Donations to CA

[Grand_Fromage]

Werner, that is just this year's downloads from the day the pdf was uploaded until this morning.

Djet tells me that the guide was downloaded 6,473 times.

That excludes any downloads from Werner's backup location.

Oops, hope he's right,that would be great. Do you know what timeframe he looked at? I'm asking because the download link never changed over the years.

Werner

[Grand_Fromage]

Yes the CA guide is allowed a few privileges because it is 'not for profit', however we are subject to the normal rules of copyright and trademarks. From its earliest stages, CA has been a way for racegoers to help each other, rather than a commercial enterprise, and I think it is still going 20 years later because it still stays true to that aim.

...Way beyond my technical or practical know how, but as most people seem to have smartphones and/or tablets these days, might it be worth thinking about making it downloadable via purchase through an app, rather than free download and voluntary contribution?

MG Mark

As I understand it, "we" use certain logos (ie the ACO) for free as there is no money made. If a nominal fee is required, it becomes commercial and may open up a whole new set of problems. Werner, am I correct?
Personally, a £1 per download as a nominal donation is a small token for the effort made by all

[mgmark]

And long may it continue in that vein it's one of the many things that are good about CA. 

To avoid any confusion, I wasn't for a moment suggesting anything other than that any proceeds from the Guide continue to go to charity. Just surprised by the low number of donations compared to downloads.....

MG Mark

[Werner]

As I understand it, "we" use certain logos (ie the ACO) for free as there is no money made. If a nominal fee is required, it becomes commercial and may open up a whole new set of problems. Werner, am I correct?
Personally, a £1 per download as a nominal donation is a small token for the effort made by all

Hi Jason,

as far as copyright is concerned the guide has always been ok - I'm sensible in this area and try to take care of that as good as possible. We never used any official logos and AFAIK all pictures and texts come from CA members. For all non-CA stuff (DSC articles, John Brooks pictures etc) I have collected written permission from the authors. So from that point of view going commercial would not be a problem.

However, IMHO going commercial would require a different approach to quality control - because once people pay for something, outdated information about campgrounds and dozens of typos would not be accepted any more. We would definitely need more researchers and authors and more proof-readers. I personally could not invest more time in it, I still have a full-time day job...

[geoffd]

I wonder if it is possible to produce two versions of the guide, one with a watermark on every page asking for a donation, and one without.  Once someone has made a donation they get sent a time limited link to a version without the watermark.

I know that would require some admin, but it's just a thought.

We need someway of shaming the cheapskates into coughing up something for the charities!

[Jason]

As I understand it, "we" use certain logos (ie the ACO) for free as there is no money made. If a nominal fee is required, it becomes commercial and may open up a whole new set of problems. Werner, am I correct?
Personally, a £1 per download as a nominal donation is a small token for the effort made by all

Hi Jason,

as far as copyright is concerned the guide has always been ok - I'm sensible in this area and try to take care of that as good as possible. We never used any official logos and AFAIK all pictures and texts come from CA members. For all non-CA stuff (DSC articles, John Brooks pictures etc) I have collected written permission from the authors. So from that point of view going commercial would not be a problem.

However, IMHO going commercial would require a different approach to quality control - because once people pay for something, outdated information about campgrounds and dozens of typos would not be accepted any more. We would definitely need more researchers and authors and more proof-readers. I personally could not invest more time in it, I still have a full-time day job...

Hi Werner, that is as I thought, and know that you'd not infringe copyright etc.
I do agree that there would need to be a lot of extra work would be needed, While happy to help, I too have a job that needs attention. But surely there are things that can be done early to relieve deadline pressures?

[aricus654]

I am not aware of anything that offers anything like the guide.

I think that we should be more persuasive about giving money for a download.  It doesn't have to be agressive, just suggestive.

UK Government has been successfully experimenting with using wording to encourage people to be compliant. I will do some digging, but I think clear wording that cannot be missed along the lines of "most people who download the guide pay £5/€5"

Aricus654

[aricus654]

I think that we need to set a recommended donation in the download page and (importantly) on the front cover.

Any views?

Aricus

[Werner]

I think that we need to set a recommended donation in the download page and (importantly) on the front cover.

Any views?

Aricus

Is definitely worth a try. 3 Pounds/Euros?

[DelBoy]

Difficult one this.  If a suggested amount is posted, some people - who usually pay more - may only give the suggested amount.  A quick count shows me that the spread of donations this year was:
£
20-30 x 1
10-19 x 8
5-9 x 9
<5  x 2
with a few more at €10.

If suggesting (say) £3 would drag in 100 more donations, then it would be worth it.  But if it dragged in only a handful, then it may not be.

Del

[aricus654]

I really think that people need guidance on the amount to give.  They also need to feel that they are not standing out.  This technique is regularly used to encourage people in advertising and even in persuading people to pay taxes.  Something like Suggested Donation £x.  Ideally it would be backed up by "the average donation made is £5", (except that my maths makes it £8.74, which might be perceived as on the high side.)

Aricus

[LangTall]

I noticedthat a forum I don't visit that regular anymore posted a direct link to Werner's backup location. I saw it first 2 months after the race, so I didn't say anything about it (last post before I read it was4 weeks old), but I will check next year if they do so again, and then will ask them to drop that link, and link to the funding page instead.

[mgmark]

I noticedthat a forum I don't visit that regular anymore posted a direct link to Werner's backup location. I saw it first 2 months after the race, so I didn't say anything about it (last post before I read it was4 weeks old), but I will check next year if they do so again, and then will ask them to drop that link, and link to the funding page instead.

Good spot - might be one of the reasons for a reduction in downloads. 

MG Mark

[aricus654]

I really think that the guide is a Thing of Great Value.  It is the CA crown jewel.  Some of us might buy hats, mugs, t-shirts etc, but the Guide is the thing that is likely to result in the greatest donations and is also the path to greater brand recognition and, and only then, to selling CA branded items.

We need to exploit the CA membership to spread the word about The Guide.

I'm keen that we work with a range of partners including the ticket agencies that provide excellent service (and who participate on this forum), Radio Le Mans, who we all know and love, and I'm sure that there are others.

We can start by getting the word out that we would love help from knowledgeable folk to help with the guide.

Thoughts?

Aricus

[lofty]

I've just lost a great friend to cancer and want to give some dosh to those who help the fight. I thought i could donate through CA if thats ok, but as i have allways gone direct before how do i go about it? Thanks from a sad Lofty.