Bill Burns recently explained that eFanzines.com runs on a virtual Linux server hosted in the cloud, which costs him $38 per month with 100GB of traffic included. Once you add in the value of his incredible work keeping the site running it’s worth far more than the cost of the internet connection, but I’m glad to discover the service is so affordable.
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Could one of the many Worldcon profit committees possibly award Bill $38 a month for his efforts for a year? Even five?
I think it likely that if he asked one of the Worldcons that have surplus funds that he’d have a good chance at giving a grant. However, to my knowledge, he’s never asked. My experience with Worldcons with surplus funds (three Worldcons, two boards of directors) is that they rarely volunteer funds, but instead respond to grant requests.
Thanks for the concern, but the server expenses are largely paid by a small amount of business use that I charge my clients for.
We can’t say it often enough, thanks so much Bill for providing this service for all the rest of us!
Fanzines might indeed be just a faint memory of the past without Mr. Burns’ invaluable service and efforts. Bill, I’ve said it before, but thank you so much for the work you do.
To be honest, I don’t know that I’d bother publishing if eFanzines didn’t provide an archive. I can only reach so many people directly, through e-mail addresses. It isn’t like the old days when physical fanzines were handed down, almost generation to generation, or could be given, traded or sold at conventions when you were through with them. An old fanzine might only be published in 200 copies, but those 200 copies were PERSISTENT! In many cases 100 of them might be floating around 50 years later!