Maryann, I've received e-mail confirmation from Alex that the sponsor button is working properly. In view of your post, I've asked him to reconfirm that the snail mail address is up-to-date. I'll post the information when he replies.
David, I don't have that data. I made the suggestion in the spirit of informal goodwill.
There's some relevant information in this archive thread:
http://www.ablemuse.com/erato/ubbhtm...ML/001561.html
It seems improbable that a round of contributions will overpay Alex for his recent out-of-pocket expenses. And not much harm would be done if that occurred.
In addition to the recent expenses, Alex has conributed his time recently and in the past and has incurred past costs of running the site.
If, using the costs of alternative forms of workshop and education, you were to benchmark the value to members of 'Sphere participation, the number would be higher again, and far above any aggregate contribution expectation.
Any apportionment would depend on the number of contributors, which is an unknown.
I suggest we just give what we feel comfortable with and not worry too much about the calculations.
John