Charas possible troubles

[Alex]

Ok, i and X-F3R began this discussion going totally ot in a Cosmo's topic (sorry!).
So here i report our posts, we'll continue here.

*********************************
Alex, you are the owner of the site right? i have a heck loads of questions if you are...i mean... you do pay for this right? lol... just woke up... can't think straight... better drink some coffee...lol

argh! off for coffee...cya guys...oh yeah... keep em' resources comin...lol
X-F3R
*********************************

Yes, i am the owner.
What i pay for it is unexpected, as Charas success itself.
But it's another story.... Because unfortunatly servers and bandwidth are not for free, and i have absolutely nothing, for the material world.
I'm rich inside, thanks to me, thanks to you, thanks to all the world.
But soon i and you all will have to face how to solve this, over the spirit.
But, as i told, it's another story....

*********************************
***But soon i and you all will have to face how to solve this, over the spirit***
that sounded as if the site is gonna close... not yet, not ever... cuz this is the place where i learned how to Rm2K...lol anyways, i dun wanna put a lot into other people's minds so i'll just ask a few Qs:

well... first of all, is the fee fixed? or does is increase/decrease due to:
the amount of people who come here daily?
the amount of stuff you upload into the site?

and another is, do you host people? hehehehe. no, i'm not asking you to host me, if that's what you got in mind... i may be lucky, but not THAT lucky and hey, i hate wasting other people's money for my own pleasures/wants... why i ask this? lol... i always ask web masters this question... if i get in any contact with them

oh yeah... exactly... how much do you pay nowadays... calculate to $US pls...lol...sorry... and thanks..

anyways, better finish breakfast...lol
X-F3R
*********************************

well... first of all, is the fee fixed? or does is increase/decrease due to:
the amount of people who come here daily?
the amount of stuff you upload into the site?

No, the fee is not fix. It changes due to bandwith usage.
So uploaded things (disk space) is not a problem, what makes the differences is how many peoples download it.
So the correct answer is "the amount of people who come here daily".

and another is, do you host people?

Yes. But not on the charas machine.
I offer hosting-domain solution through hotdot.biz

oh yeah... exactly... how much do you pay nowadays... calculate to $US pls...lol...sorry... and thanks..

No secrets here...
We now generate more than 12.000.000 monthly hits, and 14-15 Gb of bandwith consumption.
Here you can see fees applyed by my provider. Our server is a "Large" one.
So, at the end, now we're around $195 only for bandwith, excluding hardware rental and other stuffs.

that sounded as if the site is gonna close...

NO, really hope not!
But we will have to find out how to make Charas paying itself, those fees begins to be a problem, for me....

Sorry for this "merchant" topic, but this is an open community.
I think it's right that everyone knows how it works, in every sense.

*********************************
wow man... what do you do for a living? (what's your occupation? other than a web master)

wait... you get more than 12 MILLION hits per month?

well... have you ever considered changing servers? i mean... no offence to those who own ombra.net... but some people just goes with the odds (like Karl Malone, he's in the LA Lakers now... he want's to taste NBA gold, i tell you that...)... so... if there was one that was cheaper and stuff... will you change?

X-F3R
*********************************

[Alex]

What i do?
The webmaser.
And want to know of what? Ombra.net!
Yes, i am into the society who owns ombra.net. And Charas is on the same machines.
But being in a society means that money you take is what the site itself produces, and right now it's not that much.
Less than 500$ per month, to be precise.
That's my income.
And i live alone, so you can easily understand why those $195 per month are huge.
Right now, is ombra itself who pays for us.
But it's not correct: and this is why i think Charas need to find a way to support itself.
Because we cannot ask Ombra to support us forever, just because it has the same source....

[X-F3R]

your income is through this? wow... 500 us right? if it is then... i could earn 3500 bucks for owning a site... lol but nah.. being a web master's not my stuff... i'm a web DESIGNER... i mentioned this a lot... in my xanga... to the people back in school... i mean... just check this out...
http://www.geocities.com/the_mad_game/
yes, that's my homepage...lol... anyways, back to the topic...

you earn money by being a web master? cuz 500 USD is about 3500 HKD...

wait... i got confused on the part where you went...

And want to know of what? Ombra.net!  Yes, i am into the society who owns ombra.net. And Charas is on the same machines....

does that mean that you ARE the OWNER of ombra.net? lol.. i am really stupid nowadays... so many stuff happening...

hehehe... sorry for asking crap loads of questions... but i am a curious person...

X-F3R

[Alex]

Exactly. I am one of the owners of Ombra.net.
And my income is from there.
And with that i've to pay everithing i do in my life: food, travels, school, instruments...
And Charas too.
Well, i'm 26... how long may i go straight this way?

[X-F3R]

OOO! one of the owners? karamba...err... i mean.. MAMA MIA...lol... but living with the support of only the site is hard... i mean.. shopping, rations...lol 'rations'... food and stuff... you are a musician right? so why not err...well i'm not in the position to ask/tell/say (you) this but anyways, why not get a job of a musician... part time maybe? my dad's a musician, and i am gonna be one too... lol... part time only, at least... i mean 500 bucks a month's like... wait... houses there are OWNED right? cuz homes here in hong kong are rented... then there's the site rent which is also in the bill... karamba... man... wow... and u still study?(no offence...lol) well, hope you get really great/high marks/grades in your studies

anyway, i'm currently looking for a summer job cuz i wanna save up as early as possible so i can do anything in the future...say.. when i finish college/university? if i ever get there...

well, thanks for the info... u're my role-model now... lol... now i know how hard it is to own a site... well it's not that hard, but i mean, you have to manage stuff as well as plan... oh yeah.. and may i ask, what (course) are you currently studying? i want to be an architect so if anyone here knows a thing or 2, then pls gimme some info cuz i wanna know more about it...

thanks again Alex
X-F3R

[Alex]

Oh yes, sometimes i do something with music too.
But only when i like it. I don't want to merchantize it, just because i am "payed".
More often i do it for free

About studying? Well:
I did 2 years at pure mathematic and informatics, now i am at licterature and philosophy, also in section artistic and show tecniques.
I was for 14 years in the musc school, now i have a degree in classical harp and advanced classlevel of composition / experimental composition and piano.

But now, with no mercy, back to topic: has anyone some ideas on how to "transorm" Charas in a self-survive site?
I've already tryied with ads, but they're a fake... I think we need sustainers...

[X-F3R]

ok... wait... how do you earn more bucks through the site? by more people coming here? if that's the way it works... well... more people coming in = pay more, right?

how about affiliating Charas with big-named-RM2K-sites such as RPG2Knet (many @$$wipes there... you know my reason...) and Hell Fusion. that way you can get more hits, IF that is the way of earning more bucks...

if that's not the way to earn more bucks... then how do you earn it? and, did you not mention the you were -ONE- of the owners of ombra.net? i think you guys are doing this already... but here goes... why not...lol forgot the word... err... for example, the rent costs say... 400 bucks per month and there are 4 of you, each of you plays 100 monthly ... lol... just remembered the word... split... =P anyways, add up the 4 of your 100 bucks and that'll add up to 400 right? anyways, you should be getting what i mean...

=P speaking of 400, alex i'm helping you get your posts to 500 ahahahaha... anyways... back to the topic... welll finished already actually... =P

anyways, someone posted earlier that
 

You are the most friendly and active Web Master i've ever met

or somethime like that, anyways, this is true and other web masters should follow this example so that they know what's going on in the sites they pay for. you know what, Alex? you really are a good example for a role-model =P

no, no butt-kissing, just being honest. KIDS, take his example if you wanna go own your own site, even if it's porn related...lol

ahhh... anyways, if the only way to earn more bucks is to get more hits per month, my opinion is to affiliate this site with the big named RM2K sites... and probably not through search engines... why? many kid, pre-teens and teens don't use them that much... i mean, through my eyes, cuz i found this site through Yahoo!... errr... ok.. maybe search engines' also a good idea, but affiliating Charas is still better because, it IS a big name site right? so, if you are in their affilates, then ppl surfing there will probably(eventually) come here to charas, then they'll spread the word to other people, yada yada yada... lol... i mean... i've been to Hell Fusion, GamingW and Dark Dominion, and havnt seen Charas on their affiliates, nor their links. i told myself, man, these f---ers are missing out a lot...(yeah, i can get very verbal at times, sorry guys) why not affiliate yourself with them? or get to their links section? i mean... oh yeah! i checked their links.. and didn't see charas!(that's why i got verbal... =P) can i let my mind run? cuz it's just bursting out with rage... lol.. rather not... this will effect the RPG2K community...heheh well anyways you know what i mean... hehehe

X-F3R

[Alex]

Thanks for all you're saying, my friend.
Ok, now, we're playing open, and open i wanna be.
Yes, i'm one of the Ombra's owner, but ombra is another thing.
Ombra is a portal for Venice, my lovely city.
Charas has nothing to do with that.
Simply, as webmaster, i sometimes use a personal page on Ombra (alex.ombra.net) to do my experiments.
Charas was one. I had that idea, and with 2-3 peoples and 11 resources i began to code it.
Php was needed, and also some special server-side options.
So my "area" was perfect.
The success Charas now have was totally unexpected: it was just a programming experiment, noone was thinking about it as you know it today.
Ok, no prob.
But Charas resource consumption (disk space and bandwith) are mine.
Ombra is the machine, Charas was born here. That's why Ombra is paying for it now: simply because it's on the same servers.
And this is good for me: i absolutely cannot do something like Charas in a free host. I need a dedicated server.
But Charas is not Ombra: if Charas costs 400, is Alex that should find that 400.
The 13 million hits, the 15Gb we use are ONLY charas.
More hits is more bandwidth, and more satisfaction.
But not more money: noone pays me for the hits i reach.
We don't need more visitor, to save ourselves: we need, sad to say, money.
Yes, webmastering is also this: noone gives you something for nothing.

Take this in mind, as wise words:
World is built on this. But NEVER, and i repeat NEVER do something just for money. They will destroy you and the quality of your works and lifestyle.
Money is not the target: never make this error.
But now, you could say, we need money!
True: but not as a target. My target is to leave Charas in life, giving passion and good teaching as much as i can. They're only the way to reach the real target.
Never forget.

That's it.
I really hope now you all understood what's behind Charas, and also what are we risking.
If no solution will be found, we'll not reach the target.
Charas risks to die....

[cosmo]

it'll probably not make a lot of money, but you could sell T-shirts with a charas logo or something...

[X-F3R]

true... but you'll have to USE money to buy them T-Shirts first, then gain profit by increasing the price a little... anyways, for the logo... well... no offence but i don't think it's 'evitable'...lol... why?

well, to design a shirt with a logo, it must again have matching colors... =P... well... charas is pretty green and orange... but, it still can be altared tho' cuz people nowdays tend to wear white, black and blue... and the design of it... i mean... you can out those logos in black, white and (dark)blue shirts... but then... well, fellow teenagers, you should know what i mean. well... maybe start a flash cartoon or somthing, then make action figures of it and start selling it and stuff... but that costs more than the T-Shirts... but hey, when you start a business, no matter how small it is, you better take risks... but be wise at the same time... so yeah...

anyways, back off-topic (...ahahahaha i can't help it!) alex, i remember you saying that you'd play music for free, THAT'S THE PRIDE OF MUSIC! YOU DON'T DO IT FOR MONEY! YOU DO IT SO THAT PEOPLE CAN LISTEN TO IT! AMEN, BROTHA!!!

ahahah that's all i hafta say right now
X-F3R

[Alex]

We've already tryied it.
We discussed this in the other Charas forum on vgmaker, (only italian).
But considering production, export, etc, we understood that it could gain no more then 2-3 real $ for shirt.
And i don't think we can really sell 80-100 shirts per month...

Anyhow, really many thanks for the idea, this is what we need: to be all as one!
This way, we'll survive for sure!

BTW: what about a "donation" page? Do you think it may do something?

[X-F3R]

 

BTW: what about a "donation" page? Do you think it may do something?

well... depends on how many 'kind, loving, caring, beautiful' people there are... i mean... yeah... maybe for some RM2K users, yeah... but for the others, well.. hard to explain.. but you know what i mean... well.. some people seeks advantage when they get the chance, right?

anyways, why not make a program or something then let the trial version be downloadable... but still... there are so-called 'crackers' out there... so yeah.. i mean... just look at this (warning: adult content) http://www.cracks.am
so there... i know it's impossible to make a program 'crack-proof' but at least make it crack-proof fow now. so that would work, but it won't last forever due to them cracks n hacks.

yeah... i want to help charas in any way possible... why? *quote from my site* This is the place where i learned to 'RM2K'!*End quote* so yeah... this would be a site that i'd bookmark in my favourites list even if i'm 40 yrs old (let's just hope that charas lasts that long)... so yeah... this site has somewhat became part of my so-called 'family'...hehehe i sound gay right? well, i'm not! i got a girl and all already... =D

so there's a few words of opinion, suggestion and thanks
X-F3R

[cosmo]

well, I don't think you're gonne get €200 by donations every month

[GaryCXJk]

About those shirts, there is a free service on  . I'm signed onto it.

Or you could use an affiliate system or something, or an ads system (uses lots of pop-ups though).

[SMB]

I'm really worried! I don't want charas die!
It's too much important! It's too much beautiful!
Charas it's the first web site that really help all boys (and girls) who makes amatorial videogames!
And it do it free money!

We must find something to do... WE MUST!