Our Website Subscription - Survey

Hello Classmates! 

I received a reminder from Class Creator today that our 10 year subscription for their website framework will expire on 10/25.  We are faced with 2 choices.  We can do nothing and the website and all the posts we have made will remain, but it will have advertising that will look like this:  

 

Or, we can pay for a new 10 year membership and the site will look the same as it always has. 

I contacted Class Creator about this because the class is not using the site as much as it once did.  They agreed to give us the ad free version at half of the usual price.  The cost for 10 years is normally $825.  Our cost would be $412.50.  It's also about $25 a year for our domain name (the price increases every couple of years)  Without the domaine name, to log on, you would need to remember or bookmark an address like this:  https://www.classcreator.com/Battle-Creek-Michigan-Battle-Creek-Central-1967/class_index.cfm  I'm willing to personally pay for the domaine name but if we raise more than needed for the website, I would use extra funds to pay for our domaine name.  We currently have 253 members in the group, of which about 100 regularly use the page so a donation of around $10 each (understanding many won't donate) should be enough to keep us ad free for 10 more years.   

My opinion?  Ads can be tricky.  They are sometimes designed to look like part of the site.  Members may find themselves answering questions to an advertiser they didn't intend to communicate with.  I'll keep maintaining the site no matter which option we pick but there's one other downside.  The free version eliminates all website support from Class Creator, so from my perspective as the admin., the free version could be a little more difficult.  

Members can decide!  Please answer the survey located at the top left side of our home page. Classmates will not be able to see WHO answered or what their answer was. Once we have results, I'll post the actual minimum dollar amount we would need to keep the website free based on the number of people that respond.  No one will be required/personally asked to donate.  The choice to donate is totally up to you!  Classmates will not be be able to see WHO donated. 

Ruth Music

Your Website Administrator