T3 new web/list proposal! (long)

[Greg Merritt <gregm@umich.edu>]

Dear friends,

	I have prepared a proposal for a new integrated Type III web home &
email list.  This means $$$.  Due to our large numbers I am confident that
we can make this fly, and we will all benefit; read on.

	I have extensively searched web presence providers and what they
offer.  Offerings vary widely; a provider that is generous in one area is
often limited in another.  I have found
http://www.alabanza.com/hosting.html to offer a very competitive package
that could serve us well.  (I have no affiliation with Alabanza.)  Key
areas that I looked at include:

	o unlimited hits;
	o generous storage space;
	o unlimited perl cgi support;
	o Unix environment;
	o server side includes;
	o majordomo (or similar) mailing list software;
	o anonymous ftp;
	o reasonable $$$ rates for growth;
	o free technical support; and
	o an honest-to-goodness fast connection to the 'net

I also looked for a *direct* provider, not a reseller.

	After much deliberation, it seems best to shoot for our own domain
name; possible choices that are still available include www.typethree.com
and www.vwtype3.com.  Besides simply having a short name for the web pages,
such a full-service provider would enable us to:

	o move the mailing list to a majordomo listserver, which will allow
	  people to subscribe/unsubscribe automatically, subscribe in
	  digest mode (one big message per day), search archives, etc.
	o integrate the mailing list & web site (recent posts on the web)
	  (free scripts: http://www.oac.uci.edu/indiv/ehood/mhonarc.html)
	o create a searchable "best of type-3" archive of threads from
	  the list
	o maintain free-to-use Type III only classifieds
	o maintain free-to-use Type III registry (add your own entries, etc.)
	o search the web site
	o create e-mail autoresponders (to deliver FAQs, etc. automatically
	  via e-mail)
	o anonymously ftp files for sharing of pictures, adding to scrapbook,
	  etc.
	o host Type III "chat" rooms

	I have the skills to do all of these things, including working with
perl cgi scripts.  Indeed, I have implemented some similar capabilities on
the web site I created for my employer:  http://www.glca.org .

	We will also have the capability for folks to have
honest-to-goodness POP email boxes at the new domain name (like
toby@vwtype3.com), and people can have their own sub-directories with
telnet & ftp access for their own web pages (like
http://www.vwtype3.com/toby )!  Definitely cool, eh?  (Note that you would
need your own dial-up or direct internet connection.)

	To support the whole nine yards, we can use a combination of "pure"
donations (if necessary) and yearly "subscriptions" (perhaps donation
premiums???) for e-mail accounts.  Note that in this scenario *nobody*
would be prevented from participating in the e-mail list or scrapbook or
classifieds, etc., even if they never contributed a penny.  Read on.
First, the costs:


**web site alone:

     first year:  $400 + $60(setup) + $100(internic, 2yrs.) = $560
     second year: $400
     thereafter:  $400 + $50(internic) = $450/year

**email list:

     $20-$35/month or $240-$420/year; reasonable estimate of $360/year
     (This fee is based on traffic; $5/month per 50,000 messages.  A digest
counts as only one message, so this will reduce apparent traffic.  We're
currently at 250 subscribers and roughly 25-50 messages per day.  250people
* 40messages * 30days = 300,000 messages/month, for example.)

**web + e-mail list, total cost estimate by year:

     first year:  $920
     second year: $760
     thereafter:  $810


	Now!  Where does the money come from?  A number of you are willing
to just make a straight contribution; great!  Note that with the purchase
of this package, 30 honest-to-goodness POP email boxes are provided with an
address like yourname@vwtype3.com.  After the first thirty, the cost for
each additional mailbox is $5/month, or $60/year.

	I propose that we "sell" these addresses on a yearly basis for the
$60/year cost.  Remember, the first thirty are included with the web fees,
so the contributions from the first thirty people who pitch in $60 or more
go directly to covering all of the costs.  If more than thirty want email
addresses, then $60/year will cover the increased cost directly.  Here are
the numbers:

**yearly revenue examples (first 30 email boxes are included with the site):

     10 email accounts:  $  600/year
     14 email accounts:  $  840/year (where we want to be on average)
     20 email accounts:  $1,200/year
     30 email accounts:  $1,800/year
     over 30:            $1,800/year (does not increase above this point)

	If this is only slightly popular, we'll just scrape by.  If these
email boxes are very popular, we will actually have a surplus.  If it's a
modest surplus, we'll just reserve it for lean times; if it's large, we can
offer cheaper rates/longer renewal periods for the email addresses (or
something similar).

	(For those of you unfamiliar with the lingo, having a POP email
address will allow you to use a program like Eudora or Pegasus Mail or pine
or Netscape Mail to read all of your Type III email in a "separate" place
-- and have a *very* cool address.:)

	I mentioned above that people could have their own web pages at
addresses like http://www.vwtype3.com/toby with telnet & ftp access.  Each
account like this has a direct cost of $5/month ($60/year) from the
provider, and the indirect cost of increased disk usage.  If we "sell"
these for $65/year, that will pay for the direct costs and allow for about
2MB of disk space per person--plus a couple of bucks extra toward the
web/list fees.  This can give everybody direct access to their scrapbook
pages, a very cool address for their car/personal pages, and let people go
nuts with being webmaster of their own directory in a Unix environment.
Adult/pornographic material is not allowed.

	I propose that people who are interested in contributing outright
or "buying" an email address at $60/year speak up so that I can measure the
level of interest.  ***Please send a message*** to me via:

	type-3-pledge@umich.edu

if you would like to participate, and indicate your level of support (one
email address for $60 or more, or a direct contribution).  Rest assured
that *not* contributing money will not exclude you from email list or web
access!  I appreciate that each of us has different capacities for
contributing.  Note that *any* amount helps.  I'm in for $60 & an email
address, personally.  :)

	On the reporting side, complete budgetary records will be made
available on the web site and maintained by my wife (who does this kind of
stuff professionally).  When we reach (in pledges) the kick-off amount for
the first year, US$920, I will ask for folks to send in contributions
($$$).  Kirsten can manage these as well, and we will do it via a checking
account dedicated to this endeavor.  We can work out the logistics after
we've reached our pledge goal; for folks outside of the U.S., it will
probably make the most sense to send U.S. traveller's cheques.

	If the support level isn't high enough, we won't go forward at all.
If it's strong at first but fizzles after a year or two, we can easily fold
the whole operation & refund outstanding contributions that were targeted
for the upcoming year.  Easy come, easy go.

	I think we can turn this email list & the Type III site into so
much more by linking them and making each a great deal more sophisticated.
(I will also save lots of time, since I won't have to maintain the list "by
hand".)  Let me know what you think.

	O.k.--we're off to go to the library in a Type III.  Shall we take
the '69 or the '71? :)

-Greg
'69 & '71 Squarebacks
'63 Beetle