Donations

[Oscar]

Hi!

My name is Oscar and I am the owner of this magnificent website, CoasterCrazy.com. Thank you very much for taking the time to read this post. I would like to give thanks and appreciation to all the nice people that help me run the website from a staff point and to everyone who helps us out financially so we can keep the lights going.

It is very expensive to run this website. We've had to purchase several servers and several high priced programs and hire programmers to make it all work. We also pay an expensive monthly fee to be connected to the Internet. This isn't your typical home connection but a very powerful and fast one. Even so with the many people we give access to, it sometimes slow down Anyway, I do enjoy seeing others get enjoyment out of my website.

CoasterCrazy.com was initially made to just be a personal website. But like all good things, it picked up traffic and more and more people started visiting. So with that I added a forum at first. This was back in 2002. Back then I had the site on shared hosting so it only cost me about $5 to $10 a month to run. It was something I could afford without a problem.

After the coder who I thought of as a good friend bailed on us like, I went ahead and contact a friend of mine who recommended me to a coder who did good work and at reasonable prices. After a short time, we had a full fledged track(file) exchange system. We added rating system, then just comments, etc. It was a star rating system at first and then got changed to a numerical rating system.

Our website became very popular since then. We didn't spend money on marketing or else I fear this website wouldn't have lasted until now. We decided to do free promotion. Oh wait, I lie. I did spend some advertising on an old site that no longer exists, CS. I spent a little on marketing. It did attract some members and activity did pick up. Not by much though.

So as the website grew, we hopped from one host and onto another. Hosting was a little pricier then but that didn't last too long. Along the way I met up with Mike Jordan. I found out about him because he was actually posing as me on other websites and actually someone sent me an angry message over what "I" supposedly wrote. So I investigated who this was and found him and confronted him. Stuff didn't start good from there but over time this person who I thought was evil ended up being a savior.

Mikey offer to give me dedicated hosting at a good price. It was pricier than the other two option but had grown enough that we had to upgrade to something like dedicated hosting. After moving, I found out that our server needed expensive windows based server components. Several of them. So out I popped out my credit card and purchased them. The total price of them reached close to $1,000. This was just server components alone where some required a yearly licensing fee.

We got everything installed and I hired a programmer to help me figure out the bugs. Paid him with credit card as well. This is where the debt started piling up. So I had over $1,000 in credit card debt by then from this website. I still didn't run ads back then on the website. The service you now use was provided all ad free! Anyway, I didn't think much of it since I worked everyday. However, I didn't make enough to get rid of the debt so the interests and what not piled on the debt wouldn't go down.

Shortly after Mikey went through some troubles and well, I had to take the server from him and do collocation myself. Which was now even more expensive than with him! I still use the same service now as it is the most affordable service I can use. It is cheaper than dedicated hosting. Either way, it is a lot of money coming from my pocket for providing this free service to the thousands of visitors and users that visit us every day. Yes, other websites do this but they properly monetize their websites. They sell services or membership upgrades. We only have one membership upgrade which costs $20 a year but it's not selling sell. I assume it is lack in marketing it and the value benefit people see in it.

Anyway, so we went on our own to a collocation service. I always paid with credit thinking I would pay it in full when the bill would come but that never happened. I would only pay part of it since that is what I could afford. Sometimes I would just make the minimum payment. If you have current credit card debt and make only minimum payments, then you know how expensive that comes out and how you seem to never finish paying the debt of. Well this went on for years!

In 2007 I suffered a very bad back injury where I couldn't work anymore. Click here:
http://www.coastercrazy.com/forum/topic ... C_ID=14189 to see the announcement SixFlagsFiesta made when I let him know. SixFlagsFiesta is now known as Mikey so he's the buddy who's helped me lots with the website. That was back in March. By June, the pain had gotten so bad that after further diagnosis, found that I needed back surgery. I had my first back surgery on July 1, 2007 and you can see the post I made here announcing it:
http://www.coastercrazy.com/forum/topic ... C_ID=14834

The surgery seemed fined at first but I relapsed and needed a second surgery. On August 17, 2007 I had my second surgery. I got discharged the next day and here is my hospital bill for it:
http://www.coastercrazy.com/scrapbook/hb_wws.jpg

All this fell on me without being able to work and being in debt thanks to CoasterCrazy.com. Perhaps now many of you understand when you guys pressure me or disrespect my site. It has cost me a lot of money and pain. Anyway, that was in 2007. I am still not well enough now, April 25, 2010, to work a normal job. I can sit around and work and well that's what I have been doing since the middle of last year.

I had been piling up the costs of hosting the website and through the donations received, I had been paying the minimum payments on those credit cards. August 2009 I had maxed out all my credit cards so I was in a hole. I had to take action, dump the site or figure out something to generate money fast.

So I took my college education of marketing and put it into action at online marketing. I managed to convinced a very good friend Matt D. to loan me some cash to pay the site bill. I started working hard and manage to catch a break and pay him back and start paying off some of this debt. It took me about 6 months and all the money I made was used ti pay debt. I have not bought clothing, except shoes, in the last 3-4 years.

I have sacrificed myself a lot for CoasterCrazy.com and the members that visit it every day. The majority of you have no idea what I have gone through to keep this website running smoothly. Sure, we've had our snags here and there but it always has come through. The donations that the people have made below have always helped me and helped me a lot. They always come in at the time of need and I really appreciate every single donation, no matter how small or large it is, they are all appreciated it.

I ask you, if you have a few dollars to give, that you help us out. CoasterCrazy.com does not rely on support of any big company like other websites. CoasterCrazy.com relies entirely on me, Oscar. And I rely on the people who make donations and what money I can make marketing online. Right now, April 2010, is a bit hard. Sales are down through the floor and well, it's hard to get the ball rolling. I do catch a break here and there but still. I need help.

I greatly appreciate any donation you can give me. Currently we can accept donations via PayPal. You can click the link below and send what your heart desires. Remember that the donations received are used strictly for the upkeep of CoasterCrazy.com.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?c ... WLGHLGQN94

If you would like to create a PayPal subscription where you can donate to CoasterCrazy.com on a monthly basis, send me a private message so you can tell me how much you want to donate per month and on what day should the subscription take place. If you want to donate $5 each month, here is a PayPal link that will subscribe you to a monthly recurring payment of $5 from you to me through PayPal and can be canceled at any time by you or me:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?c ... PE5DKZPRP2

If you don't have paypal and want to send a Check or Money Order, send me a private message as well. I can give you my mailing address details so you can mail the donation to me.

Once again, many thanks. Below is a list of all the great people that have donated towards CoasterCrazy.com. If you donated and I don't have your name there, I apologize, please let me know and I'll add it ASAP!

Thank you and may you have the most fun you can at CoasterCrazy.com,
Oscar Orihuela
http://coastercrazy.com

bockzilla (Donated a million times! [:D] )
Kev ( donated a million times )
jjsluce ( donated twice )
Master of Puppets
tsayers
lostst8ofmind ( donated five times )
Compuwiz ( donated three times )
rctycoon112
IntaminFan297
odepotmike ( donated ten times! )
Grim.657 ( donated thirteen times!!!!!!!!!!!!! )
Foreseer ( donated three times )
shortkid422
Allanreid ( donated two times )
RCTandy
James Fuson
jwoodyw
Phammel
man
pdonahue ( donated four times )
Blade
SixFlagsFiesta ( donated four times + hardware )
Tconwell
rupcicpe
canadmos
x ( donated twice )
gazag
gouldy
owen jay
jorj
jayman (donated twice!)
Steve Benham
bunny
gouldy
to*******3@sbcglobal.net
WIL*******K@YAHOO.CO.UK
pecami
blackhand1001
hyyyper
casper
Symbiotic
TylerE
rcking04
mreeder
Real
Dirk Ermen (donated 5 times)
Metazoanhaddock
djbouyjou
Austin
slosprint
Live on earths ass
gavg
thrillsentertainment
several more that I've lost track

Last updated Jan 12, 2014

[Oscar]

we take checks and money orders too [;)]

wire transfers?

[Oscar]

sure

[Oscar]

list updated.
thanks compuwiz

if i would ever get paid for my freelancing you would have something

[Oscar]

charge in advanced [;)]

btw, just incase you were curious, i am now officially banned from cs.com

[Oscar]

I just donated, hope it helps out the site a bit [:)]

[GRIM.657]

How do you get the e-mail address, if you donate $25 or more[?]

[Oscar]

I set it up for you and you can use it through outlook express or through our online web mail service.
Thank you INtaminFan397, I'll pm you in a bit

[GRIM.657]

I just donated, hope it helps!!!!

[devilish]<<GRIM>>[devilish]

[Oscar]

yes it really helps, you'll see in the vip room why, read some of the "new vip" topics, one of the long ones has reasons and stuff. Thank you very so much, I amd the staff greatly appreciate your monetary aid.
WWS

thanks again to everyone who's donated, in the time its most needed. And if your parents arent willing to hand out the money for you, you could always purchase some items from the store

[GRIM.657]

i just donated (agin) hope it helps more[^]

[devilish]<<GRIM>>[devilish]

[Oscar]

yes it does, thanks again very much, let me know if you continue to have problems with the e-mail!

[bockzilla]

Well I guess it was time to donate again for a good cause. This is a great site and a wonderful coaster community that I am a very proud member of. My hats off to WWS and the crew for doing a great job. Keep up the excellent work!

[Oscar]

wow! thanks you very much Mr. bockzilla! I greatly appreciate your donation, it is very welcomed and very useful. Thank you very much!
WWS

I need to donate now, hmm, time to convince the parents its not a porn site.

I was gonna donate but I was stupid enough to have my bike stolen so I have to pay half the original amount. That means you'll have to w8 about 4 to 5 months. BLAAAARGHH [r]

[Master of Puppets]

Originally posted by shortkid422

I need to donate now, hmm, time to convince the parents its not a porn site.

LMAO

The other day I was browsing the site while sitting on the couch on my laptop and mom came and glanced over my shoulder, she goes "weeweeslap, what the hell is that"

Had to spend awhile explaining.

lol, i bet i would have to with my mom too.

You run a great site I will save up and donate hopefully. I do have some other things though. But if you really need it I do it!!!

thanks everyone for donating, i cant because my mom says "you dont even know these pplz and you want to give em money". And i keep on explaning why i wanna untill she walks away