Registered Member #23932
Joined: 1:14:58 am GMT 05/12/15
Posts: 408
Hey, Thainites!
We the staff want to get your feedback on something we've been considering.
There are costs associated with running Thain that we, as a group, would like to mitigate a bit. We've always taken donations and we <3 everyone who's ever given to support Thain very much.
However, we have been thinking about switching from a Paypal donation type to a Patreon page. That way we can be completely transparent with how much we're getting and what's going toward the server. This isn't something we've decided on one way or another--we wanted to get your feedback before we made any such changes.
Why do we need this?
The primary expenses to run Thain relate to the costs of maintaining the amount of energy necessary to sustain a server (Jewwe calculates this to be roughly $25-$35 USD per month) and the domain and forum hosting for the thain.org website ($24/year for the domain, and about $26-$32/month for bandwidth). These are expenses that people have been happy to bear with the help of a few donations that come in over the course of the year, however it's always nice to have something saved up in case the people who maintain our server suddenly can't afford it on their own for whatever reason.
What benefit do we get out of this?
Primarily we get the peace of mind that the server and domain won't run out on us unexpectedly. In terms of additional material rewards, we aren't giving out any rewards in exchange for cash. The integrity of the Thain staff will not be corrupted by our insatiable lust for gold and dollars--it hasn't yet, and we don't intend to allow that to happen.
What plans are being made with the money?
No matter what happens, the first thing that any proceeds that come from Patreon will go toward will be server upkeep, and then domain costs. After that, if any additional money is made, we'll look at doing things like saving for server upgrades, paying for advertisements in roleplay groups to bring in new players and -drag them into our neverending torment from which nothing can escape- introduce them to our favorite game and roleplaying community! At no point would money donated for Thain go to anything else. What if I don't want to donate?
Perfect! Don't! We don't want anyone to feel pressured into donating, seriously. We're not here to beg for or steal your money. If you don't want to donate, or aren't able to, we will not judge you and we will not be upset if everyone thinks this is a dumb idea. Again, we're looking for feedback at the moment. Ideally, we'd like to eliminate all chance of this creating bias or friction entirely by having it be fully anonymous.
How much can I donate?
Look at Mr/Mrs. Moneybags over here! We want to offer a lot of low level recurring options, as well as the ability to donate larger amounts one time. We don't have a full breakdown in mind yet, but something along the lines of $1/$2/$3/$4/$5/$10/$20 would be our preference so that people can give as little as they want.
OMG Does this mean Thain is dying from lack of gold coins?!
Nope! Thain is doing absolutely fine. We're not at risk of running out of money any time soon--as you can see from the figures above, Thain isn't super high cost on a month-to-month basis. This will just give us a bit more to work with when it comes time to consider upgrading Thain's hardware or do special projects that can't be done without paying someone.
We want to hear from you--whether you answer the poll anonymously and leave it at that, or write us a long, spirited, and harshly worded critique calling into question some very personal and unsettling flaws in our physical appearances. Please respond to the anonymous poll below with your thoughts.
Thain belongs to the players as much if not moreso than the staff.
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[poll] Thain Patreon!