Turning off ads via subscription revenue

Rys

Graphics @ AMD
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I just asked the top few hundred forum users (those with at least 400 posts and who've got an account at least a year old), to consider subscribing or donating, via private message.

The gist of it is: I'm going to turn off ads as a revenue stream here entirely and I plan to cover the operating costs myself entirely if needs be (part of my blood pact with Wavey back in 2006), and that subscribing or donating is a way to help.

This thread is for feedback and discussion about the message itself, plus the plans to turn off ad revenue entirely at some point soon. None of it really matters since the costs are relatively low, so even if zero new people donate or subscribe then nothing changes, but if there starts to be an excess of income we can make more regular improvements to the place and especially the forums (compensate the mods a bit, enable new forum features that cost money for dev work or plugins, etc).
 
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Honest feedback:

Going ad-free is a fantastic goal to have! All of the effort required to run ads is the bane of my existence at times (especially programmatic). So getting rid of them makes life better for everyone.:)

In the meantime I'm already on a recurring Blue subscription, and that's, well, recurring. So it'll renew itself here whenever it's due.:p

That said, asking people who have an active subscription for money is just a bit tacky. I know this is a blind-fire kind of thing since you just pulled the top posters, but it's a bit off-putting at first since I'm already a subscriber...
 
How about the reverse? I want even more ads.

Because I love this place, but I'm too cheap to donate.

I want to say I don't have money to donate but in reality I buy lots of virtual reality games so I think I actually do have money to spend. Thus my conclusion, I'm simply too cheap.
 
Honest feedback:

Going ad-free is a fantastic goal to have! All of the effort required to run ads is the bane of my existence at times (especially programmatic). So getting rid of them makes life better for everyone.:)

In the meantime I'm already on a recurring Blue subscription, and that's, well, recurring. So it'll renew itself here whenever it's due.:p

That said, asking people who have an active subscription for money is just a bit tacky. I know this is a blind-fire kind of thing since you just pulled the top posters, but it's a bit off-putting at first since I'm already a subscriber...

My mistake, I forgot to exclude existing subscribers from the message filter when setting up the search for the top users list [emoji51]
 
I have no money but I can contribute with articles to drive visits to generate revenue from...
...nevermind...
 
Going ad-free is a fantastic goal to have! All of the effort required to run ads is the bane of my existence at times (especially programmatic). So getting rid of them makes life better for everyone
On a side note I joined AT's forums this year, mainly due to my Ryzen build and to engage in tech discussions there as well. First thing I did was post a thread in your suggestions forums to add a subscription for zero ads. I tried running your site with ads but it's a terrible experience. Please follow the example here and allow a subscription at AT as well :)
 
On a side note I joined AT's forums this year, mainly due to my Ryzen build and to engage in tech discussions there as well. First thing I did was post a thread in your suggestions forums to add a subscription for zero ads. I tried running your site with ads but it's a terrible experience. Please follow the example here and allow a subscription at AT as well :)
Unfortunately it's not up to me. Wish it was, because it's something I'd do if I could.:)
 
I applaud this but my brilliant message was cut short in the donation window, so for anyone interested, here's the full one

Mistake Not My Current State Of Joshing Gentle Peevishness For The Awesome And Terrible Majesty Of The Towering Seas Of Ire That Are Themselves The Mere Milquetoast Shallows Fringing My Vast Oceans Of Wrath
 
Never come across this word before, thank you for extending my vocabulary today :)
It is from a book by Ian M. Banks, who died all too soon sadly. Edit: not the word itself, the whole passage.
 
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I applaud this but my brilliant message was cut short in the donation window, so for anyone interested, here's the full one

Mistake Not My Current State Of Joshing Gentle Peevishness For The Awesome And Terrible Majesty Of The Towering Seas Of Ire That Are Themselves The Mere Milquetoast Shallows Fringing My Vast Oceans Of Wrath
So you're a Culture(d) Mind...
 
It freaked me out and made me feel very guiltiful, I'm asking the wife about the possibility of donating or else I've been trying to come up with an independent source of revenue for myself and if I can manage either I will gladly subscribe.

Thanks for carrying the load everyone, sorry I'm a hopeless leech. :oops:
 
I know for planning purposes you prefered monthly subs, but I didnt want to have to check paypal monthly to make sure they didnt screw up.
 
I know for planning purposes you prefered monthly subs, but I didnt want to have to check paypal monthly to make sure they didnt screw up.
The subscription is setup as a preapproved payment in Paypal. If it doesn't happen for some reason, you'll get an email from Paypal advising.
 
Signed up , hope it helps although i didn't mind the ads. If we fail to hit the goal to keep the site in the black let me know i will donate above the subscription
 
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