Message posted by Joerg (Webmaster) on February 28, 2019 at 9:43:59 PST:
For almost 20 years I have offered Dreamland Resort as a free service to everyone interested in Area 51. The only way to generate a little income was serving ads. As many other free web sites too, we are now facing the fact that ads pay next to nothing any more. Ad revenue is down from $400 a month to $5 a month. Yes, five dollars a month! I have let this go for as long as I could, but at this point I need to make some decisions. I continue to invest a lot of time and money in keeping DLR online, answering emails, bringing you the latest news about Area 51, TTR, Black Projects, Nellis and Red Flag exercises, maintaining the site, moderating the forum etc. I very much appreciate the donations from those who support us, but unfortunately they are few and far in between. I need to look at options, and I want your input on that. The no action alternative is cost prohibitive. I really don't want to shut down DLR. I want to get rid of all banner and pop-under ads. I am not interested in any "sponsors", companies or organizations. One option would be to do away with all ads and make DLR, or parts of it, a subscription based service. Frankly, the logistics of implementing that are significant and I really don't like the idea of excluding some readers from content. Another option, which has not worked very well for other sites, is to set a monthly goal for donations and shut the site down for a month if the goal is not met. Or I can simply remove all ads and appeal to all of you who enjoy and use DLR every day for your continued support. I need to raise at least $200 a month. We get about 500 hits per day, or 15,000 hits a month. If only 40 readers can donate $5 per month we are there. Folks, that is one beer at your local bar... Not sure if GoFundMe has an option for ongoing projects, but that may be a way to make it transparent. What do you all think? Any other options? Thank you all for almost 20 years of support.
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