HDCP - New HostBill Community Development Project

[thetrusteeco]

I like his idea but being from Canada my involvement is pretty limited...so I'll observe

Dido.

[Lawrence]

I like his idea but being from Canada my involvement is pretty limited...so I'll observe

Canadian organizations would benefit just as much as anyone else I think. Perhaps if you were a contractor, investor, etc,... Something should work.

[thetrusteeco]

I won't speak for Patrick, but I do want to participate, just not on the BoD.

What TallShip has proposed sound's good to me from a conceptual POV.  I've been involved with several Canadian Non-Profits at the BoD level, but the legislation in the US would be much better for a the type of Non-Profit we're talking about than in Canada.  For example, there's no way an organization like the one proposed would be given charitable status (our version of 501(c)(3)) in Canada.  Non-Profit, sure - no taxes and minimal paperwork, but a charitable NPO that can issue tax deductible receipts, no.  And I'm reasonably positive that US-issued tax receipts aren't valid in Canada.

So anyway, I'm in, but in a limited way.

[Patrick]

I won't speak for Patrick, but I do want to participate, just not on the BoD.

What TallShip has proposed sound's good to me from a conceptual POV.  I've been involved with several Canadian Non-Profits at the BoD level, but the legislation in the US would be much better for a the type of Non-Profit we're talking about than in Canada.  For example, there's no way an organization like the one proposed would be given charitable status (our version of 501(c)(3)) in Canada.  Non-Profit, sure - no taxes and minimal paperwork, but a charitable NPO that can issue tax deductible receipts, no.  And I'm reasonably positive that US-issued tax receipts aren't valid in Canada.

So anyway, I'm in, but in a limited way.

Nope you don't speak for me, but in this case you absolutely hit the nail on the head   These things up here are a little more difficult as our politicians like to make things complicated.  We (my businesses) have sponsored a few NPO's in the last 17 years.  You would be surprised how different things are up here. 

I would absolutely like some involvement but at what level is the question.  This idea sounds darn good to me.

[cloudhopping]

Hey Gang,

I hope all is well with you.
I have a bit of experience running not-for-profits in the Hosting arena -
In fact I just took over all the hosting clients from one this past February.

Anyhow - I can tell you the IRS can be a bit of a pain when it comes to the NPO portion - BUT it is not impossible.  We just need to make sure we have all our ducks in a row prior to the filing.

Be prepared for the IRS to ask silly questions - about who is on the BOD, what businesses they operate, and a bunch of other stuff.

This may be a bit easier since we are not operating a religious NPO doing hosting and design as I have been part of for the past 9 years - but even so they can become a pain when it comes to them thinking they are going to be missing out on revenue.

Be prepared for the IRS to ask how we plan on funding the organization - and if we plan on taking in any revenue how that revenue is going to be used.

They will ask for specific examples.

Be prepared for them to ask how we plan to pay for items - etc.

One last note - a previous poster suggested Delaware or a few other states.   That is a great suggestion - but we need to be clear that if we do expect to be Tax Exempt and plan on paying for development and a developer is in a state where someone on the BOD (which may constitute having an office) is located - we still may end up paying tax UNLESS we charter in that state locally as well.

(been there done that )

Anyhow - if we are serious about doing a NPO - I would love to be part of the organization as having a unique perspective having run a hosting and software development OpenSource project which is chartered as an NPO has been fun as well as challenging to get off the ground.

[UCG_Keith]

Hello all,

I would also like to be part of this.  Our company is a Delaware company with our headquarters in Georgia USA.  Developing a NPO isn't very difficult, as others have stated, going through the "red" tape is a pain.  Fortunately, the NPO in this case is not going to use funds for political donations so we have little issues there.

As others have said and I will speak for our company; we have a registered agent in Delaware and in Georgia and would allow the use of our address in Georgia where legal documents can be collected and transmitted.  Since we are in a digital business, I would also suggest that we can convert all documents to digital and make them available for communication and archive.  I can also speak with our Agent in Delaware regarding their rates if necessary.

If we are heading into this direction, I would like to suggest (move) that a structure needs to be outlined that includes the number of Board members, committees and the purpose of the organization.  We can drill deeper as we move forward, but developing the structures and the Bylaws are very important and can be the most complicated.

[cloudhopping]

Perhaps it is because I am on the far right politically speaking...

" We can drill deeper as we move forward, but developing the structures and the Bylaws are very important and can be the most complicated."

but yeah - I agree there for sure - having the documentation ahead of time helps a great deal.

It is not impossible - but I know the IRS has been cracking down a great deal lately on the entire NPO structure.

[thetrusteeco]

Just out of curiosity, so far it looks like only Americans and Canadians are interested.  Are there any non-North Americans here?  I'm surprised there seem to be no Europeans.

[thetrusteeco]

Another App idea for HDCP:

I'd like to see something a little different for Shared Hosting.  Traditionally we've given out cPanel (or another Panel) logins, and the customer takes it from there.  This works great with experienced users.  I'd like something simpler for newbies.

App: Imagine the Simple Hosting App, with the functionality of an script installer (Softaculous/Intrallatron).

Use: Mr. NewGuy wants a Drupal (or whatever) website.  He doesn't even know what cPanel or Softaculous is.  So he signs up for the Drupal Package, and his welcome email has his Admin login for his new Drupal site, not cPanel account.  He sets up whatever emails, ftps, ssl certs, etc. directly in the client area of our website, and never needs to log into cPanel, or even have direct access to it.

Downside: More traffic on my site, and the customer is dependent on my site being up to manage their site.  We'd want to deploy this in an HA environment.  No appeal for experienced users, but that's no the point.

Upside: Easy for newbies, greater conversion, and faster deployment for the customer.

I'm not attached to cPanel and Softaculous.  Softaculous and Installatron both have APIs that would make integration possible.  They both run on cPanel, DirectAdmin, and Plesk, plus Softaculous supports Interworx.  Many OpenSource panels also have Script Installers, however I haven't checked for APIs on the OS Panels.

[thetrusteeco]

Hey everyone.

Let's talk about doing this for a different billing system.  I know most of you are thinking this anyway.  Lets discuss it before anyone incorporates anything.  If nothing else there should be a clause that allows for development beyond HostBill.

I know many of you are looking at WHMCS and Blesta.  There has also been mention of BoxBilling (which is OpenSource), and a couple others.  We have different needs, and one panel might not work for all of us, but... I feel less confidence in KBKP daily, and am wondering if it's even worth it to co-develop modules for HostBill.

[webguyz]

Starting to wonder the same thing. Looked at Blesta and Boxbilling and I like Boxbilling better, but there does not seem to be a lot of response on their forums. Did see a post on WHT from the creator YouHosting that it would be releasing BoxBilling as open source without any limitationns http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1266093&highlight=boxbilling but not sure what that heck that means.

[tallship]

Did see a post on WHT from the creator YouHosting that it would be releasing BoxBilling as open source without any limitationns http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1266093&highlight=boxbilling but not sure what that heck that means.

I raised that question too. That the announcement was made, but didn't know what that would really unfurl as whenever it happens.

As far as the initiative itself, I've been discussing the matter of commissioning modules w/a handful of developers and development firms, all with the same premise. That each of the modules would be created as threefold parts equally in the form of a release for HostBill, WHMCS, and Blesta.

So I'm on that thinking track too

There's no reason why a foundation has to limit itself to producing software exclusive to one app.

Kindest regards,

[UCG_Keith]

I concur to utilize different applications.