Moving OGS Forward

[anoek]

@azver

how about taking the screen real estate you would have given over to them and using it instead for direct pleas for people to support the site?

We actually do already regularly (I think every 2 weeks) put up a little “Hey you should become a site supporter!” message in the notification area. It’s certainly helped, but I think we’ve hit our limit.

[anoek]

@TheDidymen

I would love to support the site if i could pay with ideal

Interesting, we’ll look into it and see if it’s possible for us

[anoek]

@ofekih

Is there a way to assist in the development of OGS—I may be able to donate some of my free time to help with bug fixes or the development in similar ways and I’d love to know how I can contribute!

@IcedEarth

+1 I think it might help more than attempts to localize problems via the beta site.Ofcourse you may disable commit submissions from third parties, so it won’t take extra time to analyze 'em. Though, you might receive some emails with useful patches from us

Opening up the code base is something we regularly revisit and discuss. While there are certainly some upsides, there are a lot of downsides as well, so for the time being we’re keeping it closed.

[m09]

I won’t turn adblock off for the site. I’d rather see the site open sourced. I’m disappointed.

[crocrobot]

Then please continue to enjoy the site. For free.

[achecopar]

@anoek

Opening up the code base is something we regularly revisit and discuss. While there are certainly some upsides, there are a lot of downsides as well, so for the time being we’re keeping it closed.

Okay, just wanted to comment I would love helping too if you open it

[ofekih]

Ok sure! if you ever want an extra hand though, be sure to notify me I don’t have much money to help financially, but I know enough about programming to bug fix or create features and such–I’m just waiting for a chance to help

[elb]

I’ll second that – I have maintained for several years that I would donate if there were one-time payments (and indeed I did so on the old OGS member system). I blanket do not approve recurring charges (and if I won’t do it for my utility bills, I won’t do it for a web game!), so I have not been able to subscribe since the new system went up. (There is a thread on this, somewhere.)

[Julko]

So cancel it and make a new one as I did.

[celavek]

I would help if you open source it - both with programming power(I’m a ninja developer ) and I’m willing to donate
and become a site supporter, basically throw money in your general direction.

Could you outline some of the downsides in opening the source code?
Maybe some of us could help you in that regard …

[anoek]

@celavek

Could you outline some of the downsides in opening the source code?

Not in this thread, it’s one of those topics that people are very passionate about and tends to generate a lot of discussion Note that matburt and I are big open source fans, but maintaining a long running open source project is not all roses and sunshine, especially when operating with a SaaS model like we have here. We have thought about it a lot, and have determined it’s not a good fit for us at this time.

[pathogenix]

Came back just to tell @anoek and @matburt that you’ve got my blessing. Hope it works out for you guys, you deserve whatever you get back from the site, and I hope you can make it work for you and your families.

[apetresc]

Well, I’ve upgraded my amount of support — best of luck in achieving a livable salary!

[jubeirm]

I skimmed, but didn’t see it, so I apologize if this has already been suggested: after ads roll out you should consider a paid option that removes ads. I think this would be a big help as new people sign on and see that, yes there are ads on OGS, but one has the option to pay to remove ads via a subscription.

[mark5000]

Don’t worry. It’s already planned.

@anoek

Of course site supporters, the altruistic individuals that have been covering the operational costs of this service for almost two years now, will never see these ads - and folks who want to continue having an ad-free experience are more than welcome to become site supporters to get rid of them.

[Hamlet]

I would be happy about one-time-payments. Pay 20 Euros to get vip/supporter for the nxt X-Month. That is fair, equal at the price for everyone and simple. If someone wants to support more, just spend some money for free or create different vip/supporter levels and prices.

[Talbo]

Ok, I’m not sunspark, but I complained about the same issue a year ago. Since then, I tried to donate from time to time - but never succeeded, as you obviously still don’t want my money. In my opinion, the easiest way are one-time-donations via Paypal, which I use quite often. But the way you implemented Paypal requires 1. a credit card (a problem I encounter the first time, usually my Paypal account features direct debit) , 2. the willingness for a monthly support.
Btw: I would even use the good old wire transfer - if you would provide this option.

[Dolan]

Ads suck, therefore I run an adblocker and I won’t turn it off, because ads are toxic to the brain. Please make Paypal payments possible without credit cards, I don’t have one and I won’t apply for one. I also support the idea of an infreqent reminder that donations are neccerssary to run the server. Once you donated, you should get a code to disable those banners.

[anoek]

@Dolan

Please make Paypal payments possible without credit cards, I don’t have one and I won’t apply for one. I also support the idea of an infreqent reminder that donations are neccerssary to run the server. Once you donated, you should get a code to disable those banners.

We’re definitely going to get some non-CC options in place. And yep, we have the reminders that pop up, and once you’re a supporter you don’t see those anymore.

[Dolan]

Cool! Looking forward to it. I wanted to donate, but Paypal told me that I need a credit card. But that’s uncommon (and unnecessary) where I’m from. But OGS is def support-worthy. Good luck with your financial situation.