Nillbugwtw
Zombier than thou.
[BCOLOR=transparent]Hello lovely community![/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Resident money guy here. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]As[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]is[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]tradition[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent], I’m just dropping in to update everyone on our finances situation. Currently, we’re spending €44 a month (about $53, for my fellow ‘muricans) to keep our dedicated server up and running. Our forum hosting - for the time being - is covered at no additional monthly cost.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]You may notice that our monthly expenses are more than $20 more than the goal on our donation bar. This is because we also depend on monthly support from our patrons on Patreon (who also get some patron-only rewards, and first dibs on any future rewards* that we may create).[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]We’re luckily to have had significant donations in the past that have kept us in the black for a number of months. However, we have hit difficult times throughout 2018 that has left us burning through our reserves. We haven’t received a forum donation since June. April was the last month that we gained money into our reserves. At our current rate, we have enough money left for two more months. Then we’re dry. [/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]
[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]For nearly 10 years, this community has been dedicated to providing game servers without advertisements on our forums, without Pay2Win perks, and running with a “kindness of your heart” donation system. This is something that we’d like to continue, as well as expand the cosmetic perks, as seen on the forums and Discord, that we currently have.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]To do that, we need your help. Without donations from community members, within two months, we’ll be forced to look at options that include shutting down or [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]significantly[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] downgrading our dedi. When the admins investigated other dedicated server options last year, we found that we are grandfathered into a very competitive plan - if we were looking to lease a server with similar specifications today, if would be considerably more expensive. This means that any efforts to downgrade the server would result in significant reductions in power, with the worst case scenario being the complete removal of all of our servers.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]To be clear: this doesn’t mean we want you to grab your mom’s credit card, or skip grocery shopping to donate to EscapeRestart instead. However, if you are in a position in which you’re able to donate, please consider checking out our [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]forum donation page[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent],[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] or supporting us [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]through our Patreon[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent].[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]I’d also like to open this thread as a discussion about donation rewards. We currently have a small list of Patreon rewards, but we’d like to get into more cosmetic rewards throughout the community. In that spirit: [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]If you currently do not/have not donated, are there rewards that would encourage or incentivize you to donate? [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]The better that we can determine what rewards would be mutually beneficial for the community and its members, the better we can work our way out of this position as a community.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Thanks all, and have a great last week of August.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]~nill[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Resident money guy here. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]As[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]is[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]tradition[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent], I’m just dropping in to update everyone on our finances situation. Currently, we’re spending €44 a month (about $53, for my fellow ‘muricans) to keep our dedicated server up and running. Our forum hosting - for the time being - is covered at no additional monthly cost.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]You may notice that our monthly expenses are more than $20 more than the goal on our donation bar. This is because we also depend on monthly support from our patrons on Patreon (who also get some patron-only rewards, and first dibs on any future rewards* that we may create).[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]We’re luckily to have had significant donations in the past that have kept us in the black for a number of months. However, we have hit difficult times throughout 2018 that has left us burning through our reserves. We haven’t received a forum donation since June. April was the last month that we gained money into our reserves. At our current rate, we have enough money left for two more months. Then we’re dry. [/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]
[BCOLOR=transparent]For nearly 10 years, this community has been dedicated to providing game servers without advertisements on our forums, without Pay2Win perks, and running with a “kindness of your heart” donation system. This is something that we’d like to continue, as well as expand the cosmetic perks, as seen on the forums and Discord, that we currently have.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]To do that, we need your help. Without donations from community members, within two months, we’ll be forced to look at options that include shutting down or [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]significantly[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] downgrading our dedi. When the admins investigated other dedicated server options last year, we found that we are grandfathered into a very competitive plan - if we were looking to lease a server with similar specifications today, if would be considerably more expensive. This means that any efforts to downgrade the server would result in significant reductions in power, with the worst case scenario being the complete removal of all of our servers.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]To be clear: this doesn’t mean we want you to grab your mom’s credit card, or skip grocery shopping to donate to EscapeRestart instead. However, if you are in a position in which you’re able to donate, please consider checking out our [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]forum donation page[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent],[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] or supporting us [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]through our Patreon[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent].[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]I’d also like to open this thread as a discussion about donation rewards. We currently have a small list of Patreon rewards, but we’d like to get into more cosmetic rewards throughout the community. In that spirit: [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]If you currently do not/have not donated, are there rewards that would encourage or incentivize you to donate? [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]The better that we can determine what rewards would be mutually beneficial for the community and its members, the better we can work our way out of this position as a community.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Thanks all, and have a great last week of August.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]~nill[/BCOLOR]
