Column #221; By DanQ

[Locutus]

Originally posted by panag
hi ,

150 pm's is more then what one needs , .......

we dont need all that extra space , ....

have a nice day

Very funny, panag...

Oh, wait, you mean per week?

[Panag]

Originally posted by Locutus


Very funny, panag...

Oh, wait, you mean per week?

hi ,

you can use the download button , .......

and when are you going to finish your interview with Solver , ......

have a nice day

[TCO]

You forgot to discuss our branching thread plans.

[Az]

Branching threads must die!

Great coloumn, Dan.


How about we allow larger avatars for a payment? it would allow us to see avatars, at all, if you know what I mean.

[Dinner]

Don't let the nay sayers get you down Dan. Your writting style is A.O.K.

[mrmitchell]

Don't let the nay sayers get you down Dan. Your writting style is A.O.K.

I hadn't meant that. Dan's writing style is actually refreshing compared to a lot of posters here--for example, every one of five posts in the OT is a heroic epic on [insert mundane issue here] and one of every three posts is "OMGWTF OMG U SCUK". (Well, not every one in three. )

[Frozzy]

You put up the ration in the OTF

[FrustratedPoet]

Very nice column Dan.

[TCO]

Dan, your writing is getting better, but don't let it up. It was awful to start with and needs to keep moving towards Strunk and Whiteness.

[Rasbelin]

Originally posted by Azazel

Whether it's enough to fund an expansion is an open question, but the fact remains that 'Poly is apparently doing OK financially as a free site.

And no one seems to be interested why. Blindness. Well, now we have pop-up ads which we didn't have previously and there's a greater number of banner ads being displayed. So of course by cluttering the site with ads you can increase your ad revenues, but yet that doesn't mean they could afford something like a database or mirror server, which would anyway be good as ACS is not a speedy site to load as it is.

Originally posted by Azazel

How about we allow larger avatars for a payment? it would allow us to see avatars, at all, if you know what I mean.

I second that, brother.

And neither do I need extra PM space or more uploading space as I don't use those features. Things like no ads, custom titles, maybe a small badge (can be turned on and off) and a larger avatar would be nice.

[Lawrence of Arabia]

great story dan.

[Immortal Wombat]

large avatars suck. In fact, keep subscribers at 80*80, and make non-subscribers only 65*65

[Spiffor]

DanQ:
To give feedback about the subscription / donation idea, I would gladly pay a subscription or donate money to 'Poly once it is possible, but only if there is a reciever in the EU as well as in North America.
Indeed, the problem for us broke Europeans is that transactions to the US can have hefty costs (conversion costs, taxes etc.) while they are non existent while staying in the EU. These transaction costs have prevented me to donate to American sites I enjoyed, or to buy Apolyton ware (there is no way I buy the mug for 15€ and then pay 20-30€ extra in various costs).

If these subscriptions become real, would it be possible for Markos to use an account in Europe, as well as the expectable North American account ? Thanks

[PLATO]

I will take a moment here to note that the suggestion of implementing a donations system has been broached on several occasions in the past year and before. Undoubtedly the point will be raised again. As has been said in response to previous instances of the suggestion, and will be reiterated here, we are not comfortable with this premise and as such are not supportive of exploring this avenue at the time being.

Don't want free money? I'm confused. You need money for expansion, you want us to buy from partner companies, but we can't just send you a check? Why is this? This is truly a great site and will likely only get better. If those of us who enjoy its features want to help it get better then we can't do it with direct support, but must do it indirectly through partner companies?

This just doesn't make any sense to me. Maybe there is something I just don't get.

[DanQ]

Originally posted by PLATO1003


Don't want free money? I'm confused. You need money for expansion, you want us to buy from partner companies, but we can't just send you a check? Why is this? This is truly a great site and will likely only get better. If those of us who enjoy its features want to help it get better then we can't do it with direct support, but must do it indirectly through partner companies?

This just doesn't make any sense to me. Maybe there is something I just don't get.

Fair comment.

It is our hope that if and when we are able to get an optional subscriptional service in place, which would provide non-content related perks for those who subscribe, that this will be more or less a direct way of supporting this site financially; there will, of course, be a nominal percentage charged by whatever outfit we select to handle such electronic payments. Given the direct perks that would be received by any subscriber, this would not be a donation but rather a payment for services rendered.

We are not a registered or a non-registered charity and, as such, do not feel comfortable involving ourselves in donation situations. Nonetheless, we are extremely appreciative of such expressions of financial support for this site such as yours.

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Dan; Apolyton CS