TheFactoryFiveForum.com support thread

[David Hodgkins]

I hate to ask, but...

As you all may or may not know, this site's bills are paid thanks to the supporting vendors.

The vendor prices have not changed from the "Introduction" pricing we set up in 2011, and the bottom line is vendor attrition, combined with a slow migration of vendors to the bronze level (not to mention those who choose not to support the forum but fly under the radar via PM or just post about cars built for customers anyway) is now leaving me short to pay some bills.

So, reluctantly, I'm asking for a little help from the membership.

I've had a Subscription page set up for some time now that allows you to donate to the forum through PayPal. We have never really asked for donations before, so this is a first: Would you consider contributing?

I guess this is where I sell you on the benefits of the forum, but really, that's not necessary is it?

Current direct needs are $$ for keeping the lights on and paying back a promised trip sponsorship to FFR for a past Fedderson Award winner.

All contributors get an Icon added above their avatar and access to a Subscribing Member Forum.

Thanks for your consideration,

Forum Supporting Membership Page (http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/payments.php)

:)

[RoadRacer]

More than worth it, couldn't do this without you keeping the lights on over there!

[Sigurd]

Done, payment sent!

[lewma]

Done. Payment sent. I'll be practically living on this forum while I figure out how to build a MK4.

[aquillen]

Subscribed - pulled my money's worth out of this forum multiple times over.

[FFinisher]

Done Dave,

Thank you for all you do.

[wallace18]

Done deal. Glad to help.

[jwsnake56]

More than glad to help! This forum has given me so much support on my build, that I'm glad to give a little back. I can't imagine if this went away.

[erlihemi]

I second the motion to keep the lights on!

[Jeff Kleiner]

Happy to continue. Stepped up from bronze to gold.

Jeff

[Papa]

Dave,

Done deal! Your stuck with me for life now.

Dave

[progmgr1]

I (finally) joined up tonight. The benefits of membership far outweigh the cost.

Also, it was great meeting you at GNRS last Saturday! Thanks for all your work holding this forum together and keeping out the riffraff.

Keith

[42Bfast]

Done! I'm less than a month into my build and have already received more benefits than the cost.
Thanks for the great work David, keeping the forum efficient and fun!

[Fabb]

Agreed, too valuable to not pitch in!

Thanks for all you do.

[slpro1207]

Done. And thank you for all your hard work David.

[KDubU]

In like Flynn. Worth the dollars and you do great work David.

[japollon]

I'm in. Thanks for everything. Joel

[edwardb]

Jumped on board.

[bobl]

I'm in.

[Al_C]

I'm in!

[wirenut]

Done. Money well spent!

[mcwho]

Done, glad to chip in !

[carlewms]

Done ... Thanks David for all you do to keep this thing running smoothly.

[Papa]

In the spirit of helping, I think we should be inviting any vendors we've been impressed with to become supporting vendors on the forum. I've already invited one and he's considering it.

Dave

[cfriedman67]

Done. Thank you for the forum. For me the car is hard enough to build on its own. Without the help I get here I would be even more con fused.

[Paul2STL]

I'm in... Thanks Dave for all the work you do on the forum. And thanks to all the members who have shared so much information about build our dream cars.

[Mark Eaton]

I'm in, payment sent.

[John Tongish]

Thanks Dave for making the forum function. I am only too happy to lend my support.

[2bking]

Happy to help, Just signed up

[RR20AC]

David, Thanks for running this forum, Jim

[BTHWarrior]

Payment sent, well worth it too! Great forum with a great bunch of guys associated with it.

[rrrose]

Payment sent. This is a great community, resource for a complex undertaking and its a lot of work to keep it running as smoothly as you do David. Many thanks.

[boBQuincy]

Per hour of time spent on the forum it's pretty inexpensive! :)

[NetWRX]

I've been lurking here for over a year. Glad I can finally give something back. Thanks to everyone who contributes!

[Szatan5721]

Payment sent. Well worth it

[carlewms]

David,

How is the fund raising going?

Is there a target?

Thanks,

Carl

[David Hodgkins]

David,

How is the fund raising going?

Is there a target?

Thanks,

Carl

Well, I am humbled at the response. Thanks to all for helping out. I've receive some support via PM too so thank you to those folks as well.

The funding goal has been reached! Your help has allowed me to catch up on bills, put away funds for future bills and give support to folks who help out the community. So thank you again.

:)

[Straversi]

I'm in. Took a few attempts before my Paypal would cooperate.

Happy to support the group that makes spending money feel like a moral obligation.

Thanks Dave for the continued hard work.
-Steve

[FLPBFoot]

Dave,

Happy to support. Being new to this all I know this is a gold mine of information and great resources. Well worth every $$.

Thank you for keeping this up and running.

Steve

[mikeinatlanta]

Dave, you know I support your efforts but this brings back memories. This forum serves Factory Five as well as members. Can't get over the past so have two concerns.

Can we get clarification of Factory Five's financial interest in forum ownership?
Written guarantee that should the forum ever be sold for profit, lifetime supporting members would receive a refund of membership fees.

[David Hodgkins]

Dave, you know I support your efforts but this brings back memories. This forum serves Factory Five as well as members. Can't get over the past so have two concerns.

Can we get clarification of Factory Five's financial interest in forum ownership?
Written guarantee that should the forum ever be sold for profit, lifetime supporting members would receive a refund of membership fees.

Mike,

The forum was built for the sole purpose to serve the FFR community of builders and to protect the cottage industry of small companies that have sprouted up over the years surrounding FFR. To insure that, Dave Smith maintains majority ownership but I run the forum, and maintain editorial and "policing" control. Meaning DS has chosen not to have a say in editing membership rights or content. This is done so that the community maintains independence, but has backing that insures stability. I can't imagine a scenario where DS sells the forum.

That said, there are no guarantees, and I'm certainly not going to give one now, written or otherwise. But I will say that for MEMBERS who have CHOSEN to donate, know that these funds are being used exclusively for expenses and helping out folks (not me) that help the forum and/or the forum community. However, the fact is that we're not running a non-profit, and maintain the right to do as we please with forum funds. The forum is free to it's members, and supporting vendors keep the lights on. Could we use more vendors? Yes! If you know any, send them my way!

The bottom line is I was running tight this month and decided to go to the membership for help instead of DS or raising Supporting Vendor prices. It's not something I'm doing to pad my pockets - which, I might add, I have every right to do - and is already causing push-back, as evidenced by your post. But I'll take it, because the bills are paid, a promised debt to a Fedderson award winner has been paid, the vendors pay the lowest prices for advertising ANYWHERE, and a moderator tight on funds - again, not me - is getting covered to come to the HB show.

For anyone still contemplating donating, thank you in advance. I'd like to have the forum sponsor more stuff like HB and the Fedderson Award, but we need your help to do that!

:)

[42Bfast]

Works for me!
No one is twisting my arm to be here. I'm here for the education, the car, and connection to community. So, for me, can't speak for anyone else, but the cost is well worth the benefits.

I am a retired Financial Controller, but you don't need that background to know it takes money and effort for any club, group, or business to survive. David provides the effort, I happy to help provide some funding to keep this forum viable, and absent the scammers and the disruptive forces that is so prevalent in most other public venues.

But that's just me. Each of us must decide for ourselves if this forum is worth our time, and upon occasion, money.

No offense to anyone intended, all of us play a role in keeping this going, and that does include asking tough questions, if one feels concerned.

Jumping off my self-assigned soapbox now. �� Sorry if I got dangerously close to a rant there. I think I need to go work on my car, must be suffering from withdrawal, ... haven't worked on it today. ��

.

[BN]

Payment send

[mikeinatlanta]

Mike,

The forum was built for the sole purpose to serve the FFR community of builders and to protect the cottage industry of small companies that have sprouted up over the years surrounding FFR. To insure that, Dave Smith maintains majority ownership but I run the forum, and maintain editorial and "policing" control. Meaning DS has chosen not to have a say in editing membership rights or content. This is done so that the community maintains independence, but has backing that insures stability. I can't imagine a scenario where DS sells the forum.

That said, there are no guarantees, and I'm certainly not going to give one now, written or otherwise. But I will say that for MEMBERS who have CHOSEN to donate, know that these funds are being used exclusively for expenses and helping out folks (not me) that help the forum and/or the forum community. However, the fact is that we're not running a non-profit, and maintain the right to do as we please with forum funds. The forum is free to it's members, and supporting vendors keep the lights on. Could we use more vendors? Yes! If you know any, send them my way!

The bottom line is I was running tight this month and decided to go to the membership for help instead of DS or raising Supporting Vendor prices. It's not something I'm doing to pad my pockets - which, I might add, I have every right to do - and is already causing push-back, as evidenced by your post. But I'll take it, because the bills are paid, a promised debt to a Fedderson award winner has been paid, the vendors pay the lowest prices for advertising ANYWHERE, and a moderator tight on funds - again, not me - is getting covered to come to the HB show.

For anyone still contemplating donating, thank you in advance. I'd like to have the forum sponsor more stuff like HB and the Fedderson Award, but we need your help to do that!

:)

I hope you know that in no way is your integrity being questioned. Your actions are appreciated by many including myself. You know the history so I'm certain you understand the concern.

[David Hodgkins]

I hope you know that in no way is your integrity being questioned. Your actions are appreciated by many including myself. You know the history so I'm certain you understand the concern.

Absolutely. A lot of folks feel ripped of due to that situation. I get it.

:)

[Itchief]

I’m in

Rick

[Jazzman]

I have received far more than this small contribution! I have received education, encouragement, laughter, tears, and most of all, Friendship. David, you were one of the first to welcome me to this forum. You and so many others never laughed at my dream of building my own dream car! (Even with my obvious limitations!!) I am so very grateful for all you do to keep this very special place operational. I am only too willing to become your next Silver Lifetime member. Blessings on you and your family!!

[robertjamesellis]

Happy to help. This has been a great resource!

[SerpantFL]

I'm in. In the short time I have been here, I have already gotten my money's worth.

[JimLev]

Payment sent. Thanks for keeping the forum up and running.

[ej95Cobra]

Just joined as a Lifetime member. This forum has been most helpful over the past 4 years as I researched the build, ordered the MK4 complete kit, and worked with my son over 2 1/2 years to finish. The advice, support and camaraderie is worth much more. Thank You TheFactoryFiveForum and everyone contributing to this forum.

[sbhunter]

That is some cheap advice! I’m in. I can’t imagine building this car without this help. Thank you for maintaining this site.

[Just puttering]

Just curious, if you set up to be a supporting member then want to upgrade to a higher level of support, do you have to just select the higher one or is there an upgrade option?

[David Hodgkins]

Just curious, if you set up to be a supporting member then want to upgrade to a higher level of support, do you have to just select the higher one or is there an upgrade option?

That kind of forum programming is above my pay grade currently but we can work out any upgrade via PM.

:)

EDIT: Thinking about it, I can set up more subscriptions to handle any upgrade. PM me if interested.

[mrpipes]

You're doing a great job with the forum, David. Happy to contribute. Thanks, Brian

[wareaglescott]

Late to the party but I am in. Thanks for keeping things going.

[ThickCobra]

Dave, much appreciated. I do not have pay pal, but I will make it work to move to gold level.

Jay

[DadofThree]

I'm signed up and a member now. I should have done it sooner. Love the Forum
Dave

[slshearer]

Thank you for all you do for all of us!

[David Hodgkins]

Thanks guys. As you may know by now, the forum is sponsoring HB11 (Factory Five HB Cruise-In 2018), THANKS TO YOUR SUPPORT!

I want to mention that we will be presenting the Robert Fedderson Award at HB this year and I'm looking for volunteers to help sponsor a flight out to HB for the winner. There is a specific "Subscription" for this, and donations will be capped at $1000.

Stay tuned for an announcement of that effort.

:)

[TheBabyBadger]

Dave, thanks for being cool right off the bat. I like being here and can't wait for this build to begin. Subscribed indefinitely! LOL.

Oh... to anyone who's MAY be on the fence about the money... if you've had ONE questions answered here... it's probably worth AT LEAST $5/month. C'mon. Happy to see everyone on board so quickly!

[David Hodgkins]

Thanks Brian!

:)

[oldguy668]

I'm in. I have no doubt that DH or DS would never be involved in a scam like the last one we endured. Unfortunately I don't post as much as I did (or should), but eventually I'll recover from my cancer surgery and get busy out here again. It's only been 20 months (19 months longer than I was told by the docs).

[David Hodgkins]

I'm in. I have no doubt that DH or DS would never be involved in a scam like the last one we endured. Unfortunately I don't post as much as I did (or should), but eventually I'll recover from my cancer surgery and get busy out here again. It's only been 20 months (19 months longer than I was told by the docs).

Joe, we're just so glad your HERE!! Keep on getting better my friend, we miss not having you around!

:)

[Garry Bopp]

David,

Better late than never, I guess, but I'm in! I've really enjoyed watch this forum grow and mature. Thanks for your hard work!

Garry

[nkw8181]

I added my support :)

[ronsdream]

Done. Very grateful for all the info the forum has to offer.

[AZPete]

David, it's good to see so many devoted members but I'm sure there are more who might see this thread.

[David Hodgkins]

Thanks Pete.

The truth is we wouldn't be having the HB Cruise-In without the help given so far. I never knew there were so many fees involved! Event permit. Business permit. Event Insurance. Fire. Police. Maintenance personnel. The list goes on!

Thanks again to those who have taken part, and thanks in advance to those who still plan to do so.

:)

[Chris @ Forma]

Dave,

We have only begun our second year in this community and it has been a fantastic experience. We have learned invaluable information from the forum and I might suggest that you either increase the price to be a sponsoring vendors, or create a platinum level or something else. I'm certainly up for spending a bit more.

Chris

[Jacob McCrea]

Alright, having finally been paid for some major projects, I am in.

[David Hodgkins]

THANK YOU Jacob!

:)

[TheBabyBadger]

Hey Dave - I was pretty sad when you guys removed my "supporting member" badge... then realized my paypal linked a card I had cancelled (fraud). I re-upped so you're all paid up and I'm anxiously RE-anticipating getting my badge back. :) Thanks!

[videodude]

Dave,

Just a few scheckles to help out. I've gotten far more from the forum than I can ever repay. Thanks goes to you, and everyone in the Factory Five Family.

Video

[DANW]

Dave
Sent a PayPal out for a Gold lifetime, great people and info on the forum..
Dan

[David Hodgkins]

Thanks guys!

:)

[FF6602]

David,

Just subscribed! As others have said, I can't imagine me building my Roadster without this forum to lean on and learn from! Keep up the good work!!

[JohnK]

Dave,

Thanks for everything you do. I can't imagine building my roadster without this forum as a resource. Just donated.

-John

[OnlyAndy]

Count me..... IN.

[David Hodgkins]

Hello all,

I wanted to note that when the support subscriptions first started, many non-lifetime options were NOT set to auto-renew due to a configuration error on my part.

If you signed up believing your subscription would auto-renew, and your avatar is missing the supporting member icon, it is because your subscription did not auto-renew.

We'd love for you to sign up again!

I've gone through the lists and updated the accounts of expired supporting members, and added the image to avatars recently joined.

Thank you to all who support the forum!

:)

[Saul S]

Just jumped on board with lifetime silver membership, time to give back.

Thanks Dave!

Saul

[David Hodgkins]

Thanks Saul! I’ll update your account before the end of the day.

:)

[RBachman]

Usually trying to open the page to the site is hit-and miss with "server not responding" errors more often than anything else. Even when I do get logged in, it frequently locks up. So I just signed up for Supporting Member thinking that would somehow improve access to this site. But now I get a pop-up page saying you've blocked my IP address when trying to post an image. This does not happen on any other website or forum I visit. It only happens with this forum and it happens with all 5 of our computers (Mac, Windows, HP, Dell, etc.), 2-tablets, our phones, etc. But never with any other site. What gives? Is there a setting somewhere that I need to change? I've deleted cookies, opened the firewalls, re-booted, etc. numerous times. What else do I try?

[Joe Campbell]

When I tried to open the site today, my antivirus (Trend Micro) halted it with a potential malicious warning, with a threat type of 'C&C Server' whatever that is, just for the admin's info.

[RBachman]

I still have a hard time trying to log on as well. It's literally 1 out of 10 to 15 attempts.

[Jammer369]

Usually trying to open the page to the site is hit-and miss with "server not responding" errors more often than anything else. Even when I do get logged in, it frequently locks up. So I just signed up for Supporting Member thinking that would somehow improve access to this site. But now I get a pop-up page saying you've blocked my IP address when trying to post an image. This does not happen on any other website or forum I visit. It only happens with this forum and it happens with all 5 of our computers (Mac, Windows, HP, Dell, etc.), 2-tablets, our phones, etc. But never with any other site. What gives? Is there a setting somewhere that I need to change? I've deleted cookies, opened the firewalls, re-booted, etc. numerous times. What else do I try?

Sorry I didn't see this before. The issue is almost certainly the cloud based firewall the hosting site is using to protect the site. I have had the exact same issue for the past year that I have been back on the forums getting ready for my order. I am a Cyber Security guy for my adult post USAF job and manage firewalls for a living. The particular company of firewalls they are using is called Sucuri. You can google "Sucuri blocking my ip address" and come up with a ton of posts stating the same thing. I contacted Sucuri and they confirmed they are blocking my ip address after I have been on for anything more than 20 minutes or so. The system is very sensitive and comes up with false positives that then automatically block you for 20-30 minutes. You can confirm this is the issue by switching to a hotspot on your phone which will use a different ip address and the site should let you back on right away.

A lot of people will tell you this is an issue with too much traffic and the site can't handle it. Not the case. Firewalls are designed to block IP addresses without warning the person trying to connect so they won't know why they can't connect. This is by design.

The way to get around this issue is to type in to a google search "What is my IP address". The search results will tell you what IP address your ISP has assigned to you. Now, unless you pay for what is called a static IP address, that address can change from time to time but in general, you should have the same address for up to a few months before it changes if it does change at all. You can then send a message to David Hodgkins and ask him to have the hosting site "whitelist" your ip address. If this works, great. If your ip address changes very often, you can call your ISP to see how much they would charge you to assign you a static IP address. Usually for a residential account, the fee is ~$10-$20/mo.

I just went through this process last night with David emailing me today that my IP address is whitelisted. For the first time in a year, I was now able to surf the site all night without interruption. It was awesome!!

Let me know if you have any questions otherwise just reach out to David.

Troy

[Jammer369]

Hi David,

Thanks for everything you do for this community. Just signed up for a silver annual this year. Will upgrade next year to the lifetime. I love this site, especially now that I can surf it obsessively without interruption :)

Troy