Last updated 07 Jan 2024
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Purpose & Vision
LowEndSpirit exists to bring together customers, providers, enthusiasts, and industry professionals to a welcoming marketplace and discussion forum for hosting-related topics. Our main focus here is low end servers and services, preferably self-hosted. "Low end" can be summed up as doing more with less -- maximizing the utility of minimal resources.
History of LES
LowEndSpirit was founded by Anthony Smith of Inception Hosting in 2013 as home for very low-resource, NAT-based VMs. Over the years LowEndSpirit.com has seen many iterations from sales page to support forum. By 2019, LES had evolved into its current form.
The current iteration of LES had Anthony as sole admin of the forum with the intention to build the community to critical mass and then have the community elect members from within to take over in his absence when he felt the time was right.
In February 2021, @Mason and @mikho became co-admins of LES upon Anthony's departure. Ant is still around on occasion under his new moniker @InceptionHosting and always in spirit. More can be read about the backstory of LES in Anthony's lengthy post below:
A year in LES - Reflections, Thoughts, My history and the future for LowEndSpirit.
Staff
@Mason & @mikho are co-owners and co-admins of LowEndSpirit. We are joined by @bikegremlin, & @FrankZ, who have been appointed moderators of LES.
Donations
NOTE: LES' donation campaign has been temporarily suspended to re-assess our expenditure strategy and fund-management. Existing balance will continue to be used for current and future operating/investment costs.
LES remains an ad-free experience. Our monthly costs are low enough to be self-sustaining. While donations are not at any time expected, they are always welcome and go directly towards the cost to maintain the community. Any excess funds are put towards funding development efforts to add additional functionality and improve the user experience at LES.
Donations link: [removed temporarily]
Our monthly donation target is $35 (see expenditure breakdown below).
Funds & Expenditures
Public Ledger:
Current balance: +$912.38
Monthly breakdown
2024
- January
| Note |
Net $ (+/-) |
Balance |
| Previous Balance |
|
912.38 |
2023
- December
| Note |
Net $ (+/-) |
Balance |
| Previous Balance |
|
875.25 |
| Donations via Donorbox |
+73.69 |
978.94 |
| Amazon SES (email) |
-0.24 |
948.70 |
| Hetzner VMs |
-14.47 |
934.23 |
| Porkbun (domain renewals) |
-21.85 |
912.38 |
- November
| Note |
Net $ (+/-) |
Balance |
| Previous Balance |
|
1001.75 |
| Donations via Donorbox |
+38.69 |
1040.44 |
| Amazon SES (email) |
-0.85 |
1039.59 |
| Hetzner VMs |
-14.34 |
1025.25 |
| Runcloud |
-150.00 |
875.25 |
- October
| Note |
Net $ (+/-) |
Balance |
| Previous Balance |
|
981.03 |
| Donations via Donorbox |
+35.00 |
1016.03 |
| Amazon SES (email) |
-0.20 |
1015.83 |
| Hetzner VMs |
-14.08 |
1001.75 |
- September
| Note |
Net $ (+/-) |
Balance |
| Previous Balance |
|
988.67 |
| Donations via Donorbox |
+7.00 |
995.67 |
| Amazon SES (email) |
-0.23 |
995.44 |
| Hetzner VMs |
-14.41 |
981.03 |
- August
| Note |
Net $ (+/-) |
Balance |
| Previous Balance |
|
899.75 |
| Donations via Donorbox |
+103.69 |
1003.44 |
| Amazon SES (email) |
-0.04 |
1003.40 |
| Hetzner VMs |
-14.73 |
988.67 |
- July
| Note |
Net $ (+/-) |
Balance |
| Previous Balance |
|
906.58 |
| Donations via Donorbox |
+8.00 |
914.58 |
| Amazon SES (email) |
- 0.28 |
914.30 |
| Hetzner VMs |
-14.55 |
899.75 |
- June
| Note |
Net $ (+/-) |
Balance |
| Previous Balance |
|
881.18 |
| Donations via Donorbox |
+40.00 |
921.18 |
| Amazon SES (email) |
-0.29 |
920.89 |
| Hetzner VMs |
-14.31 |
906.58 |
- May
| Note |
Net $ (+/-) |
Balance |
| Previous Balance |
|
883.84 |
| Donations via Donorbox |
+13.00 |
896.34 |
| Amazon SES (email) |
-0.42 |
895.92 |
| Hetzner VMs |
-14.74 |
881.18 |
- April
| Note |
Net $ (+/-) |
Balance |
| Previous Balance |
|
895.80 |
| Donations via Donorbox |
+3.00 |
898.80 |
| Amazon SES (email) |
-0.32 |
898.48 |
| Hetzner VMs |
-14.64 |
883.84 |
- March
| Note |
Net $ (+/-) |
Balance |
| Previous Balance |
|
882.33 |
| Donations via Donorbox |
+28.00 |
910.33 |
| Amazon SES (email) |
-0.33 |
910.00 |
| Hetzner VMs |
-14.20 |
895.80 |
- February
| Note |
Net $ (+/-) |
Balance |
| Previous Balance |
|
879.36 |
| Donations via Donorbox |
+18.00 |
897.36 |
| Amazon SES (email) |
-0.43 |
896.93 |
| Hetzner VMs |
-14.60 |
882.33 |
- January
| Note |
Net $ (+/-) |
Balance |
| Previous Balance |
|
890.62 |
| Donations via Donorbox |
+38.00 |
928.62 |
| Mailcheap (Yearly) |
-35.88 |
892.74 |
| Amazon SES (email) |
-0.32 |
892.42 |
| Hetzner VMs |
-13.06 |
879.36 |
2022
- December
| Note |
Net $ (+/-) |
Balance |
| Previous Balance |
|
1053.46 |
| Donations via Donorbox |
+3.00 |
1056.46 |
| Amazon SES (email) |
-2.85 |
1053.61 |
| Hetzner VMs |
-12.99 |
1040.62 |
| Runcloud (Yearly) |
-150.00 |
890.62 |
- November
| Note |
Net $ (+/-) |
Balance |
| Previous Balance |
|
974.82 |
| Donations via Donorbox |
+108.00 |
1082.82 |
| Amazon SES (email) |
-2.14 |
1080.68 |
| Hetzner VMs |
-12.22 |
1068.46 |
| Runcloud |
-15.00 |
1053.46 |
- October
| Note |
Net $ (+/-) |
Balance |
| Previous Balance |
|
1077.96 |
| Donations via Donorbox |
+53.00 |
1130.96 |
| Amazon SES (email) |
-3.78 |
1127.18 |
| Hetzner VMs |
-12.26 |
1114.92 |
| Runcloud |
-15.00 |
1099.92 |
| Content Writer (LES Talk) Payout |
-125.00 |
974.82 |
- September
| Note |
Net $ (+/-) |
Balance |
| Previous Balance |
|
1043.62 |
| Donations via Donorbox |
+63.00 |
1106.62 |
| Amazon SES (email) |
-1.26 |
1105.36 |
| Hetzner VMs |
-12.40 |
1092.96 |
| Runcloud |
-15.00 |
1077.96 |
- August
| Note |
Net $ (+/-) |
Balance |
| Previous Balance |
|
1078.22 |
| Donations via Donorbox |
+3.00 |
1081.22 |
| Amazon SES (email) |
-0.90 |
1080.32 |
| Hetzner VMs |
-12.57 |
1067.75 |
| Runcloud |
-15.00 |
1052.75 |
| Porkbun (domain transfer) |
-9.13 |
1043.62 |
- July
| Note |
Net $ (+/-) |
Balance |
| Previous Balance |
|
1078.65 |
| Donations via Donorbox |
+28.00 |
1106.65 |
| Amazon SES (email) |
-0.62 |
1106.03 |
| Hetzner VMs |
-12.81 |
1093.22 |
| Runcloud |
-15.00 |
1078.22 |
- June
| Note |
Net $ (+/-) |
Balance |
| Previous Balance |
|
1104.14 |
| Donations via Donorbox |
+3.00 |
1107.14 |
| Amazon SES (email) |
-0.31 |
1106.83 |
| Hetzner VMs |
-13.18 |
1093.65 |
| Runcloud |
-15.00 |
1078.65 |
- May
| Note |
Net $ (+/-) |
Balance |
| Previous Balance |
|
1125.03 |
| Donations via Donorbox |
+8.00 |
1133.03 |
| Amazon SES (email) |
-0.52 |
1132.51 |
| Hetzner VMs |
-13.37 |
1119.14 |
| Runcloud |
-15.00 |
1104.14 |
- April
| Note |
Net $ (+/-) |
Balance |
| Previous Balance |
|
1101.93 |
| Donations via Donorbox |
+128.00 |
1229.93 |
| Amazon SES (email) |
-1.00 |
1228.93 |
| Hetzner VMs |
-13.90 |
1215.03 |
| Runcloud |
-15.00 |
1200.03 |
| LES Talk Payouts |
-75.00 |
1125.03 |
- March
| Note |
Net $ (+/-) |
Balance |
| Previous Balance |
|
0.00 |
| Donations via Donorbox |
+1109.22 |
1109.22 |
| Donations via PayPal |
+22.00 |
1131.22 |
| Amazon SES (email) |
-0.29 |
1130.93 |
| Hetzner VMs |
-14.00 |
1116.93 |
| Runcloud |
-15.00 |
1101.93 |
- February
| Note |
Net $ (+/-) |
Balance |
| Previous Balance |
|
0.00 |
| Donations via PayPal |
+25.00 |
25.00 |
| Amazon SES (email) |
-0.16 |
24.84 |
| Hetzner VMs |
-14.00 |
10.84 |
| Runcloud |
-15.00 |
-4.16 |
| Self Funded |
+4.16 |
0.00 |
- January
| Note |
Net $ (+/-) |
Balance |
| Previous Balance |
|
0.00 |
| Mailcheap Yearly Renewal (email) |
-24.00 |
-24.00 |
| Amazon SES (email) |
-0.19 |
-24.19 |
| Hetzner VMs |
-14.00 |
-38.19 |
| Runcloud |
-15.00 |
-53.19 |
| Self Funded |
+53.19 |
0.00 |
Note: If balance at the end of the month is negative, it gets reset back to zero with funds from my pocket. No transaction or platform fees (Donorbox/Stripe/PayPay/etc.) are included, which I also am taking care of.
Recurring expenditure breakdown:
| Product |
est. $ |
Purpose |
| 3x Hetzner CPX11 VMs w/ Backups inc. |
13/mo |
VMs for Forum & Assoc. Sites |
| Amazon SES Email |
~2/mo |
Outbound forum email |
| Mailcheap Email |
36/yr |
Admin, support, & wordpress email |
| Runcloud Subscription |
150/yr |
Server/config management + Backups |
| Domain Renewal |
22/yr |
lowendspirit.com/lowendspirit.net |
Planned/Under-Dev Changes
- Vanilla Upgrade - Upgrade forum software from Vanilla v3.3 to latest. Currently in progress.
- More TBD
Head Janitor @ LES • About • Rules • Support
Comments
I think Ko-fi could be a better choice for one of donations.
https://help.ko-fi.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002506494-Does-Ko-fi-Take-a-Fee-
It's turning out to be one of the most organized and transparent ways of administrating the forums and managing donations/funds contributed by the community and the administrators themselves.
Just to let people know, whenever you make a donation, 0% goes to Nigh sect.
♻ Amitz day is October 21.
♻ Join Nigh sect by adopting my avatar. Let us spread the joys of the end.
More than enough to keep the cult alive.
Thanks for the suggestion! I'll probably go through all the popular donation platforms at some point and see if switching is worth the hassle. Right now donorbox fees are 1.5%, which won't ever be a huge amount in the end when it comes to LES donations.
Head Janitor @ LES • About • Rules • Support
Team push-ups will take a small fee, but only if you select push-ups payment method.
Accepting submissions for IPv6 less than /64 Hall of Incompetence.
Really nice to see the transparency of operations cost.
In my time here I have not had even one of those "That is kind of shady" thoughts that I frequently have in other places. Kudos @Mason & @mikho for running things in Bristol fashion.
For staff assistance or support issues please use the helpdesk ticket system at https://support.lowendspirit.com/index.php?a=add
“Technology is best when it brings people together.” – Matt Mullenweg
Good Forum
Silicon Cloud - OpenStack Iaas Provider
Cloud vServer/Dedicated vServer, Private Cloud/Colocation, DDoS Mitigation(optional), Managed Service
^ Bad necro.
It wisnae me! A big boy done it and ran away.
NVMe2G for life! until death (the end is nigh)
Your post count has been doubled!
Relja of House Novović, the First of His Name, King of the Plains, the Breaker of Chains, WirMach Wolves pack member
BikeGremlin's web-hosting reviews
Should just increase the post requirement by 100 for every 1 spam post 😂
Michael from DragonWebHost & OnePoundEmail
100 pushups for every spam post!
A "Spammer" tag, just for a good measure.
At least unti our firing squad is assembled...
Relja of House Novović, the First of His Name, King of the Plains, the Breaker of Chains, WirMach Wolves pack member
BikeGremlin's web-hosting reviews
First squad shoots in the nuts. Second in the butt. Plain and simple.
blog | exploring visually |
Sorry for the necro, but is there any chance this could get updated through March/April?
I completely understand if people rarely read this and updating the thread every month is more work than gratitude, but the March/April period would be a little more interesting to see than most months since that gives the One Year Later view of what's happened since the... Whatever we want to call it. I think donations were open even before a year ago, but the events and spike and all that.
Thanks for the reminder, no worries about necro on this thread. I'm on work travel right now but will definitely get the ledger updated later this week!
Head Janitor @ LES • About • Rules • Support
Is there a home for tutorials here? (Just thinking ahead, so I am asking the question.)
Yes. https://lowendspirit.com/categories/les-talk
You can make a thread in General and staff will move it as appropriate. Or if you are planning on doing a few DM me to discuss.
For staff assistance or support issues please use the helpdesk ticket system at https://support.lowendspirit.com/index.php?a=add
You know for people like me a dedicated are would be cool to browse through.
LES Tutorials are posted here https://lowendspirit.com/categories/les-talk
https://webhorizon.net
New to here!
Anybody got 🔑 to the 🔒?
blog | exploring visually |
LES has 2FA?
Stop the planet! I want to get off!
lol, if someone has the key to the lock, then can lock this 2x necro'd thread
blog | exploring visually |
im otus
youtube.com/watch?v=k1BneeJTDcU