As the webmaster of Modeler Site, I've been working for more than two years on the creation and improvement of a modeling site, based on the WWW, even when MS did not already exist. However, I have never been in touch with the readers through this useful forum that is the editorial. Approximately 3000 visitors usually read our editorial, this means that our opinion is taken into account by many modelers, as many as those who read magazines.

I do not have a frequent contact with our readers. I have just answered some questions or solved problems in the past and I personally think that whoever got in touch with me was satisfied with the response. However, this month I would like to share some subjects with you, not exactly on modeling, but closely related to the life and survival of Modeler Site.

If you are now reading this editorial, it's because you are somewhat interested in our release, or it has helped you in some way, or you think that MS is worth your time and should go on existing. If this is the case, please pay attention, what you are going to read is very important for the subsistence of MS.

Due to my profession (IT Engineer) I am constantly reviewing the web and visiting a great variety of different sites, and two things have struck my attention lately.

Recently, some sites have discovered the importance of the band width. The band width is the maximum amount of information measured in Gb that a server is able to supply to the net, it is also called traffic. Modeler Site has imposed its own style on Internet, which is to show a great quantity of big pictures with a high resolution. In addition to it, all back issues with their corresponding images are on line so that all readers can use this material at any time.

When readers require a lot of information, the necessary bandwidth to supply this data is big and if you don't have this resource … THERE IS NO WEB SITE.

The bandwidth is expensive, and I had already foreseen this problem a couple of years ago, when we started the MS project. I knew at that time that the bandwidth and the quality of the connection of our server would be a crucial issue so that the readers, even though those who do not have quick connections, could access our site.

The intention of our editor and owner was not to "earn money" by selling CDs o charging a monthly fee to read MS. Access to Modeler Site is free and  we do not use cookies or any other follow-up method.

In this way, we had to make a big effort, with a high amount of personal sacrifice to face the cost of a really "professional" server, which could host a professional site. When you download a 1280 pixel image, and do it for free, the owners of MS are paying for this service.

As I have already said, two things attracted my attention recently. The second one is the great number of sites asking for donations from their readers, who are generally the same ones who contribute with pictures or reviews and who are the heart of modeling.

This was too much for me so I decided to write this editorial, so that we could reflect on this subject. If you have some extra dollars, please make a donation, but to the Red Cross, or the World Health Organization, but please, every one of us must pay for our own projects, especially if they are not successful.

This is a very strong editorial, and I'm sure it will be a very controversial one, but it will open the way to a more healthy administration of an already quite complicated network, where the reader does not know who is who.

Modeler Site is a serious project, we do our best every single day many hours a day, in order to offer a fresh product where you can find exclusive information instead of material copied from the Tamiya or Studio 27 sites or from other magazines. We try to compensate some authors to the extent of our possibilities, we try to keep an efficient site on line, constantly fighting against the hackers, with a good deal of sacrifice.

At last, I would like to ask for some donations for Modeler Site.

I would like the modelers to donate their talent by sending us more reviews, which will be published although simple as they may be, by reading our reviews, consulting our experts, requesting information through our private line (which we will always offer if this info is available).

I would also want all modelers to donate an e-mail telling their usual suppliers why MS is a worthwhile project that deserves support.

Finally, I want you to be more generous with yourself and build more plastic models, maybe we can achieve a better world.