES OK!!!

[Mike]

Thanks Joffa - I wish I had your way with words, it would save me hours of typing.

But please don't mail money to me without going through the Magpie Mail site first. The address is: http://email.magpies.net/

By the way - all three domains are up and running now. So anyone with a Magpie Mail email address can use @magpies.net, @go-pies.com or @mighty-magpies.com or all three of them. You get them all for your $25.

[AlfAndrews]

This is music to my ears.

I won't be making the same mistake twice. (apathy and procrastination, I mean)

I've just registered at the site (I hope I've done it properly) and I'll send the money on Monday. It will have to be a Money Order from Australia Post because I don't have anything as bourgeois as a Cheque Account or a Credit Card. I hope that's OK.

You're a true champion, Mike.



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**floreat pica**

[jeff#2001]

Come on collingwood people myself emma and my dear friend Alf
are going to send payment.

Come on just do it!!!

[AlfAndrews]

It's interesting what you say, Doug, about BigFooty being too big for itself and that we've brought the place down. I've just come back from a very frustrating hour or so clicking around that site trying to read the recent posts. Everything seems to take ages to come up on the screen. Some posts are just impossible to access.

It seems that the Darren Millane joke which I reported on another thread has caused a near riot. I'm very proud of the way that Collingwood fans have rallied to express their outrage. And if all that activity has helped to crash the site then that is great. At least some good has come from our invasion of the site.

I notice things have gone a little quiet here in the last couple of days. I'm looking forward to the day when we will all gravitate back to this, our spiritual cyber home, as I'm sure we will when the novelty of stoushing with the scum wears off. We can leave the supporters of the Non-Collingwood F.C. to their mutual masturbation and get back to how things were before.

There are two clubs in the A.F.L. Collingwood and Non-Collingwood. And it's pretty obvious to me that BigFooty.com is a fan site for the supporters of the Non-Collingwood Football Club. They can have it.





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**floreat pica**

[jeff#2001]

phew and phew again i didnt think sitting in front of a computer
could be this stressful.

What sort of thucken morons are they in there!!

im all weirded out, my god some one give me a valium!!

And who is that sandie bitch.

Well im home now (in nicks) to chill for a while with my fabulous
collingwood family.
oh my god i am wrecked!!!

[Broadie]

Been out of action (more like "in the baby action" instead) for a few days.

Rapt to see the title of this thread and read your post Mike.

My money was put where my mouth is a few days after magpies.net was announced. I know many others here have also joined.

If you haven't, then GET CRACKIN'.

My new magpies.net address is already creating interest among friends. Sorry, Mike, they're not pie fans - just want to know why they can't get one for their club.

Again, you're a man ahead of your time (and you live in Tasmania - go figure!)

------------------
Broadie

[MAGPIE MANIAC]

HEY MIKE, You really freaked me out about closing this site! Admittedly i don't spend as much time on this as I would like to because of Work Commitments involving Interstate travel but the first thing I do when I get home and turn on this computer is check out this site! I know that when something is new someone will have posted it on here so I don't bother looking at any other sites first - I just come straight on here! I would like to say that you have done an admirable job and am keeping my fingers crossed that you will be able to continue on with it after January next year. I'll be sending money when I join up and get time to work out what Magpie Mail is all about - hopefully tomorrow! Gotta rush off again!! Thanks and I have faith that Nick's Magpies will never die!!!

[Mike]

We were a bit freaked ourselves MM. We're going to do our very best to keep it up and running, thanks for the support - we really do need it.

Magpiera. Bluey didn't piss me off. He saw an opportunity and tried to make the most of it and I can understand that. The extra traffic Big Footy has had over the last week or so has pushed them up 3 places on the rankings, so he'll be happy with that. I think they run sponsorshi[p and advertising to finance the site, so traffic figures will be very important to them. Just don't give them too much traffic, they're a bit big for their boots already.

Bluey's style of moderation is different to mine. He really needs to be totally unbiased when it comes to moderation, because he is not aligned to any one club. The fact that he deleted Spidergirl's post which did nothing more than announce her arrival was very suspicious. He also seems to allow abuse on the forum as long as it doesn't come from somebody from here.

Hopefully I'm a little more impartial than that - I try to be anyway. Although I most admit, I'm not even slightly impartial when it comes to supporters of other clubs, but then this is a club bb so I'm not expected to be.

We dropped 1 place on the rankings to 16 this week, but we're still ahead of the Melbourne, Sydney, Geelong, West Coast, Port Adelaide and Freemantle official sites and are the highest placed unofficial site in the country next to Big Footy.