[X] My Assistant

[Big Bidoof]

This thread is outdated, please read this thread instead.

The summer's coming up soon, and beyond that the release of the fifth generation of Pokemon games, both of which will likely represent large activity boosts for the site. As it stands, the amount of traffic it gets on very active days can significantly slow the server down, and before the next month is over, I in all likelyhood plan on either upgrading the present one, purchasing a second one, or a combination of the two, to not only foster growth in the future, but alleviate stress on the server on active, weekend days and in peak hours.

But unfortunately, hosting fees don't pay themselves, and I don't really have the resources to spend a fortune each month on this site either (or, any more than I already do, for that matter) - so, in the near future, there'll be a number of changes made to the site.

First, for all users who donate 20 US Dollars or more to the site (using the donation button located at the bottom of every page), you'll have the advertisements displayed on every page hidden indefinitely. Make sure when you do so, you include your account name with the donation, especially if your PayPal account is under a different email address than the one used on the site. For the users who have donated in the past, send an email from the email address you used to donate containing your display name to big[dot]bidoof[at]gmail[dot]com. I have records of each and every donation from the past, so I can easily go back and check who has, and give you the donor status, as I will future ones, once you confirm your forum account.

A number of site mechanics, including maturity growth, as well as the rates at which you find certain Pokemon are going to be reworked. At the end, users with the donor status, as well as users who don't block advertisements will have increased maturity rates on their Pokemon, as well as priority access to rarer Pokemon. There will be no differences between the donors and non-donors however, as to not disadvantage younger members who might not have the means to send money online in the first place.

Users who do block the advertisements, which make up over 95% of the funding that keeps the site running in the first place (towards 100% most of the time, really, since donations are usually few and far between), will be warned of the benefits they'll lose if they don't disable their adblocker, and if they don't, after a few more page loads, will ultimately end up losing the previously-mentioned bonuses until Reset in four days. There may also be other limitations imposed on restricted accounts, which are not yet decided.

Just to make it clear, so that there's no confusion, donors will have no benefits over regular, unrestricted members in any way, other than the lack of advertisements, and maybe a fancy group icon. In terms of gameplay, it'll all be the exact same as normal members.

So tl;dr: no advertisements for donors, and benefits for the users who do view the advertisements

This will all be coming in to play within the week, more than likely. I'll have more details on any outages for upgrades and what have you as I decide what's going to happen.

Any questions, feel free to post them.

EDIT: And one thing I should add - donating to the site by no means makes you above the rules. Just so no one goes thinking that it does.

Useful notes (if you want to donate)

• You don't have to have a PayPal account. If you look on the left side, there should be an option to just pay with your credit/debit card without registering.
• If you don't have a credit/debit card, you can go to a pharmacy or gas station and buy a Moneypak prepaid credit card and load money onto that. PayPal does let you pay with those.

UPDATE: Due to increased monthly hosting costs, from this point forward, ads will only be removed for users donating 20$ or more. This doesn't affect users who were in the donor usergroup prior to this update.

[Zerxer]

Once more for those who are bad at reading bold text: users who donate have no special perks on the site other than the removal of ads. Of course, users who don't block ads (or have donated) will have perks over those who decide to block ads.

[Icicle]

Hm. This seems like a fair way to keep the site afloat. Sadly I wish I had funds to help out.. but I'll do what I can with unblocked ads. Since I lack money to keep myself supported :/.

Can't wait for new things~

[Toda]

Sweet. Was planning on donating again this year.

[Pokii]

No more add block for me, I guess :< Scratch that, Pay Pal

[Gacko]

I might be able to scrape some together to help out and like Icy, can't wait to see the new things

[Commander Wymsy]

The fact that I find myself completely indifferent to this shocks me.

[Manticore]

awesome. no ads = win

[Handmaid]

donating would be nice, hidden ads or otherwise~ something i might do in the future

[N Sign]

Well, it looks fine and well enough to me, considering that I have an extra $10 laying around that isn't being used at the moment. Though the restrictions on the people who block ads seem kind of... Extreme, whatever it takes to keep the site running I'm willing to support.

This post has been edited by N Sign: May 3 2010, 01:13 AM

[Jen]

Doesn't seem unreasonable. When I get somre more money, I'll donate to help you guys out, since I do love the site.

[Darth Krytie]

This is fair. I'll be donating because flash ads bother my eyes. *donates* Hopefully, this'll help the site.

[Mephistopheles]

Ohh... Sounds nice to me
*going to donate later*

This post has been edited by Mephistopheles: May 3 2010, 01:00 AM

[Natsume Reiko]

I'll be putting in my obligatory ten bucks. I've spent so much time on the site so it's only fair so to speak.

This post has been edited by Stardust Snorter: May 3 2010, 12:59 AM

[eddiexelite]

blah
i wish i could donate money
as soon as i get a job, ill be glad to :B

[Pies]

I hope everything works out for you. :3 I'll donate what I can, if and when I can.

To be honest, the ads don't really bother me. :U

This post has been edited by Piespi: May 3 2010, 01:04 AM

[Professor Ri]

I've donated before when I first started out, but I'll pitch in more for the cause. :D

This post has been edited by Erisabesu Ri: May 3 2010, 01:22 AM

[Groovy]

Looks like that I have to get a PayPal account.

[FusionWarrior]

I'll donate right now

[Catwoman]

I would love to donate
but I just quit my job... e-e;