So quit whining about money and this "Freeloader Forum" until you get the software fixed. Is there any reason the BB could not stand alone without having to supplement the entire website?

I'd be quite prepared to pay a fee towards running of the bb itself, not the entire website.
I have no desire to join ACMOC itself. Like dewets, at an exchange rate of nigh on 20 to 1, and falling fast, those funds are needed elsewhere to keep the pot boiling.
I'm skeptical about making a donation to the club and specifying that it is for the bulletin board, as i would suspect it just goes into the acmoc black hole.

Hello , one thing to remember is not everybody owns a Caterpillar ,there are many that come to have a look and meet other people that like Caterpillars ,If you lock of areas to guests you may need a social part to the forum that is for genal chat so they can as least see it they will part with their money to join up to the BB .

First off, this BB has supplied me with information I can't get anywhere else anymore. It has been invaluable to me.

Reading the posts, I gathered that a lot of people out there have exactly the same problem. Cat's can outlive the people that made and sold them by a long, long time.

So, in addition to seeking answers to technical questions, I endeavored to share what I occasionally found out or created on my own. For instance, the rubber hose modification that prevents carburetor breakage on D2 5J tractors. It works, share it. After seeing a bunch of simple questions on rebuilding 5U diesel, I shared the entire process in the hope that a rebuild for somebody would be a lot simpler, that a lot of problems they were anticipating were not really that scary. In short, I endeavored to share what I found out, and hoped it was to be a asset.

On to another subject: Computors. I am hopeless. Without my kids, I would not be here on the web. I cannot even speak their language. I can no longer post attachments; new upgrades marginalized my old equipment and I have been unable to catch up. I had to repo a business that we had sold, and that meant maintaining a payroll again for four months after being out of it for three years. New accounting software on a new computor left me dealing with the state off Oregon when the software didn't perform as advertised, the information needed was in that famous cloud, and I couldn't retrieve it. I had to go back to bi-weekly time cards and reproduce the whole thing, but the state would not accept my paperwork, at first. They did when I got through to them that the computor hadn't and in my hands never would, so they took paper. It cost me several hundred in penalties and interest. So, if you go to that famous, silver lined cloud, you probably will see less of me. For that, I am truly sorry.

As for joining the club, I am not a joiner. I hate politics, whether in a club, a shop, a business, a government. I don't willingly go near them. I would be willing to help the BB as a stand-alone function if it is in my financial bracket, which, by the way, has taken a significant hit from the virus, which hit I am sure you all are quite familiar.

So, thanks for all of the good advice of which you have been indeed generous. Let me know when new policy is formed; I'll do what I can.

Jack--are you saying the $40 is too much? What about the $20 i suggested?

$20 or $40 is not a big thing. However, we did take a major hit on our income. We own a restaurant building, have had to forgo rent collection recently and have no idea when business will return to normal. Our other rental property is a pear orchard, rented for a profit share. The 2018 crop barely made it up to break-even and we haven't seen a dime yet from 2019. (Trade wars are easy to win??? ) I early-paid the last mortgage loan so we are out of the clutches of big banking, have a good hold on our home.

I no longer repair tractors for others. Too old and stiff in the joints. I neither collect nor restore tractors. I make repairs on my own as needed. They still work a little now and then. I've never bought a tractor for collection. They were all bought when I was farming full time and I came to like being able to just do the job when I wanted to and have the right equipment to do it.

I am sure that I would enjoy a lot of the magazine, but at this point I am not making expenditures that won't get me cash back. I cancelled a news magazine even though I liked part of it. It came to about $150/year and the news is available everywhere else. (And I couldn't care less about TV celebrities, current fashions and fads, or where to eat in NY City.) Also, I hate waste and having to dispose of it, so if I don't use the magazine, that is what it would become. All I have dealt with on BB seem to be a great bunch of folks; knowing them personally would be great but I am stuck pretty close to home now so that privilege I will have to forgo.

I would consider the BB to be a small addition to cost of operation. (About 1.5 gal of good engine oil worth?) Get reorganized as necessary and I will see if I can navigate the e-maze to use it and pay up accordingly.

Jan--I never realized that additional lists for a BB subscription or donation would be a problem. I guess that only leaves a membership to use the BB.
I am still interested in the opinion of the very active guests on this BB---do you have plans on how to address thier membership?