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Back to Business; Help Support The NLSC

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I’m happy to report that the move to our new host was a success! The NLSC has actually been on its new server for a couple of weeks, but we did experience a couple of teething problems while we made sure everything was set up as before. However, everything should now be working: the main site, the Forum, the Downloads section, our upload facilities, and the Wiki. Thanks go out to the techs who helped us move everything over to our new home!

As I mentioned when I announced the move, we are now paying for our own hosting. Previously, we received dedicated hosting in exchange for advertising space, but such generous deals basically aren’t on offer these days. Because we are a non-profit website, we’re appealing to the community to help us pay for our hosting moving forward, to ensure that we can continue to provide all of the same facilities as before. This requires us to utilise dedicated hosting, rather than cheaper shared hosting, as the latter does not allow for those facilities.

We’re currently paying around $90 US per month for our dedicated hosting. If twenty people are willing to contribute $5 US per month, we’ll be able to completely cover the costs and keep doing what we’re doing for a long time to come. Should there be any funds left over, I’d like to put that money to use for monthly giveaways, and developing new content.

If you’re willing and able to contribute to the hosting fund, you may do so through Patreon or GoFundMe. A huge thank you to the individuals who have contributed so far; your support is greatly appreciated! If you don’t have the means to chip in, that’s quite alright; we hope that you’ll support us by continuing to visit the NLSC on a regular basis, and enjoying all of our features and content.

As previously mentioned, the NLSC will not be charging for downloads or any of our other content or facilities, nor putting anything behind a premium paywall. Because we’re a non-profit site, we just need a little help paying the bills, if we want to keep providing the community with file hosting facilities, a Forum, and everything else that we do here at the NLSC.

For more information on the move and the hosting fund, please check out the FAQ below. Thank you once again for your patience and understanding during the move. It took a little longer than I hoped, and we had to fix a few things up once we got to our new home, but it’s back to business as usual, and onward and upward from here on out!

NLSC Server Move & Hosting Fund FAQ

Why did you move?

Our previous host discontinued their hosting services as of July 7th, 2016. As such, we had to find new hosting, and move the site before that date. We did, and thus nothing was lost!

When was the move completed?

Everything was transferred over and running on the new server as of July 2nd, 2016. Over the course of the next week or so, we fixed up a few glitches that were occurring because a few things hadn’t been set up properly.

Was the NLSC offline during the move? Was anything lost?

Yes, there were some interruptions as the move took longer than expected. Because the Forum and Downloads section were offline, nothing was lost during the move. Our archives are intact, even news posts from the week of the move.

Why are you asking for donations?

We are asking the community to help us out in paying for the new hosting. Our previous hosting agreement gave us free hosting in exchange for advertising space. Deals like that just don’t exist these days, so we must now pay for hosting ourselves.

Why can’t you just pay for it yourselves?

For twenty years, the NLSC has been a non-profit website. We don’t have content behind a paywall, or fees for any facilities that we provide, which would normally cover things like hosting costs. We want to keep providing those facilities free of charge, but we need to explore avenues to cover the costs without being out of pocket. One of those avenues is crowdfunding/support.

Will you be charging for any content or facilities?

No! We will not be putting any of our content behind a paywall, charging for registrations or downloads, or anything like that. We want to keep doing what we’ve been doing with as little change or interruption as possible. We just need some help paying for the services that will allow us to do that.

So, nothing will change?

The only possible changes might be that we require users to register an account to download files, but that’s something that’s been considered even before this move. Either way, you would not have to pay to register an account, and you would not have to pay to download files. Our plan is to keep doing what we’re doing; we just have to move to new hosting, and pay for it ourselves.

How can I contribute?

You can support us with monthly contributions on Patreon, or you can make donations via GoFundMe.

What if I can’t afford to contribute (or contribute monthly)?

That’s OK! We’re hoping a few generous members of our community can help us out, but we don’t expect everyone to dig deep and donate. We hope you’ll keep supporting us by simply continuing to visit the site and enjoy your time here.

Similarly, if a once-off donation is all you can afford, we still very much appreciate that. Every little bit helps!

Why did you choose that amount for GoFundMe?

GoFundMe requires a goal amount to be entered. We’ve chosen an amount with a high ceiling, in the event that we can raise enough money to keep covering hosting costs for years to come, as we want to be around for a while yet.

Why is the GoFundMe amount in Australian Dollars?

The funding is being handled by NLSC Webmaster/Administrator Andrew Begley, who is located in Australia. More information on exchange rates can be found here.

Are there any rewards for backers?

We’re looking into offering some kind of rewards for community members who generously donate to help with our hosting costs. At present, we’re intending to give backers who have registered Forum accounts a badge, the ability to change their username colour, and the ability to set a custom title (if they haven’t already qualified for it). We’ll also be looking at other ways to show our appreciation, which we’ll reveal once they can be arranged, as well as explore the possibility of early access, special content, etc, for different tiers of patrons on Patreon.

I don’t like that you’re doing this. I’m not going to support the NLSC anymore.

We’re sorry to hear that. We understand the controversy of asking for donations, but we also feel that we’ve been around a long time and supported the basketball video game community well, so it’s not out of bounds to ask the community for some support in return; especially as it’s being done in order to pay for services that will benefit the community. This is the first time we’re asking for donations in the twenty years we’ve been around, and it’s not a decision that we made lightly. If you still feel that we’re acting inappropriately despite all that, then that’s your call to make. We certainly hope that most people will understand.

Can I make a donation to you directly, eg. via PayPal?

Yes, if you would prefer. You can do so via this link. Thank you for your support!

Something isn’t working properly after the move.

Please let Andrew know if you encounter any difficulties or errors. We believe everything should be working fine now, but if there’s something we missed, just point it out so that it can be fixed ASAP.

I have other questions or concerns about the move/situation.

Please let us know, and we’ll answer them as best we can.

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