...and don't forget that all this started as a joke when Demon Internet gave me 5Mb of free webspace to play with all those years ago.
Just noticed this thread and have to explain that PPRuNe has had to become a business because of tax purposes. It's all a bit Catch 22'ish. As demand grew so did the need for server capacity. As we grew, advertisers started offering dosh to reach our audience and we needed the dosh to fund the growth.
Whilst PPRuNe is run as a business, all that means is that I pay someone to 'manage' the daily stuff of dealing with the bank, the the accountant and the taxman. I also employ someone to manage the advertising administration and that's about it. Oh, and the lawyer too.
As I'm cr@p at business and have very little inclination to do an office job, I spend my spare time monitoring the content of PPRuNe and making any strategic decisions as required. The rest of the time I sleep and work the main job which is in the pointy bit of a B737.
As for a server and all the other suggestions, well, it's really a case of getting the best value for the money. You can try and explain untill you are blue in the face but I just want a fast, multi processor server with a fast, optimised sql database and a nifty front end for the users. If anyone can offer top end, high speed server with the necessary bandwidth availability at a price that is affordable then I'm ready to talk.
Actually, it's closer to 500Gb a month bandwidth now!
Demographically, I can access stats based on people who have signed up to the PPRuNe Pilot Email which is run by third party Everyone.net. There are just over 19,000 people registered for that service now. I then transpose those figures to the membership here to get a rough idea. Needless to say, I think it is quite good but I'm prepared to defer to someone with real knowledge of what it all means. Here are the stats for the PPRuNe Pilot Email from just over a year ago:
Break Down By Industry:
banking/finance/real estate: 750
business supplies or services: 1667
computer-related hardware: 210
computer-related internet: 242
computer-related is, mis, dp: 282
computer-related software: 339
consumer retail/wholesale: 387
education, research: 1300
engineering/construction: 1730
entertainment/media/publishing:494
government: 2421
hospitality- travel/accommodations: 5788
legal services: 364
manufacturing/distribution: 828
medical/health services: 545
nonprofit/membership organizations: 409
other: 1
Total 17757
Break Down By Occupation:
academic/educator: 451
clerical/administrative: 264
college/graduate student: 1157
computer technical/engineering: 682
executive/managerial: 2649
homemaker: 105
k-12 student: 233
other technical/engineering: 1690
professional- doctor, lawyer, etc.: 6718
retired: 824
sales/marketing: 393
self-employed/own company: 756
service/customer support: 829
tradesman/craftsman: 369
unemployed, looking for work: 637
Total 17757
Break Down By Income:
no income: 1347
under 20,000 usd: 1246
20,000 - 34,999 usd: 1593
35,000 - 49,999 usd: 1716
50,000 - 74,999 usd: 2085
75,000 - 99,999 usd: 1484
100,000 - 149,999 usd: 1280
over 150,000 usd: 1137
unspecified: 5868
null: 1
Total 17757
Break Down By Gender:
female: 1682
male: 16075
Total 17757
Break Down By Age:
13 and under: 5
14 - 16: 155
17 - 18: 203
19 - 21: 549
22 - 25: 1656
26 - 35: 5535
36 - 45: 4587
46 - 55: 3085
56 - 65: 1374
66 - 75: 339
76 - 85: 94
86 and over: 153
Total 17735
Go figure!
