Welcome Needles & Grooves Members!
We felt it was important to take the time to let the members know not only what we’re working on, but what our expectations are going forward.
Staff
So, who’s running this joint? You can see who the admins are on the membership page, we just wanted to let everyone know that the “fellowship” that came together to create this are all on equal footing. There is no single owner, boss, leader, etc. We’ve been making decisions based on input from the forum members and collectively making informed decisions from there.
Forum Finances
Now, let’s talk about how the site is going to sustain itself.
Originally, the GoFundMe donations were going to a longer-term hosting plan to get a discount on the price. After much deliberation, we opted for a 2-year option instead. While our hopes are that the site goes on forever, the reality of it is we were looking at an unproven idea. Thankfully, our uncertainty was eased in less than 24 hours when we exceeded our initial goal of $1,000. To date, we’ve received $3,455 of which, $1,085 has gone to hosting/domain, certificates, web storage, and licensing. We’re currently looking at all feedback and feature requests and how these play into the financials long-term. In order to have any long term sustainability, some forms of revenue will be necessary to keep the site going. We’re looking at a few options which include things like a Patreon with tiers tied to merchandise. We don't need to rush things though because thanks to your initial generosity, the site's short term future is already financially secure.
The sole purpose for any and all revenue and/or donations is to go back into the site in some capacity, plain and simple.
The Community
While this is a crowd funded forum, we still need to have some rules and expectations in place. Our main goal is to keep this place feeling like a community. Being respectful to others is the only way to maintain that. Through our similarities, and our differences, we will be a community where people feel comfortable and welcomed.
Bugs & Fixes
We’re still working on fixing the bugs, tweaking the layout, expanding storage space, and making sure this feels like home. It’s an ongoing project and we’re still relying on your support in bringing up any suggestions/comments/concerns. Do not hesitate to reach out to us via direct messaging on the Forum, tagging an admin/moderator, or e-mailing into info@needlesandgrooves.com. We also recommend leaving the “Receive News and Updates” e-mails enabled in your preferences to ensure that you receive a notification when we send out important updates through the site system and will include a link to the post with more information.
And Finally...
I know we’ve said this already, but it’s worth saying again, THANK YOU so much for the GoFundMe support, it’s still unbelievable how many of you gave in order to keep this community alive and it was just an incredible display of how close this community is. We know this is a lot of information to digest, we just wanted to take the time to at least give everyone an idea of what’s going on and what to expect. Community is a big word, but it’s the reason we’re all here. With that said, enjoy the new forum, share your passion with your fellow members and keep those turntables spinning.
We felt it was important to take the time to let the members know not only what we’re working on, but what our expectations are going forward.
Staff
So, who’s running this joint? You can see who the admins are on the membership page, we just wanted to let everyone know that the “fellowship” that came together to create this are all on equal footing. There is no single owner, boss, leader, etc. We’ve been making decisions based on input from the forum members and collectively making informed decisions from there.
Forum Finances
Now, let’s talk about how the site is going to sustain itself.
Originally, the GoFundMe donations were going to a longer-term hosting plan to get a discount on the price. After much deliberation, we opted for a 2-year option instead. While our hopes are that the site goes on forever, the reality of it is we were looking at an unproven idea. Thankfully, our uncertainty was eased in less than 24 hours when we exceeded our initial goal of $1,000. To date, we’ve received $3,455 of which, $1,085 has gone to hosting/domain, certificates, web storage, and licensing. We’re currently looking at all feedback and feature requests and how these play into the financials long-term. In order to have any long term sustainability, some forms of revenue will be necessary to keep the site going. We’re looking at a few options which include things like a Patreon with tiers tied to merchandise. We don't need to rush things though because thanks to your initial generosity, the site's short term future is already financially secure.
The sole purpose for any and all revenue and/or donations is to go back into the site in some capacity, plain and simple.
The Community
While this is a crowd funded forum, we still need to have some rules and expectations in place. Our main goal is to keep this place feeling like a community. Being respectful to others is the only way to maintain that. Through our similarities, and our differences, we will be a community where people feel comfortable and welcomed.
What Needles & Grooves is:
- A forum for all music lovers to meet and discuss music, gear, and life with people of similar interests
- A welcoming place for people at all levels of music and vinyl knowledge, and any budget
- Respectful of other members--our similarities and our differences
What Needles & Grooves is not:
- Anti-another company or forum.
- A dating site. We don't wish to stand in the way of love, but all men, women, and people outside of the binary deserve to participate here without being hit on or propositioned.
- An advertising arm for any company or corporation.
- A place where hate speech is tolerated
Bugs & Fixes
We’re still working on fixing the bugs, tweaking the layout, expanding storage space, and making sure this feels like home. It’s an ongoing project and we’re still relying on your support in bringing up any suggestions/comments/concerns. Do not hesitate to reach out to us via direct messaging on the Forum, tagging an admin/moderator, or e-mailing into info@needlesandgrooves.com. We also recommend leaving the “Receive News and Updates” e-mails enabled in your preferences to ensure that you receive a notification when we send out important updates through the site system and will include a link to the post with more information.
And Finally...
I know we’ve said this already, but it’s worth saying again, THANK YOU so much for the GoFundMe support, it’s still unbelievable how many of you gave in order to keep this community alive and it was just an incredible display of how close this community is. We know this is a lot of information to digest, we just wanted to take the time to at least give everyone an idea of what’s going on and what to expect. Community is a big word, but it’s the reason we’re all here. With that said, enjoy the new forum, share your passion with your fellow members and keep those turntables spinning.