~e; query regarding ~e.org development

[brian carroll <human@electronetwork.org>]

  hello ~e-listers. i am contemplating, due to my personal
  circusmstances, how to proceed with the ~e.org project,
  and how to finance the project and its development, prior
  to finding grants, which may or may not happen, and will
  take some time. thus, in the middle-zone, i need to ask
  for consul from fellow listmembers.

  the goal of the project is to raise public (human) awareness
  of electromagnetic culture via multidisciplinary perspectives.
  the site which is currently up is basically a prototype which
  did not take off for many reasons, including my skill set in
  building it out. for example, there is a database, a links-
  directory, and banner advertisements (non-commercial, for
  idea-commerce of EM projects) which all use a somewhat clunky
  CGI program/script, all separated, and unstable on the back-
  end in that they break (probably my fault, too, as it is hard
  to keep all the passwords and everything up to date, and some-
  times an error can erase things, etc). thus, it may work as
  it was intended, as a prototype, but for it to work, and be
  automated, as i had hoped, so it needs little maintenance
  and people can add content directly, will require more up-
  to-date web technology, such as PHP scripting and mySQL data-
  base access. things could then become automated and ~e.org
  could start breathing some life into it as the resource it
  is intended and hoped to become.

  to do this takes time, energy, skills, and importantly, money.
  and, to be honest, i am broke. having to sell my goods and try
  to get money for a computer to work with, so as to continue.

  the consul i seek is this: ethically, and legally, would it
  be possible for others to help in a minimal way to spread out
  some of the expenses for hosting the domain, so that things
  can keep moving forward, and if so, how can this be done in
  a way that is legal. i ask because i am not sure if asking
  for others to help share the bill for hosting fees while
  times are tough is okay, such as creating a paypal account
  for the project which would go directly to the web hosting
  company for the cost of their monthly services, and even
  development costs of the new site, if possible. in the most
  minimal sense.

  for example, is it illegal to set up a one-time payment
  account online, where others could chip-in 10.00US to help
  pay for some of the hosting fees, say, bringing in 100.00US,
  thus, bringing the cost down so i can work on it more. it
  concerns me for two reaons: one, taxes, as this is not a
  business nor non-profit (yet, but hoped to be someday), and
  secondly, the monies would be in an account online, which
  would be capped (limited donation and funds to cover only
  costs, not anymore money than is needed. just to pay bills
  for keeping the site online). if anyone has legal experience
  or any common sense advice it would be helpful. as times are
  tough and i could be quiet about it, but then the larger
  project might not go ahead without some support from others
  to share in the project's initial development.

  one thing is certain, to me, is that i hope this project
  never makes any money, in that it is not the goal. and it
  sometimes feels as if anything to do with money and an
  individual is a scam, which it could likely be these days.
  in any case, this was just something being contemplated as
  a strategy for keeping the project alive, and saving for
  the equipment needed to continue working on the site.

  in any case, i appreciate any thoughts on these matters.
  and if they are inappropriate please inform me why this
  is so, as there is a complexity to such a request, that
  seems to have many issues regarding good business practices
  and whatnot, and i want to keep thins open and honest and
  make sure the project has integrity. at the same time, it
  has become necessary to ask for others help, so i am a bit
  confused as to how to proceed. thanks for input/output. bc

-- 
.. . . . .   .  ..  ..    . . . . ....  ..   ..  ... . . . . . . .
brian thomas carroll		the_electromagnetic_internetwork
electromagnetic researcher	matter, energy, and in-formation
human@electronetwork.org	http://www.electronetwork.org/

  the electronetwork-list
  electromagnetism / infrastructure / civilization
		http://www.electronetwork.org/