With the code progressing nicely and the new updates nearing completion, I wanted to give everyone interested a head start.

For now, we will be accepting CHECKS and MONEY ORDERS ONLY from those who are interested in becoming "Members/Contributors" to AR15.Com.

Here's the deal.

1) Read the Terms! (Sorry I had to do this to protect everyone legally, basically all the normal rules apply to you, thus your account can be suspended for posting improper pictures, information, or racial slurs.) They can be found here: [url]www.ar15.com/help/terms.html[/url]

2) Any questions of comments can be sent to me through the following email address: [email protected]

3) Accounts will be upgraded as soon as payments are received. (Code should be all set for this current installment, as it is for the upgrade. There will be limits to tools at this time which I will mention below!)

4) At this time we'll be collecting it in a yearly fashion, meaning we need a check for $60. As time permits I will be coding a more advanced billing and tracking system to allow 2-3 payments per year to break things down for people. Remember, this is [b]NOT MANDATORY[/b] for all users, just for those who wish to contribute to the site.

5) At this time your "clock" will not start. Once all the tools are tested and accepted, we will make a notice so everyone knows which was month 1. This may be as short as a week or two, or as long as a month or two. (I think 3-4 weeks and everything should be rocking!)

6) Your memberships will be valid across all sites managed by AR15.Com LLC and any partners we may encounter. (This is for your benefit!) In the coming months, 50World will come back online and be the first site where your memberships will be accepted. (Although it's pretty obvious, 50World will focus on .50cal firearms.)

7) PayPal payments (or Credit Cards through PayPal!) will be accepted in a few weeks, once we have a little more time to deal with them.

8) Check, MO, or Cash can be given to me at the OHIO shoot for those who wish to do so in person.

9) CURRENT ABILITIES! At this time we will provide you with an EMAIL ADDRESS, UPGRADED ACCOUNT, SIGNATURE PICTURE, and ACCESS TO A MEMBER ONLY GD. (I do not see this as a needed thing anymore with the forums having calmed down, so if it's not used, we'll ditch it!)

10) Future Abilities! As soon as the test site goes live, which should be a matter of days, members will be able to access (to help test as well!) the rest of the features. Photo albums, articles, product reviews, etc will all come on line as content is filled and we will begin selection of Column writers! (Any cartoonists out there???)


==============================================

These features are just the beginning. I will accept suggestions and ideas for further tools and functions for members and for the general public. My goal is to make the site fully accessible to everyone for gathering information, while providing tools for members to make sharing easier and for helping their day to day activities. Please keep in mind I am one man, so I cannot do everything at once! [=)]

At this point, any new products which are allowed to bear the AR15.Com logo or name will be sold to members at a small discount as well. This will not be enforced on items currently being sold.

-- GB

PAYMENT INFO:
(Check made out to AR15.Com LLC)

[b]AR15.Com LLC
PO Box 522
Penfield, NY 14526[/b]

Please include your account/nick name!

As a small side-note, the signiture pics are not limited, and you can create and upload your own.

This is done through the profile tool and will become active once your account is upgraded.

-- GB

Yes please, pay pal as soon as you can

sgb

There's nothing in the rules about using PayPal for gun-related purchases.  They only do not list people that deal in firearms (or ammunition I believe) under their "PayPal Shops" section of the site.  All this section of the site is, is a list of sites that sell things and take PayPal as a form of payment.  Probably just protecting their own asses, and while a crappy thing to do, it does not specifically say in the rules that it "discriminates against gun sales."  I'm pretty sure on these points (from what I've read), and would gladly eat my words if anything I've said here is false.

-Gloftoe
(does NOT work for PayPal)

While your points are valid, wizard, I still stand by my statements.  You say that it "specifically states in the rules" that they discriminate against gun sales, which is false.  The ONLY thing that PayPal won't let you do, is list your website of your company that sells Firearms/Explosives on their PayPal Shops page.  NOwhere does it say you can't use PayPal to pay for firearms/ammunition/firearms accessories.  As I stated before, while that's a sh!itty thing to do, they don't specifically state in the rules that they discriminate against gun sales.  If anything, they "discriminate" against retailers by not letting them be listed in their shoddy PayPal Shops listing.

-Gloftoe

Like I said before, if PayPal is anti-gun, we will look elsewhere.

With this in mind, please let the discussion rest, of move it to the GD.

-- GB

Don't get me wrong, I agree 100% with you.

This discussion belongs in the GD though for more people to get involved.

And one last time, if they are anti-gun, don't expect us to do business with or through them, even if it costs us double to provide you with an alternative.

-- GB

As long as you don't try to solicit me for any illegal phone conversations!!! *wink wink*

I'll try to call from the office if I get a chance, otherwise I'll give you a ring when I get home.

-- GB

Well, I'm in.  I'll mail the check out Thursday. Then I'm leaving for a week in Margaritaville [:P]

Did that cigar light?

Waldo you are a beautful man!

Had to split the cigar with the bro (who smoked most of it the bastard! See Tim, blame him not me! I didnt see the cig for the last few hours of mayhem Saturday night during our Euchre Gaming!)

Next time I wont forget the stash and we'll enjoy one together!

-- GB

I definitely enjoyed the cigar!!!

I know GB did too, but he's right... somehow it ended up in my hands more than his... sorry...

Thanks Waldo!!!!!     [):)]

We tossed around numbers for a bit and had to take into consideration a number of issues...

In order to provide picture sharing space and capabilities, email tools and space, and so on, the price needed to reflect the growing costs of maintaining these. Not to mention the expansion into other areas will cause a big hit to be taken, but is something we all will enjoy. Imagine the simplicity of a one stop for all your gun information needs, discussions, deals, etc. One common interface to get used to, shared tools, huge database full of knowledge!!!

If we can keep the numbers and costs at mid levels I will be happy. If say we had 1000 members, the tools and resources would be at a risk immediately and in need of serious upgrading. With say 100-200 people its much more manageable!

Just some of my thoughts which went into the process!

-- GB

All the minor things like that are normal additions and will continue to be so. (Icons, graphics, etc) The new tools themselves do not effect the system as they are outside of it. What people want is a fast forums, an easy way to get information, and an easy way to share information. All this other stuff was planned before with that in mind.

The funds are not going towards (well maybe partly if growth kicks in) equipment to support these new features. The goal here to be able to give back to those who were willing to help out. I'm not stopping anyone from kicking up $10-$20 to help out, but how many of those people are here right now saying, I don't want to pay the $60 for the membership, but I will contribute $20 if it's ok with you guys??? By providing a few services it makes it more attractive to you guys to get something out of the deal, even if it's minimal, and at the same time makes me feel better for providing you with something useful even if it doesn't change the world.



The main goal of ANY and ALL funds we receive is to upgrade equipment and to get a new ISP where we can throw more BW at the site. (And closer to home!) The main problem here IS site traffic. When the evenings hit, the BW is sucked away and we all see small bottlenecks and lag associated with high traffic. The only solution for those times is more bandwidth to support more traffic.

As for the servers, yes we will need to upgrade them, we like to keep powerful and proven software running things, and let me tell you it doesn't come cheap. If we had our way and could buy machines that would keep the site running beautifully for a few years without a need to upgrade we'd be spending $15k/each on 2-3 servers for the site and another $8-10k on mail services. Then we would need to handle the traffic which would mean at LEAST a dual T1 for now, preferably a T3, which is another few thousand dollars a MONTH.

You just worry about having fun and sharing what you know, and you let me know when you are having a problem with the site. Let me worry about fixing things and making it the best experience you could ask for.

-- GB

I'd also like to ask you if you think the site isn't a "stable platform with decent performance" at this time? I've been busting my ass for weeks trying to make it so and have helped a number of people resolve a number of issues. Just curious.

For the time being I will be doing upgrades to accounts as soon as I get the opportunity .(Today for example!)

Due to the amount of work I had to get through this past weekend, I fell a bit behind and I apologize! (I've also been sick and still not feeling so hot... but back on the pc today!)

If you paid through paypal I got the list last night and you should be rocking by tonight.

]=)

-- GB

I've been bogged down with a number of issues including bringing content in here ASAP and upgrading memberships, etc.

I have been trying to sneak a few hours here and there to work on getting the necessary changes in place to begin launching other sites, but this is a serious effort and I need to transition some of the management efforts to others. (Which I'm working on!)

If need be I will take a few days off work (heehee great vacation to plan, isn't it?) to get things in order. Once the shared data pools are established and tested, I'll need to bring this site down for the data move, then be able to not only bring this site back up, but begin adding sites at will.

My other main concern is system resources which may not be accessible to us until we get our new ISP which has been delayed now until September. (AND that still requires testing of services and cost evaluation once the company is ready...)

My goal is to get a few more systems in place with the new ISP and make things fly!!!

-- GB

Hmm, think I took a .50 cal shot to this question, when a simple 9mm round would have done the trick.

]=)