[Eternal Student (OP)]

Hi.

      How much does it cost to run this forum?   A typical cost per forum post made would be useful.

      Where does that money come from?

      What does the forum do?

      Is it doing what the funder wanted it to do?

- - - - - - - - - - - - -
    Why ask?   I'd like to know what I'm using, that's only sensible and responsible.
Specific example:   There are some days when I may have answered a question somone asked and it's easy to assume that's a good thing.   However, is the cost per forum post such that more peope would have had more benefit if we all just left everything with short replies or no replies at all?

    For example, the Naked Scientists radio show and podcast sometimes go out (sometimes overseas) and enagage with school children that are trying to learn some science in disadvantaged circumstances.   Would it be better if they just had more money to get on with that?

Best Wishes.

[alancalverd]

Not sure about the forum cost but the sponsors obviously think it is money well spent.

The NS broadcasts are justifiable for exactly the opposite reason to a forum! Suppose it costs one penny per listener to broadcast an interview with a Nobel laureate to an audience of 100,000 schoolkids. If you gave them each a penny, would they be able to engage 100,000 lecturers of  similar status for even one minute?

Massive difference between "Reithian" broadcasting, which distributes the best to everyone, and "social" media which distributes the worst to idiot "followers". Forums associated with good radio allow in-depth discussion and personalised explanation of stuff that may have been abbreviated in the live show. 

Whilst we get a fair sprinkling of barking idots here, we do also get sensible answers to genuinely interesting questions, and jousting with Hamdani  and indeed your goodself does make one think critically about stuff we take for granted.

[Eternal Student (OP)]

Hi.

Not sure about the forum cost but the sponsors obviously think it is money well spent.

   Thanks @alancalverd, that's a partial answer.   By "the sponsors" do you mean these people? 

     
            

[Taken from  https://www.thenakedscientists.com/our-sponsors ]
   Is that where all the money is coming from?    Also, it's not clear if they have ear-marked some money for a forum or if they just support  TNS.    3 out of 5 of those sponsors seem to have expertise strongly related to the production and distribution of podcasts.   Is a forum expected or required?

[ Also I've got to say that "Reithian" was a good word I hadn't seen before.  https://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/100-voices/inventingthefuture/reithianism/ .   There's nothing wrong with learning a bit of vocabulary and history, thank you for that ].

Best Wishes.

[alancalverd]

By "the sponsors" do you mean these people?

I guess so. If Rolls Royce's money inspires one future Frank Whittle (Mech Sci, Peterhouse, Cambridge, 1934) through our ramblings, it will be well spent.