Genuine question - are hosting costs of Chief Delphi still covered by IFI? If so, is there any discussion about moving away from that relationship?
It’s obviously a bit different than teams severing ties because in this case IFI is the one paying, not the one making money. However, I still don’t love the idea of this forum’s financial future being dependent on such a company.
The most recent context I could find was this post, so I may be out of date and this may be moot.
Follow up question: does CD have ads?
I remember when I was a wee scout old CD had some VexPro banner ads, but I honestly have no idea how to turn off the multi-layer adblock fortress to check.
Follow up reply: some of the other forums I participate in offer a voluntary paid tier which gives access to an exclusive channel (hardly used) but is mainly understood to be just how the website keeps itself running and somewhat up to date. Users get a special icon and such.
Example:
I too recall the banners on the old site, but don’t recall every seeing anything since the move to Discourse.
Likewise, is TBA considering a move away? IFI (as Vex Pro) seems to be their only financial sponsor at the moment.
Another question, how much does it cost to host CD?
Note also that the only admin is also IFI’s VP of IT.
I know this reply is in jest, but I do want to point out two very real things:
Chief Delphi and similar online outlets have provided a platform where teams and individuals can share their experiences and the community can benefit by seeing they’re not alone, learning the true colors of some actors, etc. Without this forum, the events of this week may never have happened.
I have no reason to believe that IFI has any editorial authority or moderation power over this site. If they did, the content this week would’ve been shut down long ago, I’m sure. I also have no reason to believe that Brandon has anything but good intentions in continuing to do the service of operating this forum.
The financial and employment ties make this messy, but not inherently problematic.
You are very right here, I’m sorry if I offended anyone.
I know of someone who is making a backup of cd. So there’s a failsafe.
Fun but messy fact we recently learned about: apparently The Wayback Machine complies with takedown requests.
I am now running actual backups on everything I was lazily backing up through there (previous versions of website TOSs, historic pricing info, etc).
Please be kind to people who spend a lot of time keeping resources like CD up and running for free for the community. It’s not anyone’s job, there’s no money in it, and it can be difficult at times. Additionally - let’s chill. I’ve only had the chance to meet Brandon once, but he was a super nice dude.
Just to clarify, I was providing specific factual information that was responsive to the OP’s question. I did not intend to imply any past or prospective misconduct by any individual, and I apologise if it came across like that.
I don’t know Brandon, and I don’t know whether his admin role here is purely volunteer or part of his paid work for IFI.
Honestly i would pay a few bucks a month for CD Nitro
I would too, if we were to get a little blue checkmark to show it off. 
Follow up question, does IFI pay costs for The Blue Alliance as well. The bottom of TBA mentioning that they are powered by Vex Pro. Are there any plans to move away from that relationship as well?
No dice on that.
I can offer you CD Blue for $20/month
It comes with a blue checkmark next to your name and an exclusive blue theme (instead of the orange).
I would pay for CD if I got back my Reputation Beyond Repute.
Now that’s an $8/month subscription if I ever heard one: 
Probably in excess of $100 a month, since CD is hosted on Linode.