Surely an instance that is growing at the rate this one is will incur a rise in operation costs. I’d venture a guess that required administration time also will rise.

So… how can we help?

  • SDF@lemmy.sdf.orgM
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    21
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    Thank you for asking! As far as resources we’re doing quite well hardware/network wise and our colocation provider in Seattle Washington has been incredibly helpful to us since September of 2022 when we needed to scale up Mastodon quickly.

    On the Mastodon side folks there suggested a “Not a Blue Check Mark Club” as a fun and inexpensive way for the community to show support without having to make a big commitment. This has now been subscripted as “Not a Closed API Club”

    It should also be clear that the best way to support SDF’s efforts in the Fediverse is to use the resources and to talk to your friends about why Decentralized, Federated social networking is better for us all. And while it is not at all necessary, any financial support through donations or membership on the SDF Public Access UNIX side is greatly appreciated and goes to our mission of “a community platform for inspiring, facilitating and implementing new ideas”.

    [https://sdf.org/support](Not a Blue Check Mark / Not a Closed API Club)

  • SDF@lemmy.sdf.orgM
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    9
    ·
    1 year ago

    Some see it as lacking a second processor, additional memory and fans. We see opportunity and potential for growth (after a firmware flash 🤪)

    • chaorace@lemmy.sdf.org
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      7
      ·
      1 year ago

      Potential for growth is certainly exciting. I’ve gone ahead and signed up for the $48/year tier to help put a dent in the hardware budget. Godspeed!

  • chaorace@lemmy.sdf.org
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    7
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    I can’t speak for the system operators, but I’m sure that donations are always appreciated!

    You can donate via Paypal using the “Make a Donation” button on the landing page: http://sdf.org/. You can alternatively mail cash directly to the following address:

    SDF Public Access UNIX System
    Post Office Box 17355
    Seattle WA 98127 USA
    

    Donation is actually one of the ways one can “validate” an SDF unix account, which enables additional shell commands. When donating via Paypal, simply write “Validate [SDF Unix username]” into the message area to get validated. For mail-in donations, you would instead write your SDF username onto the upper-left corner of the envelope.

    Crypto donation is apparently also available by request. You can contact [email protected] for wallet info.

        • elb@lemmy.sdf.org
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          8
          ·
          1 year ago

          Keep in mind that this lemmy instance is currently “in beta”, and sdf betas have in the past been reset for various reasons. The sdf mastodon services are very stable, as is its peertube, but since the lemmy server is very new I would treat it as potentially volatile for a bit longer.

    • Dr. Wesker@lemmy.sdf.orgOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      This is great info, thank you. I had been hoping there was a donation avenue that tied into membership perks, so the validation tidbit is excellent. I think things like that are excellent incentive to donate.

      • chaorace@lemmy.sdf.org
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        If you’re specifically interested in perks, there’s also an “ARPA” program you can join which includes additional alternative payment options and features beyond what basic validation provides:

        Did you know you can become a permanent LIFETIME member of SDF
        by making a onetime donation of $36?
        
        ARPA members have immediate access to:
        
         600mb total / 20000 files in four areas
         access to multiple subdomains                              (mkhomepg -a)
         voting priviledges on new system features                  (vote)
         telnet, ssh, ytalk, irc, irssi (non-proxy)
         wget, snarf, ftp, scp
         gcc, perl, php, python, ruby, et cetera 
         Mail and USENET news via UUCP 
         SDF VoIP Basic Telephony Service
         (type 'software arpa' for a complete list of programs)
         access to join VHOST, DNS, VPM, DBA, TWEAK & MetaARPA membership levels
        
        You too can become a LIFETIME member of the ARPA group by sending a
        ONE TIME contribution of $36 (or more!) to SDF.  NON-US Residents can join
        ARPA by sending the amount via International Money Order, cash (US/EURO) or
        by PAYPAL.  Be sure to include your user id of 'SDF UNIX USERNAME'
        
          LAND                       INTERNET (donations of $3.00 or more)
         -----------------------------------------------------------------
        |  SDF Public Access UNIX  |  PAYPAL.COM:   [email protected]  |
        |  PO BOX 17355            |                                      | 
        |  SEATTLE WA 98127 USA    |  (Be sure to include your user id)   |
         -----------------------------------------------------------------
        |  Donations or dues via crypto: E-mail 'membership' for options  |
         -----------------------------------------------------------------
        Acceptable funds:  Western Union, Cheques, Money Orders, US, CDN, EURO, UK, YEN
        
        • Dr. Wesker@lemmy.sdf.orgOP
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          So say with Paypal, it’s as easy as just entering a donation amount of $36? And of course, including your SDF user ID.

          • chaorace@lemmy.sdf.org
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            5
            ·
            1 year ago

            I believe so, though you should definitely forward any particular questions to [email protected] for an official answer – I’m just a regular user!

            FWIW: It probably wouldn’t hurt to be specific and say in your donation message that you’re seeking to join the ARPA program. Obviously, you’ll need to actually have an ID on the SDF unix system, but it apprears that you’ve already taken care of that particular point (assuming this person is you):

            sdf:/sdf/udd/c/chaorace> uinfo wesker
            uinfo wesker
            Created:      Mon Jun 12 02:22 2023  on pts/2
            Last Logon:   Jun 12 14:28
            
        • unix_joe@lemmy.sdf.org
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          1 year ago

          I paid for the ARPA membership about 20 years ago. And then again when I opened a new account five years ago.

          $72 total. I think that has been an absolute steal for the services I’ve received.