"WP Supporters"/Donations?

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Absolutely. And it's only because I would hate WP to disappear, and was struck so forcibly yesterday by how rebarbative the donation process is ( unless can simply send a cheque ) that I am suggesting that the page, and donation options, should be changed, and I suddenly wondered whether in fact WP is swimming in donations and perhaps there is no need to improve the process, ( though sinsboldly's remarks on the thread about ads would suggest not ).

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Having just done a quick search for "wrong planet contribution", I am inclined to think Alex is not looking for contributions that might be difficult (beyond their means) for people to make. From Alea Teeters, Techno Identity week #7, 4-5-06:
http://web.media.mit.edu/~alea/TechnoId ... 7paper.doc

As an aside: Ixquick Metasearch is a search engine that does not record IP addresses ...
http://www.ixquick.com/

That article is three and a half years old, and since then he has put in the WP Supporters button/option, ( which I don't remember seeing when I joined in July 2007, or perhaps he never removed it ), because the running costs have risen so much and ad revenue is, apparently, so inadequate, ... so, although I don't believe that he is asking for donations out of greed, and also agree that one can contribute by making helpful/useful posts in response to other's questions, ( as I often do about diet for instance! ), I think that it is clear from remarks dropped by mods on a fairly regular basis that donations are very welcome, perhaps even essential for the continued upkeep of the site, and that therefore a clearer set of instructions for, and greater flexibility in the donation process might be a good idea! ...
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Last edited by ouinon on 22 Nov 2009, 10:32 am, edited 1 time in total.

Sure. I am just speculating about things being set up as at present in reflection of not expecting contributions from folks who might already be having trouble meeting their own day-to-day expenses.

this thread is fascinating, and I am sending it directly to Alex. (I have been copying everthing people have sent to me in PM as well.)
The information here is what I have been suggesting to Alex for a while, but the way our membership has expressed it is far superior to what ever I have actually communicated to our developer.


Merle

While keeping in mind that all of us well understand WP's finances are none of our business, maybe you could nevertheless ask Alex what consistent level of total monthly contributions might be required to dispense with the advertising. Personally, I have to believe there are enough folks here who are committed to WP and financially able to keep its operating expenses covered for the sake of all ... and some kind of gadget on the front page or somewhere could keep us informed as to how well we are staying out of Alex' pocketbook.

Personally, if I were considering donating to the website, then I would consider it's finances my business.

Oh, and I personally don't see a link for donating anywhere, and I did look around. If it's there, it's quite well hidden. (I do wonder if it's something that appears different in different browsers though.)

If you invited me to your house for a visit and let me know I could voluntarily bring some chips, if I like, would you think it reasonable for me to then ask to inventory your pantry? Alex and/or WP would only owe an accounting if in some kind of contract or partnership.



In my browser, it is the line that says "Support Wrong Planet Awareness!" just below "RSS - Forums - Aspire Affection" to the right of the big green-and-blue "WrongPlanet.net" at the top of the page.

Very very much a different situation. If I'm contributing chip to a social gathering, then how many people are at the social gathering, and how much food is there, are things that are visible to me. Those aren't hidden away. And I do have a sense of what I'm being invited to, number of people and such, before I go buy those chips. Or, at the very least, I know how many people are in my group, and whether that's a fair amount of food to bring. How much me and the people coming with me eat is something I already know, without needing the person throwing the party to tell me, and without needing to look in their pantry.

Seems to me that it's quite fair for me to want some sense of how much a website costs before donating. It's not like looking in the pantry. It's like knowing how much I eat. I know how much I eat when I bring those chips. Well, I want to know the same kind of information before contributing to a website. How much does my use cost.

It's also nice to know the overall donation picture. Again, this isn't parallel to looking in the pantry. Rather, it's like, when going to a party, knowing how many other people are bringing stuff. I'm more likely to bring those chips if I know that it's not going to be one more bag of chips on top of a bunch of others, with more chips than we can eat.

Your inventorying the pantry example, that's parallel to asking about Alex's personal finances. Which is something different.



Thanks. So, hidden (sort of), and only linked from the forum pages, not linked or mentioned on the home page of the site.

I have thought about that quite a bit over these past few days, and I do not completely disagree. Personally, I could either contribute or not without having to know whether my contribution was actually needed, yet I do believe it would at least be nice to know whether contributions are actually covering the costs of keeping WP running smoothly ... and that could even include being sure the moderators have nice computers and fast connections for personal use in providing their services. So if there was a gadget at least showing "Costs Covered Well This Month, Folks!", I might wait until the mercury dips a bit before making a contribution ... but then I would definitely get right on with making one to be sure Alex does not have to go looking for his wallet.

Hey! That would be nice!

Just after I became a moderator, I (and a couple of other moderators) got a free WP t-shirt from Alex. Then sinsboldly had to pay for her own - and subsequently gave it away - to Tony Attwood.

Other than the t-shirts, I'm not aware that any one else has received anything for moderating the site.

Hello, just my two cents as someone who fundraises for a living:

The more options you offer for donating, the more donations you'll get. Many people may only be interested in a one-time contribution rather than monthly.

Donors definitely want to know where their money is going. It's not necessary to disclose WrongPlanet's entire financial situation, only to say, "Your contribution of x dollars will allow us to do x,y,z."

Is a purchase from the Cafe Press store considered a donation? Public radio stations rely heavily on giving the donor something in exchange for their gift. And the WP Supporter tag is great - it "rewards" the donor while serving as a peer-to-peer solicitation. The more members who earn those tags, the more members will see that others are giving.

Any questions on this subject, feel free to ask!

I don't know, but the CafePress base prices are pretty high.. I don't know how much of it actually goes to WP, a lot of that would just go to CafePress. Spreadshirt's prices seem a bit more reasonable to me.. I guess they just use CafePress 'cause it's more popular.

they use Cafe Press because that is what was available in 2004.