A huge THANK YOU to all our donors. You all really came through!

[Skinner]

As you may know, we did not have very high expectations for last week's fund drive. We know a lot of you have been upset about the extended Democratic presidential primary, and how the infighting between the supporters of the two remaining candidates has made Democratic Underground a significantly less friendly place than usual. And we know that the economy is not doing very well right now. There are plenty of reasons why you all could have decided not to support our fund drive, and perhaps you would have been justified in making that choice.

And yet, once again, you all came through for us. Thank you to everyone who donated last week, and thank you to all of our monthly subscribers.

We are very grateful to have such generous and understanding members. We know that this place can be frustrating sometimes. But still you recognize the value of DU, and you are ready and willing to help -- even when times are tough.

And the support could not have come at a more critical time. We have experienced a significant increase in traffic to our site over the last six months. You may have noticed that sometimes we have to turn off some of our functions in order to keep up with the high traffic -- and it has been happening more and more as of late. We are in the process of (once again) upgrading our database server. The new server, which should come online in the next few weeks, will probably cost somewhere between $10,000 and $20,000.

So, thank you, DUers. You all are the best.

David Allen ("Skinner")
Dave Allsopp ("EarlG")
Brian Leitner ("Elad")
DU Administrators

By the way: You are now able to check your DU donor status. Just click the "Options" icon at the top of any page, and then click the "Donor status" link. Make sure that your donor status is up-to-date, because we are going to be implementing some new ad placements, and donors don't have to see them.

[merh]

1. I think we need to start a new collection

We need to buy you guys hats - keep the hair IRL, please! :silly:

:hi:

[EFerrari]

9. Or, Beatle wigs!

:rofl:

[merh]

11. Wigs like that would work too. :-)

:rofl:


I want you to know, I had a wig like that and those cool grannie glasses



(in the first grade my long wavy locks were reduced to a pixie cut that haunted me until junior high x( )

[jgraz]

2. Wait... you mean we actually WERE supposed to donate?

Dammit! :banghead:

[orleans]

3. LOL! n/t

[lpbk2713]

4. I just made a donation via PayPal.

Sorry it didn't count toward the fund drive, procrastinator that I am. :eyes:

:thumbsup: :hi: :thumbsup:

[texasleo]

5. have you ever considered VBulletin?

just curious.

}(

[Mudoria]

27. I wish..

[barbtries]

6. thank you for running

the best site for a lefty like me

[spanone]

7. please tell me, it was THE WORSE FUND DRIVE EVER----YES!!!!!!!

[wtmusic]

8. No, you guys came through

by giving GDP its own forum. Made DU vastly more pleasant for the rest of us who chose not to, uh, join the fray.

Thanks for all you do :thumbsup:

[Lone_Star_Dem]

10. Personally, I think DUers should donate twice as much during primary season

Just to make sure you guys have enough to keep you well supplied in aspirin and alcohol. It would also appear we need to start a Rogaine fund for you fellows. Hopefully it's only temporary and after the stress levels around here subside your hair will grow back. :P

[angstlessk]

12. on the even brighter side, skinner, you get to see what you will look like in 20 or so years

hey, who said bald was not beautiful??

[DFW]

13. Hey, it was our pleasure! Besides, we LIKE cat food.....

[laylah]

14. Once again,

I could not; however, another generous DUer made sure I have a star. Thanks for all you do, Skinner...you and "the boys" are what keeps many of us sane. BTW, bald is NOT beautiful in this instance:rofl: :hug:

[Zachstar]

15. What on EARTH makes a DB server cost 10-20 thousand dollars?!

[Skinner]

21. If you buy the biggest one on the market

apparently it is pretty expensive.

[Triana]

24. A $10K server isn't all that rare...

...they're usually loaded with lotso processor, memory, etc. Higher-end ones like that aren't cheap.

[LaStrega]

16. The robot avatar ...

freaked me out, I thought I'd been hacked. Now I can't figure out how to get my old avatar back ... 'cause I'm a dumbass.

Yay for DU!

[The Straight Story]

17. And as always

If you need my help (outside of donations) in the Data Base or programming field, just ask.

Free to DU :)

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. But, but, but I was looking forwards to cream pie

damn it!

:-)

I lost yet another primary

:evilgrin:

[Skittles]

19. AW

I've been DISGUSTED by the behavior of the bots on DU - absolutley DISGUSTED - but I'm smart enough to know the difference between being upset at the behavior of asshats and understanding the operational costs of running DU - yes INDEED! :hi:

[Mimosa]

20. Thank You, "Anonymous" and admins and mods

This is really a cool online community, especially considering it's size. Where else would some kind soul have taken notice of a relative newbie with only 180 post at the time and gifted me with "Donor" status?

I logged in today and found the announcement of it in my inbox. I was so delighted and happy. Whoever you are, thank you very, very much.

[MiniMe]

22. I wish I could have donated this time, but the budget is quite tight

I guess I could have sold blood to donate, maybe next time. :hi:

[mmonk]

23. You come through for us, it's the least we can do.

[renate]

25. no, thank YOU!

:yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock:
:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:
:loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya:

[old mark]

26. Wait, wait!!!

I planned to donate by check at the end of this month...Can I still get you guys to take my money?

Please?

mark

[Willo]

28. Get those servers ready!

Change is heading your way!

:toast:

I appreciate this site and thank you for it.