# donations



## fixit (May 25, 2019)

I have tried for two days to donate $25 it says page unavailable. What am I doing wrong?

fixit


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## wa5cab (May 26, 2019)

Are you trying to do it from the Account Upgrades choice on your Accounts page reached by clicking on your User ID in the main toolbar?  It works OK for me (after clicking on one of the choices, I am taken to my PayPal account where it asks for my Log In info).  

Is that where you are getting the "page unavailable" error message?

What OS and what browser are you using?


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## wa5cab (May 26, 2019)

Never mind the first two questions.  Try this:

Up top in the main toolbar, find your User ID and click on it.  That should take you to your Account page.  Over in the right hand column, click on Account Upgrade.  On the next screen, click on the $25 choice.  That should after a few seconds take you to a PayPal log in page.  The email address that you use for Hobby-Machinist should be pre-filled on the PayPal log in window.  If you use the same email address on PayPal, enter your PayPal password and proceed.  After successfully completing the transaction, you should be returned to H-M.

I'll report the problems with Donations.


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## vtcnc (May 30, 2019)

fixit said:


> I have tried for two days to donate $25 it says page unavailable. What am I doing wrong?
> 
> fixit



Were you successful?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## fixit (May 30, 2019)

vtcnc said:


> Were you successful?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


gave up then I noticed I donated in February that may explain it


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## vtcnc (May 30, 2019)

fixit said:


> gave up then I noticed I donated in February that may explain it



That’s the explanation.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## fixit (May 31, 2019)

Sorry, hope I didn't upset anyone. At 77 my memory isn't what it used to be.


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## vtcnc (May 31, 2019)

Upset!? No! Very thankful for your donation! It's members like you who keep the stories and learning available to other hobbyists. Thanks again!


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## wa5cab (Jun 1, 2019)

The actual Donations part (that takes you to PayPal) is pretty simple minded.  I'm not certain as to what would happen if you clicked on a level larger than or smaller than your current level.  My assumption is that if you followed through on PayPal, it would jump your expiry date forward to a year from today at the new level.  But that it wouldn't prorate it.  About two weeks before the expiry date you should receive an alert message that it is about to expire, and the date.  What I would do, assuming that you want to renew it, is to wait until the next day or until the screen that comes up if you click on your User ID and then click on Membership Levels doesn't show that you have a donation still in effect.  And then renew it. 

Unless something has changed, the (in your case) yellow box that says "H-M Supporter -" and "Gold Member ($25)" has to be done manually by one of the Admins.  So it shouldn't disappear at the stroke of Midnight on the last day of a year since your donation.


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## westerner (Jun 1, 2019)

I got the notification that my expiration date was nigh. I attempted to renew at the $25 level as before, yet I see no such option. I see one for $10, and one for $50, and nothing in between. What gives?


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## Ken from ontario (Jun 2, 2019)

deleted.


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## wa5cab (Jun 2, 2019)

As I indicated earlier, you cannot renew an existing Donation until it has expired.  Sorry, but that's just the way that it is.  Adding the code to allow an early renewal would increase the code complexity at least two-fold.

You just need to make a note of the actual expiration date and try to remember to go to the site and renew on the day after.  

Perhaps the Admins should set and make known the duration of the grace period between the one year anniversary and the time at which they would change your donor status if you didn't renew.  I would suggest that 7 to 10 days would probably be reasonable.


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## fixit (Jun 2, 2019)

Thank you all, I didn't intend to stir the poop. Just thankful for the web site to learn & enjoy. At 77 I sometimes get confused, I have a lot going on still recovering in my shop from the 4 feet of water from IRMA and a disabled wife on dialysis 3 times a week. I really enjoy ALL you folks on here, thank you all.


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## wa5cab (Jun 2, 2019)

You're welcome.


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