Originally posted by mwmillerInteresting post, thanks for sharing it !
Actually, in the beginning it was free for everyone because Russ and Chris were paying for the cost of the original server out of their own pocket. As membership grew the need to upgrade to bigger and faster servers were putting a serious dent in their personal finances. They were providing this site as a hobby in their spare time, and had regular jobs.
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I just wanted to add a little additional historical information, for what it's worth!
Originally posted by mwmillerThank You, it was nice to learn the history of RHP !!!
Actually, in the beginning it was free for everyone because Russ and Chris were paying for the cost of the original server out of their own pocket. As membership grew the need to upgrade to bigger and faster servers were putting a serious dent in their personal finances. They were providing this site as a hobby in their spare time, and had regular jobs.
...[text shortened]... em.
I just wanted to add a little additional historical information, for what it's worth!
There is no way Chris and Russ are putting any serious money into their pocket. Ad revenue = pennies.
The 60K in subscription revenue a year? Maybe another 20K in ad revenue? 80K total gross...
Bandwidth and hosting must easily eat up almost all of that....
If I had to put money on it I would guess they probably make $24.82 a year profit. A site like this is a labor of love.
Originally posted by meta x zenI have to agree with the first part of your message. They are probably just barely making ends meet. Which brings up the thought that both Russ and Chris must be people of the finest quality in the world.
There is no way Chris and Russ are putting any serious money into their pocket. Ad revenue = pennies.
The 60K in subscription revenue a year? Maybe another 20K in ad revenue? 80K total gross...
Bandwidth and hosting must easily eat up almost all of that....
They donate so much of their expertise and time in order to keep this site alive. Regardless of how angry you get at them for not taking care of your 'little individual problem' (and I too have been angry with them), you have to admire these two guys for sticking it out.
Like so many other members I was on the verge of leaving the site. 😲
But have you tried the competition?
As long as this site is willing to make an effort to keep the engine players away I think I'll stay. I may not agree with some of their decisions... I may dislike one 'free' forum moderator... but I can not ignore the humongous efforts made by Russ & Chris to keep the site active and a lot of fun.
Originally posted by ivan2908Cha-ching!
Well at first it looks much but then when you do the math...
There is near half milion of registered users. But barely 20 000 active ones and maybe 5000 or less subscribers. One year membership is 30 $. It is not that much. Of course there are ads for the non-subs... But you do need some employees, some equipment as well...
Hmm... Should I try to run some chess site..? Is it worth it ?
What did the little birdie say?
Originally posted by mwmillerThey had a live chat room!? Damn! why did I miss out on that? Why did they pull the plug?
Yes I do remember, Dave, and I actually believe we had a few conversations on some general chess topics in the live chat room before they pulled the plug on that.
Marc
Originally posted by tomtom232We only had access to the live chat room for a few weeks.
They had a live chat room!? Damn! why did I miss out on that? Why did they pull the plug?
It was hosted by one of the regular chat sites, and one of the people who helped operate the chat site was also a RHP member.
He offered to make a private room available for RHP members, as there was quite a bit of interest in having this feature! The only problem was that if you used the room you had to conform to the rules that were enforced by the chat site administration.
I think you can see where this little story is going......
A few of our members didn't feel the need to comform to the rules of the chat room, so after being warned a few times, the room was closed.
