Tristan,
Technically its not Ill-leagal.
Well, I'm not certain of the legality. It'd probably be subject to whatever the regulations are here in Canada.
I mean schools have raffles. We can do what ever we want. I have 75 speakers that I got from my uncle. They are small and old but I tested all of them and they all work. I would be willing to raffle off 5-10 of them.
Not to belittle your offer (it's much appreciated), but do you think anyone would really want to win some old speakers?
McGuyver,
Not to be too forward about it Porfiry, but what does it cost to keep this site going? How much money needs to be generated in order to keep the site going, including your expense in labor?
Well, it's impossible to quantify the 'labour' component. I'm not actually employable at the moment, but I am taking time away from university studies to run the site. Of course, if it wasn't for these personal projects of mine I'd be horribly depressed (even more so than currently

), so it's probably worth it. Heck, it's really fun running this site. If it wasn't, I wouldn't bother.
As for the actual costs, a high traffic site like sciforums needs a few hundred dollars a month to run. However, if you're looking to just do a smaller site, your costs would be well under $100 per month. If you have a cable modem or DSL connection, you can host the site off your own computer (this is what I do with webfansite as I need a lot of raw space and lots of unmetered bandwidth).
Now, as I've said before, I'd like to avoid user donations for as long as possible. I think it's annoying to users and it seems a bit desperate. It's not as if I'm in need of the cash. In all honesty, exosci made enough money during the height of the internet bubble, when advertising was lucrative, to support my website endeavors for a while. So while the cash flow at the moment is distinctly negative, the net balance over the years is still nicely positive.
Additionally, I'm quite certain that the internet advertising market will recover OR an alternate funding model (possibly micropayments) will emerge. I'm probably willing to wait things out until the end of my education (6 months or 2 years depending on if I pursue a Masters).
Finally, I think it's compelling that, while other sites are either loading up with ads or begging for money, I can maintain my sites at their prime without those distractions. sciforums should be like a warm and comfortable coffee shop down the street where everyone knows your name.