Your Support -- A Nudge
 

Dear Eratosphereans,

Once again, itt's time (or past time, given the many months of dry spell) to remind those can or are willing to, of the need to support Able Muse/Eratosphere per all the 'donate' links on the Sphere pages, or the sticky thread here.

Thanks!
...Alex

My contribution's been sent. Thanks for all your help.

Thank you, Michael!

And on that note ... I have to 'nudge' everyone able to help out a little more given that the response thus far has been almost nil--but for Michael and one other!

Cheers,
...Alex

... And this is another follow-up 'nudge' giving the persisting near lack of response ... thanks! --Alex

I think my attempt has failed, Alex. Can you just confirm that you haven't had anything from me yet, and I'll try to do it properly next time! Thanks.

Jayne

I beat you to it, Alex. Consider me nudged.

Thank you, Andrew!

Thank you, Jayne ... for trying, but it didn't go through. So, try again.

Cheers,
...Alex

Consider me nudged. Many thanks for keeping this place up and running.

Matt

Thank you, Matt!

Mission accomplished this time, Alex!

I hope more members will put their hands in their pockets.

Here's an appeal from me too:

Come on, folks, where would we be without this wonderful place Alex has provided for us? Helping to keep it going is in everyone's interests :)

Jayne

I have managed to subscribe before using a credit card, but I am no longer able to do that. I usually use PayPal for transactions like this and it looks from the website as though this option may be available at some time in the future, but for now the only option open to me is sending a "check", which would of course be a "cheque" drawn on a British bank, in sterling.

Would it be very expensive for Able Muse to process such a cheque?

Annie,

I could make an electronic payment on your behalf and you could send me the cheque if you like, rather than having to post it to the States and Alex having to process it. That would surely make life easier all round. What d'ya fink?

Jayne

Yes, it went through ... Thank you, Jayne!

Ann, the 'foreign'-currency check should be fine. I'm not sure how much fees the banks here will charge for, but hopefully, it won't be too greedy a rate. As for Paypal, I had some unpleasant experience with them years ago--how they tend to unceremoniously and unilaterally freeze funds, etc.--and I haven't gone back since. However, that was in their eBay ownership days, and I hear they're now separate again. So, I'll look into it again and see how that works now.

Cheers,
...Alex

Thanks for the offer, Jayne. I'll certainly do that - PM me your address - or could I pay you via PayPal?

Thanks, Alex, but Jayne's way seems easier (especially as I am afraid it will be quite a small sum).

Alex, you might be unpleasantly surprised at the size of the fee that an American bank would extract from a British 'cheque.' I may just have a bad bank, but I've found that the fees are so high, and the paperwork so onerous, that it's just not worth it to try, at least with checks in the £25 range, so I usually ask them to give my prizes to the National Autistic Society in London. Better they should get £25 than I should get £7 after sitting with a bank officer for twenty minutes filling out forms. I would encourage you to give Paypal another go. I've found them easy to work with. (At least in the US, they even allow you to send money without extracting any fee at all if it's not part of a running commercial business). And I'm guessing that the availability of Paypal as an option would encourage contributions from many people who feel comfortable with that form of payment.

Ann,

If Jayne can't, I'm happy to receive money via Paypal and send it on to Alex.

Matt

Thanks, Matt. I'll wait and see what Jayne says, but you're my fallback position if she thinks that'd be easier.

My donation was sent yesterday, Alex. It's a great place, and I'm glad you're in charge.

Annie,

I can receive a payment via Paypal, no problem. I think you have my email address but I'll send you a PM with it, and my postal address, in case you'd rather send me a cheque.
(And thanks for the offer, Matt; I'm sure you're a great guy to fall back on :))

Jayne

Thank you, Mark!

Thanks for the bank fee reality check, Roger! I have a feeling the fees that my bank would charge would be just as out of control as what you describe! So, that's more encouragement to try to make a go of it with Paypal.

And thanks Jayne and Matt for offering to help Ann out with the 'foreign' transaction issues!

Cheers,
...Alex

I echo the thanks to Matt - and to Jayne, who is now in possession of virtual funds.

Jayne,

As my Brit liaison, could I trouble you to do the same for me? If you pm me your address I'll write you a cheque and you do the electronic honours?

I'm scared of things like Paypal and from what Roger says this might be the best option financially anyway.

Anyway -- thanks Alex. I love it here, and it's well deserving of an early Christmas present from me.

Cheers.

No problem, Mark.

Heehee, it'll look good on my record to have all these payments attributed to ''me''. Only joking; you, Annie and anyone else who wishes to use this method to support Eratosphere will be fully credited.

I'm glad you love it here - so do I - and I must say you've become a highly valued member these past few months. It's great to have you on board.

A PM with my postal address is coming up.

Jayne

I've just sent a puny contribution using the WePay system, and received confirmation. (It would have been rather less puny were it not for the pathetic exchange rate caused by the Brexit lunacy.)

I had no problem using the system to send US dollars from my UK credit card.

One slightly tiresome thing is that after paying, I am sent to the Able Muse page, and it's impossible to return to Eratosphere - hitting the 'back' button countless times has no effect, and I have to reconnect from scratch.

Thank you Ann, especially for persevering to find a way through the 'foreign' transaction issues ... with the generous help from Jayne!

And thank you also, Mark and Brian!

Cheers,
...Alex

Annie,
I received your Paypal transfer, thank you, and your donation to Alex has gone through. That was easy-peasy all round - far better than mailing 'checks' and paying exorbitant bank charges for them to convert pounds to dollars.

I don't mind doing this if it helps anyone else to support the Sphere.

Jayne

Thank you, Jayne. It really is a great blessing to be "Able" to use this method.

Merry Christmas, Alex, and to all you Spherians.

Best,

Ed

Thanks again, Ann! And, thank you, Ed!

Alex,

In my new role as cashier (;)) I've just made another payment and received confirmation, this time on behalf of David Callin.

I hope the contributions are still coming in from other quarters!

Jayne

. . . and I've just made another payment on behalf of Gregory Dowling, Alex.

Jayne

. . . and another one on behalf of Mark McDonnell.

(Mark, "F.G. Osborn" threw me for a few seconds, till I realised you'd addressed the envelope to my other name: Fairy Godmother :D Haha. Thanks!)

Jayne

Thank you, Jayne, for the very helpful "cashier" function!

And thank you, David, Gregory, and Mark!

Cheers,
...Alex