However, they do need some support to stay that way

Now this isn't exactly a 'begging letter' ; I actually chose this moment to post as this is the two year anniversary of the new server and bb software.

I have a dedicated server running these sites. I am being honest that it doesnt come cheap. However, my server logs show we have only had miniscule downtime (other than deliberate for maintenance), and I have not had to contact the hoster on a single occasion.

You will of course be aware though that 6 weeks ago, we were forced, due to technical changes within Linux, to move the bb's to a different server with the same hoster, albeit that the new server is no longer managed by the hoster (not an option with any hoster now due to the number of files hosted), and I have to be responsible for the operating system as well as the software. All this change did come at a considerable one-off cost.

We have unlimited bandwidth, have continued to add new features since 2010, including the ability to upload permanent images without a size restriction and save them in galleries, and are still only using a small proportion of the server capacity despite there being some 1.3 million posts on the bb's combined. We have also all but eradicated the spam that plagued us for years before.

Much of the ongoing costs are covered by google ads, sponsored banners and a couple of ads for online poker sites on the chipguide.com domain home page, although I would be lying if I didn't say that these 'contributions' have diminished as a result of the economy. Any additional support is always welcome!

So, this is how you can help!

1. You can take out banner advertising as detailed here (also accessible from the permanent button at the top)
http://www.chipguide.com/advinfo.htm

2. If you don't have a site to advertise or link to but still wish to contribute, then there are three ways you can do this.
a) You can 'sponsor' one of the Museum of Gaming History or banners which are currently running free of charge.
or
b) You can make an anonymous (to me) donation (unless you type in a message) through the button on this page.
http://www.chipguide.com/advinfo.htm

Thank you for your continued support!

Note that most regular advertisers annual subscriptions are due for renewal this week so I will be emailing those people individually later today to see if they wish to renew.
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