Founder Twilight Sparkle ✨ 8,527 January 31, 2012 Founder Share January 31, 2012 With our increasing growth and server expenses, I took the time yesterday to make some major changes to the way donations towards MLP Forums are handled. First off, I've scrapped the old subscriptions application and replaced it with a donation tracker. It cost some money, but the new system is really far better suited towards a fan forum like this one where we simply have expenses that need covering. The donation tracker allows me to set up donation goals when there is a specific expense that needs covering. Yesterday, for instance, I set up a goal to raise $70 for April's server bill - which you guys met really quickly! Goal-based donations like these will hopefully make the site's costs a bit more visible to everyone, and they definitely have a stronger call to action than the old subscriptions system ever did. Also, the donation tracker gets a fancy button in the header, which should make its existence more obvious - I've had a few people ask how to donate to the site before. Second, we used to have separate "premium donor" and "donor" ranks, which were dependent on the price of the subscription you signed up for. These have been merged into a single "donor" rank which costs $10/monthly (or $1/3 days) to keep. The new donation system is fully automated, and will automatically grant you 3 days of donor status for every dollar you donate - and yes, subsequent donations are stackable. The new, unified donor rank will allow users to have the large signatures that were once exclusive to "premium donors". Email forwarders and email accounts have been removed as donor perks (but donors who already have them aren't losing theirs). I'm considering re-introducing them at some point in the future, but have nothing to announce yet. Please note that I have not finished merging the two donor ranks yet, so some of you may have temporarily lost your donor status. This might take me a day or two to finish - I've got a lot of schoolwork to keep up with outside of this forum, too. Lastly, the spreadsheet is turning out to be a bit inefficient with more donations and expenses coming in, as it needs to be updated manually every time. It will probably be removed. 7 Avatar credit: robinrain8 Signature credit: Kyoshi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero000 435 January 31, 2012 Share January 31, 2012 I like the new system! I have one question: Will there be any way for the existing donors to track their current days? I assume the email forwarder would get lost if my donor were to run out before me knowing. Signatures are for fillies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Twilight Sparkle ✨ 8,527 January 31, 2012 Author Founder Share January 31, 2012 I like the new system! I have one question: Will there be any way for the existing donors to track their current days? I assume the email forwarder would get lost if my donor were to run out before me knowing. I don't know - I haven't had time to fully explore the new donation tracker yet. But you can always ask me if you want to know how long you have left. Keep in mind, I haven't transitioned the old subscriptions to the new system yet. You get to keep your email forwarder indefinitely - I had to set it up manually, and it would be an administrative pain to remove them manually when people's donor statuses expire, too. Avatar credit: robinrain8 Signature credit: Kyoshi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero000 435 January 31, 2012 Share January 31, 2012 I don't know - I haven't had time to fully explore the new donation tracker yet. But you can always ask me if you want to know how long you have left. Keep in mind, I haven't transitioned the old subscriptions to the new system yet. You get to keep your email forwarder indefinitely - I had to set it up manually, and it would be an administrative pain to remove them manually when people's donor statuses expire, too. First of all that's awesome to hear. And I'd be grateful if you'd let me know before it runs out. Signatures are for fillies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apple Bloom 2,933 January 31, 2012 Share January 31, 2012 (edited) I'm okay with this. I think it'll bring in more donations and you have to actually donate on a daily/monthly basis to keep your status. Kind of changes the meaning of "donor" from "someone who has donated" to "someone who actively donates" which, in my opinion, makes more sense. My only question is, do donors still get larger messenger inboxes and custom titles? You didn't mention that. Edited January 31, 2012 by Apple Bloom Signature by @Nico. Come join us for movies and more! Every Friday on Equestria.tv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Twilight Sparkle ✨ 8,527 January 31, 2012 Author Founder Share January 31, 2012 First of all that's awesome to hear. And I'd be grateful if you'd let me know before it runs out. Your donor status expires on March 13. But really, this is about supporting the site, not keeping your donor title. I'm okay with this. I think it'll bring in more donations and you have to actually donate on a daily/monthly basis to keep your status. Kind of changes the meaning of "donor" from "someone who has donated" to "someone who actively donates" which, in my opinion, makes more sense. My only question is, do donors still get larger messenger inboxes and custom titles? You didn't mention that. Well, you had to donate regularly to keep your status before, too, but it's a lot more obvious now with the new system. The goal-based structure of the new donation system also makes it super-easy to hold a fundraiser for... just about anything. Server bills, software purchases, even charity. And the entire system is completely automated and will credit further days to your donor status depending on how much you donate - I had to manually do that before. Yes, donors still get larger PM inboxes and custom titles. They get space for 500 messages, to be exact. Also, just wanted to let all the donors know that I've finished manually recreating your subscriptions on the old system as donations in the new one. So you should all have your donor status back. 1 Avatar credit: robinrain8 Signature credit: Kyoshi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fox 5,330 February 26, 2012 Share February 26, 2012 If I wasn't poor... I'd donate :*( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninja Derpy 343 February 26, 2012 Share February 26, 2012 If I could use VISA, I would donate.... Do you think you could make more donation options? If you allowed more I could donate. My sister owes me around $40. I would give at least $10! "I am more silent than night itself..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoop 8,384 February 26, 2012 Share February 26, 2012 Do you think you could make more donation options? More options like what, exactly? Paypal covers a lot of bases on its own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLARE 952 February 26, 2012 Share February 26, 2012 If I could use VISA, I would donate.... You can, follow the steps as normal, when you get to the paypal part click Don't have a paypal account. Pictures 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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