that's just a temporary one that i bashed up in pixlr with some free clip art. Wehave a graphic designer on the case with a permanent one and will update in due course
Suggestions and ideas
- Thread starter big soft moose
- Start date
Homer's not intending to ask for contributions i believe- the long term aim is that the site would be self funding from ad revenue and other such sources, but short term he's got this
we really appreciate so many people wanting to support the site but we ask for your time and your engagement not your money
I love that, but I have to be honest - if giving you money would disable ads I'd jump on it. Not really a fan of ads personally. Too distracting to me. Just a thought for the future.
it might be something we'd look at down the line...but imo thats really about ad management... we 're not going to bombard members with adverts nor are we going to allow sketchy things like ads for vanity publishers.
when we get our ducks in the row there may be things like a forum book shop with affiliate links to amazon where members can advertise their own books, and potentially we might also offer other books about writing, writing products and so forth (for anyone who doesnt know affiliate links don't cost the author anything extra, but amazon pay a percentage of anything bought through the link).
i'm not going to promise because theres a lot to talk about and sort out, but theres a lot a site like this with a present and engaged owner can do to fund itself in a way that also benefits its members
I'd be willing to contribute towards a prize fund for, say, an annual writing competition.
Just feedback on aesthetics, nothing serious 
I noticed the new banner. I use "Dark Mode" and it really stood out to me
but when its on "regular", the banner blends.
Have you considered uploading the banner with a transparent background, so that way it blends no matter which mode its on?
I noticed the new banner. I use "Dark Mode" and it really stood out to me
but when its on "regular", the banner blends.
Have you considered uploading the banner with a transparent background, so that way it blends no matter which mode its on?
Iain Aschendale
New Member
We talked about that before and the international nature of the membership makes it dicey. Used to have a member from Iran, for example, and if someone like that were to win awarding a monetary prize might violate some sort of sanctions regime regardless of the author's political leanings.
again maybe... but probably not. I can't stress it highly enough we appreciate everyones commitment to the site but we want y'all to express that commitment by taking part in the workshop, the competitions, the role plays etc and by telling your writer buddies what a great place it is and what they're missing.
those things are much more valuable to us than you parting with your hard earned cash.. if that changes we'll let everyone know.
Something like a prize fund, my inclination would be to get a sponsor for the contest (again i'm just spit balling no commitments made or implied) but wouldnt it be great if say 'qwerky writer' sponsored the contest and the winner got a top flight keyboard, or stuart bache from books covered sponsored a cover design competition, and the winner got a pro cover, or the holy grail a reputable publisher sponsored a writing contest and the winner got a book deal?
to be able to make those things happen we have to be big and we have to be serious... and we get that through having lots of members generating great content and establishing a good vibe...which is where i came in. If you love it here, help us make a great forum by generating lots of great content and leading by example on crit and so on
those things are much more valuable to us than you parting with your hard earned cash.. if that changes we'll let everyone know.
Something like a prize fund, my inclination would be to get a sponsor for the contest (again i'm just spit balling no commitments made or implied) but wouldnt it be great if say 'qwerky writer' sponsored the contest and the winner got a top flight keyboard, or stuart bache from books covered sponsored a cover design competition, and the winner got a pro cover, or the holy grail a reputable publisher sponsored a writing contest and the winner got a book deal?
to be able to make those things happen we have to be big and we have to be serious... and we get that through having lots of members generating great content and establishing a good vibe...which is where i came in. If you love it here, help us make a great forum by generating lots of great content and leading by example on crit and so on
Just feedback on aesthetics, nothing serious
I noticed the new banner. I use "Dark Mode" and it really stood out to me
View attachment 27
but when its on "regular", the banner blends.
View attachment 28
Have you considered uploading the banner with a transparent background, so that way it blends no matter which mode its on?
oh le sigh... i can't do exactly that (i tried and it shows as a white box), i'll upload one with a black background to dark mode... give me a few
no worries and no rush!
There will not be, though I appreciate the offer. I'm financing it privately for several reasons, mostly because it is something that brings me much joy and is a worthwhile hobby that is much cheaper than many other things I can do. Roughly half of the budget will go to upkeep of the forum, and the other half to promotions and other things as they come up. There are some startup costs that I've prorated over the first few months that have eaten up most of the budget, but once those come off the books, $$ will be freed for allocation.
It is likely that I will want to forum to be able to sustain its operating costs at some point, but we're not there yet. And that won't come from donations or other contributions. The Forum will be under the protection of an LLC if I can ever get my tax accountant on the phone. I will need to make tax filings and asset reports once that happens. And if I take money that opens me up tax liability. Basically, businesses (which this is on a legal level if not in reality) pay taxes on profit. So all those contributions have to be spent somewhere, which opens up new cans of worms. I am very happy with the $X dollar amount I need to spend for something I enjoy. But if I have to spend $Y, I'm going to think about things differently and have different expectations. And when you increase budget, you have to continually increase revenue to support the new budget. Now it's not a hobby. Now it's a job. And believe me, nobody wants to see real life Homer Business Guy up in here. Least of all me.
And to be very honest, when you take money from people you enter into a whole new world. Nothing is for free. People are going to have agendas and their own expectations. You will get members who contribute a lot of money for the privilege of being a dick and they will have an argument for being allowed to do so. That ain't going to happen.
Ads probably will happen at some point. They won't be gaudy or inappropriate. That's just smart business. And my $X budget that makes me happy can than scale above whatever revenue it produces.
This is all down the road stuff, but I'm very transparent about things like this. There won't be any surprises. After we get things set up I'll explain the budgeting, marketing, and business side in a bit more detail. The thing to remember about budgets and costing and shit, in both business in real life, is it's not about what you can afford to spend, it's about what's SMART to spend to keep the right attitude and outlook to obtain your goals.
Darn, and here was me thinking about how I could conceivably justify any donations made as a legitimate business expense... 
this should now be fixed - let me know if it isntJust feedback on aesthetics, nothing serious
I noticed the new banner. I use "Dark Mode" and it really stood out to me
View attachment 27
but when its on "regular", the banner blends.
View attachment 28
Have you considered uploading the banner with a transparent background, so that way it blends no matter which mode its on?
@Homer Potvin I totally understand. I respect your position and deeply appreciate what you're doing for all of us. Thank you once again.
Real life take no shit moose isnt a terribly fun person either, as we said long ago on the other place, you and me could take over the city...but no one wants to see that side of either of us
Bone2pick
New Member
I know it was discussed over on the old forum, but I would appreciate a blog-type space for my musings about writing, storytelling, genres, books, movies and similarly related subjects.
I wouldn’t need anything fancy; a simple dedicated thread would suffice. A cozy spot to explore my ideas on subjects such as: my relationship with my influences, exposition through conflict, history books which have helped my writing, my first encounter with grimdark, and overly witty dialogue.
Not all of these are strictly writing topics, but I do view them broadly as story topics.
I wouldn’t need anything fancy; a simple dedicated thread would suffice. A cozy spot to explore my ideas on subjects such as: my relationship with my influences, exposition through conflict, history books which have helped my writing, my first encounter with grimdark, and overly witty dialogue.
Not all of these are strictly writing topics, but I do view them broadly as story topics.
homer and I will have to talk about that one... actual blogs are an add on
that said you could put any of those things on threads in the writing discussion area
that said you could put any of those things on threads in the writing discussion area
As long as you don't pretend to be people you're not, that's good enough for me.
If I see you offering cakes and hugs to everyone, then I know that you're either pretending, or you need to go to hospital urgently.
Optionally, the cheaper way to do this is have a Forum section like 'Progress Journals' that's 'Blogs'. Thoughts?
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