Critical Funds

[Guest Flesh_Seraph]

I've read the allusions to "critical funding levels" on the front page and I can imagine this site going into "donate or else!" ultimatum crisis mode very soon. Though it's all well and good to rely on the kindness of strangers, some people don't want to donate at random because of the lack of oversight.

My suggestion would be, if you have a certain goal that you want to achieve in terms of funding, enumerate exactly how the money will be spent and then drive toward that number. I think this will help for a number of reasons:

1. It provides oversight, so there is no ambiguity about how much or how little a donation will help. Many people probably rationalize the lack of a donation by saying "Well, they dont' really need the money" or "They'll just spend it pimping out their personal computers". If you can demonstrate that neither case is true, people will be more inclined to give.

2. If donations are sparse, a display of "funds received" vs. "funds needed" will shame otherwise lazy people into donating. Many people may forego a donation simply because they assume that someone else is giving instead. Hit them with the hard numbers. Tell them how their money will be spent, and let them see the consequences that are coming for lack of funds.

I think you should implement this before you officially enter crisis mode. Include a total cash goal, an itemized list of how the money will be spent, a justification for each item (to the layperson, website-related expenses can be baffling), a deadline to meet the goal (make sure it's not an artificial one, either) and some method of tracking donation progress that is prominently displayed. Then, provide a donation link with instructions (I'm sure you have most of this part implemented already).

Just my thoughts. While you may not want to engage in so much transparency when it comes to the financial needs and workings of the site, you might see better results if you give it a shot.

- FS

[DemonGoddess]

Actually, the donations would be towards the same thing the advertisements are for. Site hosting costs, any software costs that come up (forum license renewal for example), and other things of that nature. The entire site is rather large, has a dedicated server, so you can well imagine that the monthly costs are a bit up there.

[Guest Jaxxy]

[...] I can imagine this site going into "donate or else!" ultimatum crisis mode very soon.[...]

I can imagine that you

can

imagine this -- it was rather common, back in the day. But, a year ago, everything changed.

That'll never happen on my beat, barring dire emergency (of which, there is already much prevention in place -- that much is apparent, considering our recent stability). To illustrate my meaning, let me share a few of the conclusions I've reached, by blow-for-blowing your post,

Flesh_Seraph

. (Mind, I'm using this as an opportunity to clarify, nothing more -- please, take no offense.)

If people require an ultimatum before they will help, they aren't

going

to help -- either at all, or in the spirit

of

help. If it's been forced, it's not help, any more than rape is lovemaking. One is togetherness; the other is a fear tactic. A personal-made-public goal of mine is to

lessen

fear in the world, if I can. I find that we can all do this, if only in not creating more of it. (Though I hope to lessen fiction lovers' fears through advocating our rights, in maintaining AFF, as well.)

At its core, the "Give, now, or the site gets it!" practice contradicts itself. Proactivity in one's cause doesn't wait for anything, let alone a threat; giving to your love, when you can, is a joy, and should never feel like a sentance. Any way you slice it, the higher aims of a thing can't be achieved through threats... it is these higher things that I seek for our little corner of the world, quite beyond anything attached to a dollar sign. (If anything, I find the stigmas and "freedoms" of the almighty dollar to be limiting, tiresome, and embarrassing.)

To demand is to misrepresent the sought-for relationship between any Member and myself (also a Member). If there's little to no donations activity (or volunteering, or simple shows of appreciation -- these contribute as well), it's my surmise that Members (i) are not thinking five dollars every two months can matter, (ii) believe, due to the stablility of things, we are "fine", (iii) do not trust us, or (iv) honestly don't have it to spare. Thing is, what people choose to believe becomes their own pesonal reality, and is not overly budge-able.

[...]

enumerate exactly how the money will be spent and then drive toward that number

. [...]

That was

my

idea!

A reasonable facsimile thereof was customary in 2007. Suffice it to say that it proved itself to be one of those things that's gorgeous -- perfect, ideal, a huge love-in, after mine own heart -- in concept. It works in the

mind

, but not so much in the "real world" -- at least, for some reason, with AFF.

Now, I know other types of communities and business models and services

do

do these things every day -- with success -- but the AFF animal is very much its own (one of the things people love about it is this originality).

No amount posting or threatening or transparency has proved to make people believe where they'd rather not. (Sometimes I wonder if that's because, when people are using AFF, they are in a suspended-reality sort of state, to enjoy the fiction.)

[...] Many people probably rationalize the lack of a donation by saying "Well, they dont' really need the money" or "They'll just spend it pimping out their personal computers". [...]

Not sure how anyone can seriously think either one of those things -- what a horrible thing this could mean, if it's general consensus -- but I am aware there is quite a bit of self-justification afoot. Still, a person who doesn't want to do something will justify their inclinations to the end, no matter what is done -- it's an inside deal.

It's simple. If a person frequently enjoys a website, trusts its caretakers, and can see (for themselves, but it is only fair to remind) what the truth of the matter is --

if

they've freed themselves from a fatal-but-common sense of entitlement -- that person will feel moved to help with little cajoling (stipulating they have the couple of dollars to share in the first place).

If people believe that we

would

-- or have the financial luxury

to

-- squander any kind of money, on a public or private level, regardless of the source, or if AFF is thought to be some type of scam... all I can say is that I have experienced that this sentiment will endure as long as a person is partial to it.

(Irony: I have been using an old, constantly-breaking-down and requiring-new-parts computer for months; as I type right now, my vision is skewed, because my LCD monitor is about 10% black. I don't have another machine.)

2. If donations are sparse, a display of "funds received" vs. "funds needed" will shame otherwise lazy people [...] let them see the consequences that are coming for lack of funds.

Actually, I am, right now, considering the logistics of another approach that I believe Members will find rewarding, instead of shaming -- a Donors' Club! But I will say no more...

yet

.

I must be so bold as to reject the practice of discussing the site's, its core Staff's, its software's, its legal situation's, etc. financial situations in detail -- I used to, to the Nth degree, and it ended in disaster.

When too many different people see hard numbers, they often take it upon themselves to "do their own math"; from there, they decide what a thing can and cannot do without, figuring the numbers along to their perspectives, never knowing the thing's inner workings. It's also fairly universal a concept that money is a

very

personal thing, and that, mistakes in one's "own math" are critical ones.

[...] a deadline to meet the goal (make sure it's not an artificial one, either) [...]

I would

never

.

[...] While you may not want to engage in so much transparency when it comes to the financial needs and workings of the site, you might see better results if you give it a shot. [...]

Kind and good counsel,

Flesh_Seraph

-- I can't thank you enough for bringing up this sensitive subject (it makes even

me

squirmy)! I'm sure it's something that lots of people wondered about. The specifically suggested path is tried-and-untrue, but that doesn't belittle the wisdom of your ideas -- or the generosity of your contribution (this is one of those, believe it or not).

Don't fear, though. Everything I've said over on Site News, in Site Announcements, and Forums email broadcasts, is how it will go; there will be no crisis/ultimatum scenario permitted. As I've said, I ask for help out of one idea: avoiding the grand "sell-out" that other sites have resorted to, just to get by (if I wasn't of this mind, I would've caved into the idea of Google Ads in 2005... nothing doing).

I've publicly discussed what we need, and how I will endeavor to support us if our own communities remain unmoved, and that's all I'll do. What I've said is how it'll happen, too --

no

further craziness will ensue in any foreseeable aspect of this website; it's been a needless spectacle,

at

best

.

If anyone -- genuinely -- still has too vague of an idea about who I am or where my heart is, please, ask me. I'm saddened by the belief that I am a threatening or shady sort.

[Harley Quinn hyenaholic]

How about a place where people who donate can be thanked and their stories linked to. That way, the more you donate, the higher near the top of the list you are, and the more smug you can be.

You might even get people competing to donate.

I know I donated $100 recently.

[Guest Jaxxy]

How about a place where people who donate can be thanked and their stories linked to. That way, the more you donate, the higher near the top of the list you are, and the more smug you can be.

You might even get people competing to donate.

I wonder if you read minds... that is utterly eerie! (Or... did I mention a Donors' Club idea here already? Oh yeah, I did, in my last post on this thread, that's right... but still!)

All of two whole hours before I saw this post, I'd

just

finished speaking with our coder extraordinaire on a little idea I hope she can help me implement for this... it includes links, or maybe an icon on Member or Forum profiles, whatever we can force the coding into giving us, really. Argh, my surprise -- it is no longer surpriseful! But we've got others.

(Man, I hope the coding'll let us do this now...) Dude!

Shhh!

But yeah, you're exactly right -- we've needed a public way of showing off Donors for a long time. It's probably that, up til very recently,

months

've gone by with no donations at all... that made it so I couldn't really justify starting up a little something earlier (along with repeated programming mutinies... asdf;lkh).

I'm gonna do this, if at all technically possible, because it will honor those who lend a hand. I hope it'll encourage others to start, too, but I don't wanna put up how much people gave and cause competition... I just want to make people happy by putting their name up in lights, one way or another. I mean, most of the help we've gotten has been two or five dollars, and those guys should feel as special as everyone else. Last thing I want is to make people who help feel

bad

. (I figure, they took the time to hit the "Donate" button and log in and all that, so if they had more to give, it wouldn't be much more effort -- which I think is the main thing -- to add on a twenty.)

Guess you can see I'm excited -- I'm pretty happy with the response so far. It shows some awareness, and that's my favorite thing, ever. Beyond the beautiful thought, the dollars and cents are enough to cover some of the bills that were really getting out-of-handly nervous-making, if not get the outside help we need, yet. But what's important is that people are finally thinking about AFF -- a few have even entered the Banner Contest! (I can't wait to get some of them running~)

:touched: (Did I mention we need more emoticons?) Oh... here.

!

I know I donated $100 recently.

Thank

you, you

HarleyQuinn hyenaholic

person! I bet you're one of the ones I didn't get to send a thank-you email to yet, either... I'm

so

swamped, I think my head is going to fall off. I'm sorry -- we'll fix you all up just as soon as we can, I promise. I want to!

P. S. -- When I get this thing happening, don't worry if you don't want your name or email or even profile links showing, because it'll be optional -- some people are really private like that, so I'm gonna find a way to ask people first.

[DemonGoddess]

As I said, the forum part is EASY.

For those donors who wish to be known as donors, I can easily create a user group that says that is what they are.

All I need from them is their forum user name, and I move 'em into the group. That way, anyone who looks at 'em here will SEE that under their names, rather than member or junior member. And, as part of registration requirements for the forum is giving a valid archive user link, all anyone has to do is click that link to see the user's profile.

Something for far in the future (and I do mean far, like a year at best) that we can likely do is linking between the profiles in the different programs, once we get the new software working in the manner it needs to be. But in the meantime, at least for the forum, it's definitely very very easy to do.

Thank you for your donation Harley!

[Harley Quinn hyenaholic]

Yeah, that's right! If you want to look as amazing as me (and as stupid, but that's beside the point) you gotta donate money!

[Guest Jaxxy]

Yeah, that's right! If you want to look as amazing as me (and as stupid, but that's beside the point) you gotta donate money!

:pipe up from back of room: I think you

all

look

just

as amazing and as stupid as Harley!

That didn't come out right... :strike pose for bloggers: