Chinook RV

I don't know exactly where this forum is hosted, or how much it costs, but as was just mentioned on the Yahoo! Chinook group, a bulletin board like this has to be hosted somewhere. Perhaps Manitou has a place to host it for free, I don't know.

However as was also pointed out, this can change, and then there is the potential for the forum to disappear. That would be a shame. So I just wanted to mention that another phpbb (bulletin board) forum that I belong to has a "Tip Jar" on the main page. This is completely optional, but if a member wants to, they can click on it and a drop down menu allows them to donate $5, $10 or etc. The only place the tip jar is officially mentioned is in the Classfieds forum, where it is just mentioned that if you run an ad for something big like an entire RV (ads are free to members for their personal rigs) and it sells as a result of the ad, you might consider donating. Very soft sell, and no-one knows whether you did donate or not.

It seems to work out. Every once in a while a happy member will post to say thanks to the moderator(s), and that they have put in a tip, does anyone else want to - so they get a few tips that way. And sometimes with small items or accessories for sale, the seller will mention that X% of the proceeds (minus shipping) will be donated to the forum. It seems to work well, and there is no pressure. Most people are really grateful there is someone willing to run/host the forum, and don't mind donating a little bit here and there (optionally).

I just thought I would mention this in case Manitou might like to implement it. I would really like to see this forum flourish, and would also like to know the data is "safe" (not to imply that it is not, just that it could disappear if it is not hosted somewhere, so I'd like to be sure that is made as easy/certain as possible!)

I was just about to post in the general section (couldn't decide if this should go here or there.. No biggie to me, so here it is).
I started this forum late one night after a false start with another hosting company (they didn't support phpbb natively). Originally I registered a domain name (for a year or 2 can't recall which at the moment) and a hosting plan for a month. I chose a month due to the previous false start I mentioned. Things are going well I think, so I started a backup plan and requested an invoice for a year of hosting. In my opinion, the cost is minor. Compared to my first real repair bill of the Chinookie (stole that from somewhere.. Makes me chuckle), it's down right cheap.
I won't ever ask for a membership fee, that much I know. I considered some google ads, but I hear they don't pay much anymore anyway (a web designer friend of mine had to "go back to real work" since google changed their policy and now he doesn't make nearly as much from them).
I do like your tip jar concept though. Maybe I'll look into how to run that feature after a few months. Would you mind messaging me that forum? (Or post up a reply here if you like.. Doesn't bother me either way really).
Long story short, nothing to worry about for a year. I think in 6 months we'll have a good idea if this site really gets useful. Ha.. I just thought of another section I might start.. A "trip log" of sorts. I'm planning a trip from Florida to Alaska (slowly). So, a place to post pictures of great stuff (and break downs? I'm hoping the big ones are done for a bit). Lol..Sorry for the tangent.
Thanks!

Thanks for posting back explaining a bit more. It's a friend of mine who set up the bb tip jar and he's out of town for a week, but I'll see him when he gets back. How about if I ask him about it and then PM you the info?

Good to know we're "safe" for awhile and can see how things develop. I hope others find the forum as useful and user friendly as I have. I like the idea of a sub-forum for trip logs/reports. Florida to Alaska certainly qualifies! On that subject, a couple of the categories seem overlapping/confusing to me. I mean, I know there will always be potential overlap, and it's not a big deal, but as long as we're talking about it -- would you be interested if I made a few notes and commented? Should I do it via PM?

Thanks again for starting this up and giving us a chance to make it a good place!