Less talk, moar banner?
http://www.buckeyeplanet.com/forum/donate/
Is this the Spring Drive?
Yes! And no! Both! We're going to do the smart thing and switch to terms that follow calendar years. We're still going to "launch" the drives with our posts and such in the Spring, but starting this year any donations/gifts/payments as of the first day of the new year get the new banners! We've already implemented this (and believe we're all caught up), and so you should already see them in place! THANK YOU to each and every single one of you who participated in 2014, and to all of you who already have 2015 banners. This new "drive" will end at 23:59:59 on 12/31/15, and that should make much more sense in terms of banners and accounting going forward.
Why isn't it called the Spring Drive?
Well, partially because of the changes to the timing, and partially because of the on-going dialog we've all had for years about what these drives are. Are they
donations? Are they
contributions? Is it those who choose to send money are actually making
payment for and towards a service that chooses NOT to tell you what it's worth? We've grown closer and most comfortable to that final definition more and more over the years but don't feel it has to be defined, rather it's for you to decide what it means and what it's worth. We do wonder if some day any or all of these definitions can lead us towards something that would make all of us happy (Will/Clarity above all others) -- the absence of any and all remnant ads. We're not there yet. We're not close to there. The drive proceeds would effectively have to triple, but it's a goal, and one we truly believe is worth at least talking about. What if the only ads we had were the simplest and most worthwhile? USA Today content, major sponsors like American Family Insurance? These are ads that represent the biggest payments AND the least substantial impacts on our user experience. It's those remnant ads that involve dozens of different handler services and through which we sometimes see audio ads or worse. We want them gone in the worst way, and we'd love to have a dialog about how to be rid of them for good. But back to the topic at hand -- what is this/what is your payment/donation/contribution? That's for you to decide. Just like it's for you to decide what this place is worth to you.
BP is NOT here without the user contributions to date. Indeed, so much is different/worse for us here without them. Which is why we can never say thank you enough, and why we are so damn appreciative that people feel it's worth contributing. If BP has value for you and you're comfortable contributing, then you are *literally* playing a direct role in not only keeping it online, but also helping it grow, stay relevant, and evolve.
I'm on board; how doooo I do?
PayPal (one-time or recurring, we have buttons for both), any form of currency via snail mail, Bitcoin, or Square Cash (debit cards). You can also use our referral code when you buy things on Amazon if direct kicks aren't your thing! Click through the link above for all these options, and I'll discuss the new ones below.
I hate PayPal, and it's 2015 so snail mail is teh dumb.
We agree. This year we've partnered with BitPay and can now process Bitcoin contributions. We have not yet implemented it as we're working with them to decide how best to roll it out. In the meantime we have a Bitcoin wallet to which you can send that currency. The wallet ID is in the Donation link above and in the navbar. We'll get smart and add the QR Code if the BitPay solution is going to be drawn out (as things sometimes get around here with all we have going on).
I hate PayPal, and it's 2015 so snail mail is teh dumb, *and* I don't use Bitcoin.
We agree and understand, so we've also implemented a new solution through Square, the mobile credit card processing company. Square now offers a free app on iOS and Android called Square Cash. It's free and easy to set up. Once you do, you can send money to anyone, anywhere. This includes us! Just send whatever you please to
[email protected], let her (
@LongwoodBuck) know that you have, and it's just like using any of the other methods. This means you can use a debit card rather than a credit card and don't have to use PayPal!
I hate PayPal, and it's 2015 so snail mail is teh dumb, I don't use Bitcoin, and I don't have a mobile device.
Get a mobile device. Nearly half our users now use one to visit BP.
2015 Plans for the Site
We planned to fix the search engine in 2014. Didn't happen, again. Huge and frustrating fail. Not going to happen again this year, even if Will's health continues to interfere. Funds remain from the 2014 drive to make that happen, it is *absolutely* going to. Nothing is more important as we see it.
So for 2015? The top priority is the front end for the site. We must hire expert(s) to come in and build the front end out the way the site deserves. A front end that serves the fora, draws content out and pulls people from the front page into the site instead of driving them away (how about that Kent State preview?!). A front end that features our tweets and those of people and organizations important to us. A front end that allows us to feature our own home-grown streamlined content. A front end that allows us to aggregate links to good content by our friends on established blogs. A front end worth the spectacular forum and community behind it. We don't have that now and it actually hurts us.
Are there other things we want to accomplish? Yes. All the typical server and software upgrades. There are needs and goals beyond that and the above, but we want to set achievable and reasonable goals and then try to over-deliver rather than under.
How's Will/Clarity?
Not great. Most of you will remember he spent some time last August admitted to a hospital after an emergency visit. Really hasn't been right since, extremely weak and limited for the last seven months, and that's all related to the underlying fallout and damage from the chemical/Camp Lejeune stuff. But we're getting through it, and he's survived the first 11 weeks of our new addition to the family and all the stress (and joy) that comes with that, so he's doing okay. Indeed, we've tag-teamed this post with him writing big blocks and me writing others. He monitors the site every single day, as always, tries to keep track of and deal with bad ads (and can use as much help on that front tracking down the bad actors as people can give), and works on things as possible. We're sorry (on many levels) to report that in many ways he has regressed to how he was and felt back in Florida, and that's a major setback, but there's often an ebb *and* flow to such things and we hope he'll bounce back as things warm up. Not just hoping, we're also working with a lot of doctors in the OhioHealth system and he is even being good about the various meds he's been given to keep things (like his blood pressure which was the newest target of his immune system) under control.
How's Elise?
She's 11 weeks old yesterday! She's awesome, and we'll continue to post a new pic now and again in the thread about her. We hope other new BP parents will do the same. BP is a family, and Elise has so many cousins!
What happened to those tee shirts?
They flaked out. We'll be nice and not linger on who they are. We still want to make one. Maybe you guys need to get together and come up with a better design than we did. We'll find someone to do the printing. We need new BP tees!
Conclusion
That's all we have for now. If we think of more we'll add to this post and note the changes accordingly. Thank you for being here. Thank you for following and interacting with us on Twitter and Facebook. Thank you for contributing in any way you have, are, or will. Thank you to our wonderful mods and admins! Thank you all.
Please keep visiting, please keep posting, please keep liking likable threads on Facebook, or tweeting things other fans should see. Let's keep using social media to keep the BP ball rolling.
Oh, and we're the UNDISPUTED NATIONAL CHAMPIONS! There's that too. :)
Jo (LongwoodBuck), Will (Clarity), Elise, and the dogs.
