Motivation And Donation

[alex28]

Over the time i noticed there are 3 types of donors: people that donate monthly, once and never (yeah, last one is not actually a category).

The question is, why don't you donate? OK, some might have no money to give online (or offline for what matters)... but what about the rest?
Some don't have access to PayPal. Other are not 18 yet and don't have a card.
We have more than 30.000 unique people visiting Addic7ed daily.. and about 30 donations / month (you do the math).
Question is, what would motivate you to donate? Clearly the subtitles and current features aren't enough for many of you.


Looking forward to your answers since i want to learn how we can improve our system.

(Also, replies about "fast subtitles" and stuff are out of the question, since we already do our best. I could also ask why almost no one out of 30.000 people / day offer to help sync an episode.. but eh, one question at a time )

[nothingness495]

Given than addic7ed has recently been one of my source for subtitles
(next to tvsubtitles and subscene), I'd really love to make a donation.
Unfortunately, I'm out of a job right now. But I'll keep addic7ed in mind in the future.

All the same, I'd love to thank all you guys for an amazing job.
All your work has made this hard-of-hearing-guy watch and enjoy TV shows.

[DrJackson]

[...]
Some don't have access to PayPal.
[...]

That doesn't means addic7ed.com will get through another payment procesor a tons of bucks , but will be another option for those who want to donate.
I guess.

doc.

[cestpasfaux]

That doesn't means addic7ed.com will get through another payment procesor a tons of bucks , but will be another option for those who want to donate.
I guess.

doc.

If you can propose an other way than PayPal to donate, it will be better

[alex28]

Well, i think you (the users) are the ones to propose other methods...

[spyderspyder]

Good evening, all.

I pay for most of the things that I use, both software and services, at least nominally, and usually on a yearly basis. It seems wrong not to do so - after all, I expect my clients to pay me for my work.

But I suspect that I am one of a minority - on the internet, that is - and that hoi polloi is unlikely to contribute to anything if it can be avoided, including Addic7ed/Sub-Talk. The prevailing ethos of the internet is one of "something for nothing".

Undoubtedly there will be those who have little or no spare money who would help if they could; and, as mentioned, those who are not old enough to have a credit card.

Of the latter: somebody must be providing a PC, and paying for the internet service (presumably parents) so there must be some funds available.


Here's a wicked thought: if membership of Addic7ed cost 10 Euros p.a. (or even E5) membership would drop overnight, of course, but there would probably be more than a sufficiency of paying members to pay for all IT resources, an annual holiday, and a slap-up dinner every week!


OK, that's a little exclusive perhaps, and unfairly penalises those who would donate if they could, so how about this:

- a two tier membership: 'VIP' and 'Free';

- 'VIP' costs 10 Euros per year (or 5, or 15, or...?); *

- 'VIP' members have access to all subs and updates as they are posted; VIP members also have unlimited download privileges, and the facility to download in bulk;

- 'Free' members only have access to subs and updates when they have been posted on the site for 24 hours or more (or 12hrs, or... tbd?); 'Free' members are restricted to a fixed number of downloads per day (3, 5, 1...?) and no bulk download facility.


*('VIP' membership could also be awarded, on a per year basis, for 'services to Addic7ed'; e.g.: one year reduced or gratis VIP membership for x number of subs uploaded, or y episodes sync'd, or z hours translation work...etc)


The only pitfall I see is that they who would want their subs early will likely include the mob that screams for immediate subs on the Comments page. These appear to be but nine years old, on average, and will have no credit card.

Neither, based on many of their comments, do they seem to know that Sub-Talk exists, never mind visit these pages - and so they will not see this thread. Perhaps it would be a good idea to make access to Addic7ed dependent on Sub-Talk registration

Cheers,
s.

[alex28]

the problem here is... our subs are "almost instantly" uploaded somewhere else... so putting a "Wait time" is kinda useless.. that and the fact that i want all users to have access to information (in whatever form it is).
I'd rather donate to a website where i'm not "forced" to do so.. rather than on a website that does (and we tried to do that with the VIP features we added).
Awarding VIP to some users is a good idea...

[spyderspyder]

Alex.

Another group, and possibly representing a large number of users, will be those for whom the idea of donating just doesn't occur, or, if it does, then it will be something "...I must get around to doing."

After all, I reckon that most sites I frequent have "Donate" or "Support us" buttons, and they do tend to become invisible.

I understand and empathise with your "free info" attitude - if it wouldn't sound patronising, I would comment on the nobility of it, so I won't.

However, charitable attitudes can only reult in charity - something for nothing - so other tactics need be employed, because eveb just €1 p.a. from each of the 30,000 daily visitors would be worth having, so...

Scare tactics? In-Your-Face tactics?

- A graph of funds-in-hand vs. days left before Addic7ed closes for lack of resources? (On Addic7ed Home page)

- An annual (whatever) trawl for funds when rent for server space (whatever) is due - with or without graphs?

A sort of:

On the Home page of Addic7ed...

Addic7ed closes in 10... 9... (etc) days unless we can raise €200,000! We need your support - every little helps. Funds raised so far = €50. Please click here: [DONATE] and help keep Addic7ed on line.

Maybe that's a little dramatic for a regular feature, but it shows what I mean.

s.

[nothingness495]

A little off-topic, but may I ask how much it costs for maintain addic7ed and sub-talk?

[DrJackson]

Even his suggestions are not likely for many users, spyderspyder is right.

I guess that all those who made, help, contribute in so many ways so addic7ed.com could offer fast and good subtitles for such a big number of shows, doesn't expect a "payment", or a monthly "bill", but host server do.
It is not my business to interfere or to say "well, it that way should things to be done", but, a certain order must be imposed regarding addic7ed.com access and also, forum access.
Maybe access without be logged should not be any more an option.

Now, back on topic, try to consider an AlertPay account for donation.

doc.

[yotoc]

Well, i think you (the users) are the ones to propose other methods...

Registered just to reply to this.

Tried to donate a few minutes ago but was stopped when I saw you use Paypal. There is/was an option to use paypal without registering an account. If this site had that option turned on I would have continued with my donation.

[honeybunny]

Registered just to reply to this.

Tried to donate a few minutes ago but was stopped when I saw you use Paypal. There is/was an option to use paypal without registering an account. If this site had that option turned on I would have continued with my donation.

Hmm, I couldn't find that option. Maybe it's not available anymore.

Oh, I found it's only for PayPal Pro.

[nothingness495]

Do I need to notify anybody after I've made a donation?
I just sent 10 euros. :)

[alex28]

promoted! Thanks!

[a1l3x]

The question is, why don't you donate?

Did you guys considered the fact that most people aren´t aware of it?
You got this small "Chip in" button, which is likely to be overlooked.

Most people come day for day and i guess much more than 0.1 % would be willing to contribute.
How about just telling them, like on an index page? A view sentences before they see the actual hp?

alex28 is right, trying to establish some kind of premium system is bound to backfire.


and between all this came this question:

A little off-topic, but may I ask how much it costs for maintain addic7ed and sub-talk?

Be honest, cause if a donor specifically know where his money goes,
he doesn´t get the feeling it would/could just vanish somewhere
and is more likely open to donations.

Transparency builds trust.


Just a simple thought.

[alex28]

i said somewhere (on this forum) why and what we're doing with donations.
It's not only about paying the server (the one that hosts addic7ed, sub-talk).. it's also about paying coders (i code some of the stuff, but for the more complex features it's not me who does the job) and designer(s).. and that usually depends.

The premium system is a no-no even if we're gonna go down at some point because we'll lack donations.
Everyone should have access to subtitles... whether they donated or not.

The problem we're facing at the moment is the current design that is somehow limited (we can't advertise our features / donations etc.. because there's no place to do it)... but we're working on it.

I'm very aware of the fact that people aren't aware of it. As an example, when i asked a few month ago what's the latest feature users notice (winner got VIP).. one of the answers was "I see the browse button on top".. that's there since 2008.
Hopefully the new layout will change things :-)

[KArkhon]

I don't donate because I can't use paypal. Add Moneybookers or Google checkout, and I'll try to donate every month, as I download A LOT of subtitles, and I think you are doing an amazing job.
Every month I pay about 15€ for file sharing sites, 40€ for broadband, and 5€ for VPNs. A few bucks more for subtitles don't seem like much.