TLS.net Finances

[Cthulhu]

After some discussion here and there about TLS's financial situation (before you start: no, we aren't in any particular financial situation), and this here is a thread to discuss the various options, .

I've setup a PayPal account, so theoretically TLS can receive donations through it. However, I wasn't able to get a proper picture on what is and / or isn't allowed, or which button to use in order to accept donations, or whether we'd need a special PayPal account for a charitable organization or whatnot. Anyone have any clue and/or experience with that? I know there's some limits to how much moolah I can receive through that account (I've got a private / personal account right now), but what's the deal with websites?

But anyways, that's option one, donations.

Option two would be adding advertisements. I've had Google ads on FFOF for over a year now, and while it's not a major money-maker on there (which is probably also due to its relatively low visitor amount and whatnot), the revenue I've got from it so far is enough to largely pay for the hosting (same host as on here btw)

Option three would be a combination of both, where everyone gets ads, except those that have donated an X amount (nothing too high btw) - those would get a special status so their ads get hidden / never get displayed. An alternative would be reduced ads, but I think that people would rather donate a relatively small amount for complete ad removal.

Option four would be similar to three, but on a subscription base - people would pay an annual subscription fee (or monthly, or seasonaly, or whatever) for ad removal and, if it ever comes to that, additional benefits that I still have to figure out. If we ever manage to get a shop system back up like back on ACF, exclusive purchases could be an option (which could also apply to regular donators and whatnot btw).

Plenty 'o options, what's your take?

 

[Tetsujin]

Paying for ad removal would be a bad idea I think. Mainly because most people use ad blockers anyway.
For example, I've never seen any of those FFOF ads you speak of.

 

[Cthulhu]

Chrome doesn't have adblock yet, so yeh. Even so, worst-case scenario if everyone who has Firefox uses Adblock, that still means that more than half of the visitors would still get ads.

 

[Madame Mayor]

I don't think ad removal is that bad considering people will donate anyways, ad removal should just be a little bonus. Subscriptions sound good, where you get ad removal, bonus shop stuff, little stars beside your name or something silly like ACF had. The extras shouldn't be so much that people who honestly can't donate feel left out, but enough that if someone was deciding whether or not to donate, the little extras they get might sway them to do so.

As for Paypal, I don't think there is a way to accept donations as different from other ways to accept money. Paypal will take a small amount (very very small) of what is sent for themselves (which is why it's "free" for the most part). All you would need to do is give everyone the e-mail address of your paypal account, and then people can start sending you money.

There should be a way to link people to it as well, so they just click, put in their info and how much they are donating, and send.

 

[Cthulhu]

Yar, button of sorts, I've seen that around. Haven't been able to actually locate the button yet though, I'm thinking it's only available for charity organizations.

 

[Madame Mayor]

Nah, I've seen stores have paypal buttons and such. When I have time I'll look around for info.

 

[Makoeyes987]

Just tell me how much it'd be to upgrade or increase our bandwidth, because I'd gladly help pay for it so we won't have to worry about using it all up and thus get the site and forums shut down.

It's well within my means.

 

[Cookie Monster]

That's quite epic.

 

[Tennyo]

You know, I don't mind the smaller text only ads that Google has. Banner ads are a no, and anything that might cause a pop up/have sound/cause seizures. But I've always thought that Google's ads were very discreet and not much of an eyesore. I wouldn't really mind that.

And I echo what Balthea said. There could perhaps be a tiny symbol next to someone's name to indicate that they donated. Or maybe some other special feature. Nothing too big I'd say.

 

[Cthulhu]

From my experiences on FFOF, the smallest Google ads really didn't bring in anything whatsoever, only real income source was the big banner at the top, which shows really ugly ads at times. I'd have to check if I can set it so those only show the text ads, not the full banners about some emo chat program.

@Mako, much appreciated and whatnot, . I'll check out Bluehost and see how much bandwidth they offer. They did allow paying through PayPal, which is a good thing now that I have an account on there that'll work with my bank account.

 

[Tennyo]

Bluehost ftw! doitdoitdoitdoit!

 

[Makoeyes987]

Awesome YopY, please keep me updated ^^

 

[Madame Mayor]

[quote author=Cthulhu link=topic=164.msg3363#msg3363 date=1229939885]
I'll check out Bluehost and see how much bandwidth they offer. They did allow paying through PayPal, which is a good thing now that I have an account on there that'll work with my bank account.
[/quote]
Ya, they accept Paypal, and they still haven't ever told me there's a limit on bandwidth. XP And their Control Panel is really nifty too.

 

[Cthulhu]

Yeah, it's not the first time I've heard of them. I'll goan ask them about their bandwidth policy, our current host also offers 'unlimited' bandwidth, but in reality it's a fair use policy, meaning that we're not allowed to exceed the average on this server or something.

 

[Dawnbreaker]

Couple of things that seem to draw peoples interest to donate:

-Larger sized avvies/siggies
-Star by their name
-Their specially made avvie/siggy (maybe assign someone on staff to do this?)
-A colored username (obviously not the same as staffs)
-A profile pic (or a larger one)
-A blog/album option
-Extra starting gil/plushies, etc. whatever you'll use for currency, whatever new fangled thing you'll have (if so)

Um, that's all I can think of off-hand. It's what I've seen over forums over the years. As funny as it sounds, the colored username sounds particularly popular, though I'm not even sure why.

Good luck with it all. If I gets a D plushie, I'd certainly consider donating.

 

[Cthulhu]

We'd first have to either find a shop addon, find a different forum software that has a shop addon, or develop our own shop addon, and only the first one I'd be arsed in getting, . But there's been a load of demand for that one, so I'd consider it if it was available / feasible. I'd prefer not to add it in our current forum software thingy though, it's shit when it comes to developing stuff for it.

The others do seem appealing though, I'll go and see if that's easy to implement.

 

[Geostigma]

You could have the google add , where after every first post of a thread (and after that its like after every 30ish posts in said thread) a googlebot makes an ad in said thread.
It will take up the same amount of room as a normal post , except it will have an image of the ad and thats about it.

Its out of the way (kind of) loads quick , and can easily be over looked by someone if they want to.

 

[Cthulhu]

Yar, there's plenty of advertising opportunities on a forum, but I'd like to wait with that until we've decided that donations just won't cut it, .

For this year, the target is roughly $160,-, to pay for the hosting on the previous host, the hosting on the current host, and next year's hosting. Although we might be forced to move on to a next host by then, which would increase said target.

 

[Nocturne]

I would like to. Maybe if I get a little more from one of my paychecks I could. But I also have car insurance and books coming up this month =/

 

[Arianna]

I'm going to see if perhaps I can give $5 or $10 a month to help out. It's not much, but we've got a poor gal on our hands here. I'm going to see if I can start that this month.

 

[Cthulhu]

Just don't donate if you can't actually afford it, .

 

[Dawnbreaker]

I'd donate, but I really really really hate Paypal. Any other way I can do so?

 

[sephirothpaine]

[quote author=Cthulhu link=topic=164.msg5795#msg5795 date=1231087313]
Just don't donate if you can't actually afford it, .
[/quote]

I can't........I blame college and my $300+ books.

 

[Cthulhu]

[quote author=Daryl Falchion link=topic=164.msg5952#msg5952 date=1231128940]
I'd donate, but I really really really hate Paypal. Any other way I can do so?
[/quote]

As far as I'm concerned, you could send money by mail, if you trust that. I've got money sent from Australia, so I guess it could work. I'd chuck it inside a postcard or something other non-transparent if I were you though.

[quote author=sephirothpaine link=topic=164.msg5961#msg5961 date=1231133861]
I can't........I blame college and my $300+ books.
[/quote]

holyshits, what book could possibly be $300+ without being made of pure sheet gold,

 

[Madame Mayor]

I'm hoping he was referring to multiple books. My one and only textbook of last semester was $160 (before or after tax, I don't remember).