A rant on site funding

Why Can't Kevin get someone else to help him, like a backup support. I mean Moderator known as Yakumo is a nice fella. He may willing to help.

 

Well then, he's too busy being sick. No matter what the reason, he should delegate some tasks to others who can support him in his absence. I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't mind helping out around here (myself included), and many have volunteered before. Yet we're right back here discussing the same thing.

I hope I am not coming across as harsh; I really do sympathize with Kevin. But I think video games are art. To me, this place is like a museum of sorts. We're not just video game enthusiasts and collectors here; we are art historians. It is important to the art that we document and research it so that we may preserve its history. It is our responsibility to make sure we do that right. It's bigger than any one person to me.

 

vBulletin 4 which is what this forum is powered by supports Google Adsense, along with other ad networks out the box.

It's extremely easy to setup, even if you have no experience what so ever:

 

Those settings seem to target registered users too, though. Also, you need an AdSense ID (no idea how much of a hassle it is to get one).

 

Well regardless of "Ad's vs no ad's". The way the forum is was how Kevin wanted it. We all, more than likely do or have belonged as free members on other forums at one point. The ads are super irritating. ASSEMblerGames is like no other place. Another member mentioned how video games are like pieces of art and this is the museum. I think that puts it best.

If I were to start my own forum, I would aim high on expectations. With that being said, a forum free of spamming ads that lead you to unsafe webpages, pop ups, flashing ads on the sides sounds like a pretty great idea. A forum that not only are you more free to sell your goods than someplace like ebay, but you're not slapped with fees, etcetera. But to do any of that, it's like Public Access Television, donations have to come from the viewer/member otherwise the channel goes off the air.

That's what AG is. A museum for video games, a public access without many restrictions, free of spamming ads and commercialism. Home of the obscure. A place for us all, equally.

 

yeah but surely it would be for the best if the site could start to at least partially support itself, its all well and good saying its exactly how it should be, but sometimes in life you need to economize and live within your own budget, as assembler pointed out its the same people over and over donating, what happens when these guys stop coming around here, or get into financial troubles themselves, surely its better to make the change now, than to always expect someone to be there to bail you out...........i mean absolutely no offense by that, and i know this site deserves donations a lot more than some other sites, but this thread is testament to the fact that times are changing, nobody expects to see a donations bar on their favorite site, nobody wants to be faced with charges to access certain parts of a website, this mentality came about because every site now days can pretty much support itself from advertising revenue (well any site with sufficient visitors)

the way i see it is if nothing changes the site will always be going from pillar to post for server costs, if you try to monetize you can at least offset those costs and have piece of mind that the site will never bee in a state of desperate need, i don't visit the site all that often but i would like to think that if i don't pop in for a few months the site will still be here when i do pop back

personally i think the decision should lie in the hand of those repeat and regular donators, the very people who have kept the site alive i believe should have the most say in any decisions even if its not exactly what the staff want.......btw i would not be included in that list, i have only donated once and not very much, i am not making out like im some amazing person, i am not, maybe i could donate more but genuinely i have fallen into the same mindset i described here, i never think twice about how a site funds it self because for 99% of sites that simply never even mentioned it as the ad revenue covers it

 

I agree with wheelaa that a (bi)annual fundraiser would promote more diversity donators-side. Also, some sober non-russian-girl-looking-for-you or non-bot-posts ads for unregistered people only would be ok IMO. Most people have adblock anyway.

In any case, I think Kevin should hire someone/accept help to refresh the site a little, and optimise it at the same time maybe.

 

Does anyone knows if he is ok?

If not, I hope he get well soon.

 

Yes he okay. He posted on some thread 14 hours ago.

 

I have to ask, in what way is this forum like a museum? There is no organization in this site at all.


And that is why I question the need for spending so much on hosting this site. There has been little effort over the past few years to actually create a usable archive of the materials that have been revealed here. I see that a Wiki has been made, but without a general strategy on its purpose, it will likely fade away too. Partnerships should have been made with the major video game researchers (e.g. Nintendo Player, Lost Levels) to make something that could be used as a reference sites. Instead, we see outright beligerence against some of the most focused video game archivists.

 

It's more like a collaborative "popular museum". Focusing on grey-hat (devkits, betas, etc.) or rare stuff.

There's just so much information here that you can't find elsewhere! It's called "home of the obscure" for a reason!

 

There is not a lack of freedom when it comes to posting as long as you aren't an idiot about it. In just about every case of editing that I have seen, it has been a case of flaming, trolling or breaking the rules (i.e. going well off topic after a mod has tried to steer a thread back on course).

 

Yep; honestly I don't remember seeing lack of freedom around here (at least not without a very good and valid reason) in the years I've been a member... Granted, some of the subforums I never go to, but I can only assume the mods/admin use the same rules for the entire forums.

 

Seriously, lack of freedom? Everybody has a problem with women? I'll express my freedom & say, what the fuck are you talking about? Honestly, your rant on how everybody feels about women who are on the Internet, saying everyone has problems with them, while it seems to be only a problem for you.

& why would we have a section on our profiles that says what gender we are, anyway? We are all people, & we are here to talk about games. I couldn't care less what your gender is, only what comes out of your mouth. That's how big of a problem I have with women, I treat them as if they are an actual person. Oh no!
& where is anyone saying, "don't say that," when someone claims they are a female?

Sticking up for women is always good with a mature signature like that, by the way.

 

As a female that has been on the internet for a large portion of my life, I can honestly say - I have never had anyone bitching to me about having major issues with females online outside of some general stereotypes (females don't play video games, enjoy science fiction, horror and so-on and so-forth).

In regards to females online, there are some that are causing issues within the community: females that are using fake personas to garner attention within the community under the aforementioned stereotypes, others that are screaming about irrelevant issues or those with a blatantly obvious misunderstanding of what is deemed as sexism and feminism without a shred of true and confirmed evidence to back up their arguments nor the capacity to allow valid responses back by either: blocking posts OR deleting them.

Guess what?

None of the above actually happens on here. I've not been censored. Others have not been censored unless they've broken the rules by doing anything that would've caused their posts to either be edited or deleted.

I've not had any issues whatsoever on Assembler Games with any users and the only things I have seen edited were: spam, un-permitted content, constant off-topic posts, abuse, harassment or someone throwing a tantrum and bloating sections of the forum with ridiculous and/or mature content that was promptly and quietly cleaned up.

That said, given the content of your signature and your post (including your failure to post with proper grammar or spelling)... I do not feel that you particularly have any right to make assumptions that everyone on this site has an issue with women as I have yet to see anyone on here that fits your complaints.

CrAzY has certainly hit the point on the head, nobody particularly cares as to what gender the users. If you want to post something, then you do. If you just want to lurk and learn, you can do that.

The only restriction on here is in regard to the Wiki access and that is for an entirely valid reason of it being previously defaced. I have an internal wiki on my own website and have made access private/on request only for the same issue.

[To the mods, feel free to give me a warning or anything for flaming or anything else if you want to on this one. Just wanted to have my 2 cents there.]

 

I actually think he awkwardly/clumsily wanted to say the "problem" with women on forums is that on some forums they get harassed/bothered by users because they're women. But that was clearly lost in translation. I think that because of his last two sentences.

That said I completely agree with Lamont and Crazy. This forum is one of the most female-respectful among the video-game ones that I know of. A lot of users are female and they get minor hassle if any. Kev and the staff do a great job at enforcing respect.

 

To address the point in hand without going off topic, obviously Kevin has stated that he doesn't want to go down the ad route at all if possible. Likewise, he is the only administrator - respect that he doesn't want someone else having complete control over his forum.

I have a suggestion myself. Kev's right that people who make money on the site quite often never donate. There are people who sell the odd item, when they need some cash or are clearing out. That's fine. However, there are people who are pretty much (and literally in some cases) advertising a business. I like to call them traders. They are the ones who list a never-ending supply of an item or items - mod chips, mod kits, parts, Framemeisters, repair and installation services etc. They are a mixed bag - some of them regularly donate and are long-term members, always joining in with conversation. Some don't donate, but converse. Some don't talk at all, and pretty much use the site as a free advertising space. So... why should they be selling multiples of a product, but not contributing to the server costs?

Well, a solution would be to charge these people. It could be just a small fee, perhaps... maybe monthly, or yearly. In return, they could get something quite valuable - a trader-only forum. Why is this valuable? Because at the moment, they have to battle with everyone else selling their wares to get their listings noticed. This would be a forum where only they have posting rights. As of right now, there are at least 9 posts on the first page that fit this description and several that have fallen down to the second page or even further. So it would help them, and it clears the clutter for those wanting to clear out their cupboards.

I might well be selling like this in future, and I'd be happy to make such a contribution.

A REMINDER TO ALL

The forum welcomes people of all countries, ages, genders, sexual orientations, races etc. We ask that you are respectful to others and follow the rules. That is the ONLY limitation we impose (sure, there are a fair few rules, but it basically boils down to playing nice and doing certain things when selling to protect everyone involved). Racism, sexism and homophobia are NOT ACCEPTABLE. We ask you to try and moderate your language where possible as there are youngsters who frequent the site, too. Other than that, we're actually told not to be too aggressive in our moderating. If you see someone reprimanded, there's a good reason - it may not have been made public but that is because it doesn't concern everybody. If someone does something wrong, they will be asked to stop, probably in private.

Lamont - I was tempted to censor your post for comedy value, where you said you'd never been censored here!