[sclug] Fwd: [lugmaster] Seeking new sponsors and donations for Slackware UK.

[Stuart Ward]

-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: 	[lugmaster] Seeking new sponsors and donations for Slackware UK.
Date: 	Mon, 19 Apr 2021 22:02:04 +0100
From: 	Darren 'Tadgy' Austin <lists at afterdark.org.uk>
Reply-To: 	UK LUG Masters' private discussion 
<lugmaster at mailman.lug.org.uk>
To: 	A closed discussion list for UK LUGMasters. 
<lugmaster at mailman.lug.org.uk>



I'd appreciate it if you could forward this onto your LUGs - thanks!

Hi,
Some of you in the Slackware Linux community may know me already, but 
others may not - I'm Darren 'Tadgy' Austin and I operate the Slackware 
UK [https://slackware.uk/] mirror and hosting service specifically 
targeted at the Slackware Linux [https://slackware.com/] community.

The service has been running for over 10 years now, with sponsorship and 
support from a private company in the UK, File Away Limited 
[https://www.file-away.co.uk/], who I have to thank for their unwavering 
support over this time - I couldn't have continued the service without 
their help.

File Away's support has allowed the service to grow and grow to what it 
is today. From simply offering a mirror of Slackware Linux at the end of 
a 2MB SDSL connection, to also offering free hosting of projects on 
dedicated servers with Gigabit connectivity for all things Slackware!

I would like to think Slackware UK has grown to be one of the largest 
repositories of Slackware related projects and files on the internet - 
in fact, I cannot think of anywhere else that provides access to so many 
resources in one location.

But Slackware UK isn't just about mirroring software that you can find 
elsewhere on the internet - I offer free full file hosting to Slackware 
related projects, distributions and package maintainers. There are 
several projects which utilise Slackware UK as their primary hosting 
solution; including SlackwareARM [https://arm.slackware.com/] and 
SlackwareARM for the Raspberry Pi (SARPi) [https://sarpi.penthux.net/], 
Absolute Linux [https://www.absolutelinux.org/], Freeslack 
[http://freeslack.net/], Slint [https://slint.fr/], Cinnamon SlackBuild 
(CSB) [https://cinnamonslackbuilds.github.io/] and MATE SlackBuild (MSB) 
[https://mateslackbuilds.github.io/], to name but a few. I also offer a 
mirror of the entire Slackware Linux trees as well as packages provided 
by the Slackware core dev team members alienBOB (Eric Hameleers) and 
rworkman (Robby Workman). I also maintain an in-house cumulative archive 
(thanks to alienBOB for the bootstrap) of all packages distributed since 
the very first release of Slackware64.

As I mentioned before, the service has been supported for many years by 
File Away Limited. However, recently and unfortunately, I have had word 
from File Away that they may no longer be able to continue funding 
(paying the bills!) of the main Slackware UK server after this years 
contract with the dedicated server provider ends. Obviously this could 
be a blow to the continued availability of the service going forward.

So, why am I reaching out to the community?

The primary reason is to try and find sponsors who may like to provide 
funding for the Slackware UK services in order to keep this valuable and 
widely used project operational. If you know of, or perhaps work for, a 
company who may be inclined to support a project like Slackware UK with 
sponsorship or donations to the cause, please, please either pass their 
details to me so I can make a direct approach, or facilitate an 
introduction between us yourself?

Finding new sponsors who can financially support the project would be 
fantastic - especially if those sponsors already have something to do 
with Slackware (using it in their products or company, or regularly use 
one of the projects hosted on Slackware UK, perhaps?).

However, If you cannot help by providing a contact or introduction, that 
brings me onto the second objective of this approach: donations or 
patronage.

If you would like to contribute to the cause but don't have any contacts 
to offer, please consider a donation, if you have the means?
I currently have a GoFundMe fundraiser [https://gofund.me/87934ce3] 
running, with the goal of bringing in enough donations to see the 
project through the next 3 years of operation. But I do understand this 
may be a lofty goal and you may wish to show your support with a one off 
PayPal payment [https://paypal.me/DonateToSlackwareUK] or a continuing 
patronage through Patreon [https://patreon.com/SlackwareUK]. Any 
donations are gratefully received and every little bit helps :)

Finally, I would appreciate it if you could spread this message through 
your circle of contacts, be that a group you are involved with (a LUG, 
Facebook group, etc.) a mailing list, or any other personal contacts far 
and wide.

Please note that all donations and sponsorship are kept strictly for the 
use of services provided by Slackware UK, in a seperate bank account. I 
do not profit or take any sort of payment for running the service.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and any bit of support you 
can offer!

Darren Austin.


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