During the time I've been managing the site, I've tried to be as transparent as possible regarding its operational and financial stability. Like it or not, there are aspects that need to be managed like a business, mainly making sure costs are covered adequately by donations and memberships.
As mentioned on a few occasions, the price of the First Class Membership has remained at $29.95 since 2012, even though the costs of running the site have changed. Some (particularly storage) have gone down, but most have gone up. While I've been able to balance that out to some degree, I've had to dip into reserves again over the last couple months, and dipping into savings to have to meet the monthly bills isn't a good long term strategy for anyone.
On July 1, the First Class Membership will see a modest increase to $32.95, which will help ensure that the costs of servers, storage and bandwidth are properly covered for the foreseeable future.
Those who want to save the $3 increase can renew before July 15, and your membership will be extended for another year beyond the current expiration date...
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#8dnewmanjr commentedEditing a commentI don't see any issues with the price increase. -
#9landnrailroader commentedEditing a commentEric, I have no problem with the increase. My renewal comes due in December but I could renew now and pay the higher price, this site is so useful. And I thank you for the response to my "403" error blocking my IP. I got in this time but I hope that blocking of IP addresses can be rectified. I guess it is a necessary security item. It would be better for your mental health if these BOTs could be kicked out. -
#10solarnet commentedEditing a commentI have no problem with the increase. I understand the cosy have risen. Although, I have just recently renewed my subscription I would be willing to send the an aditional dontion to help out also.
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As many of you know, Steam4Me, founded by Yuri Sos, closed down in early 2024 following his death in October 2023. Unlike UKTS, where ample notice of their closure was provided, there was no notice, and no ability to immediately provide a new home for the many uniquely Australian routes and rolling stock. Some items were fortunately available from the Wayback Machine, but several key ones were not.
Thanks to the efforts of Peter O'Neill (ossie) and several content creators who were... -
About this time, I expect many of you are ready for a nap in the big comfy chair, while others are just sitting down for their Thankgiving dinner.
This week, I'm grateful for many things...
First and foremost... I'm grateful for family. All three of our kids were our new property for the first time ever this past Sunday. Our youngest son works and lives in another state as a school teacher, and the timing just hasn't worked out for him to be able to come out here since... -
Some of you might notice the "New Topic" button missing in a few of the subforums. This is mostly intentional.
Five existing forums for MSTS will remain open for new discussions --- General Discussion
- Screenshots
- Route Design
- Route Specification
- Modeling & Physics
All of the remaining subforums beneath General,... -
September.... Football has started for real, half the teams fan bases think they are going to the Super Bowl, and some of those teams who clearly won the preseason may already be looking at being eliminated from the playoffs. But that's the fun of the game. Everyone has a chance of winning when they step on the field.
It's also a somber reminder that we're coming up to the 24th anniversary of 2,958 people going to work and not coming home to their families. With my wife and I both... -
Believe it or not, we are halfway thru 2025 already... I hope everyone in North America enjoyed either July 4th or Canada Day, and came away from it with all their fingers and hearing.
We had quite the celebration here in Tennessee on Saturday, with friends and family each bringing fireworks as their donation to a cookout held where my brother in law is preparing to build his new home. The donations resulted in a show almost as long as what we saw in Oak Ridge on Friday along with 30,000... -
During the time I've been managing the site, I've tried to be as transparent as possible regarding its operational and financial stability. Like it or not, there are aspects that need to be managed like a business, mainly making sure costs are covered adequately by donations and memberships.
As mentioned on a few occasions, the price of the First Class Membership has remained at $29.95 since 2012, even though the costs of running the site have changed. Some (particularly storage) have...