Let's talk about how awesome that fundraiser was in Site Updates
- June 19, 2018, 6:30 p.m.
- |
- Public
Hey everyone,
It’s been a really exciting few weeks! I was totally blown away by the response to the fundraiser, and I’m happy to share a few fun statistics.
So without further ado, the amount raised over the last two weeks is $3,704.80!!!!
That’s almost two and half times the goal amount! WOW.
Aforementioned fun stats
- There were 218 donations over 14 days, the majority of which were within the FIRST SIX HOURS YOU GUYS, and they just kept trickling in! It was incredible!
- The fundraiser launched at 11:42 PM on Sunday night. I 100% meant for it to start early Monday morning but got overexcited, accidentally flipped the switch, and before I knew it money was coming in. Whoops!
- The goal amount was reached at 6:27 AM (PST) the next day. I woke up, saw the number, and scrambled over to the computer to write up the “WE DID IT” post.
- The average donation was $18.34, with actual donations ranging between $1 and $200! It was great to see the donations with funky amounts where people obviously tried to compensate for the fees. You guys are fun.
Cool! So, what is this money being spent on again?
For this first round of fixes, here’s the list of what the developer will be working on:
- Build out a staging server so we can thoroughly test any changes before they’re pushed to the live website (you may have noticed some glitches the past couple days while I’ve been doing updates to the site – this will help prevent that kind of thing)
- Establish a safe deployment process to avoid those glitches
- Fix all existing server issues so the server runs much much more smoothly and a nightly restart is no longer required
- Upgrade all software packages to a much more stable and happy place
This should give us a good foundation to build from going forward. Hopefully this will also fix a lot of the existing speed issues.
What about the extra money raised?
Outside of these fixes, the donations will stay where they are in a “rainy day” fund, just in case something goes wrong with the site and development resources need to be hired to fix it. If that happens, I’ll post about it.
Due to popular demand, the donate button will stay active, and a link to the donate page now lives in the menu. Donations will always be set aside specifically for keeping PB running smoothly and handling any unexpected fires.
What about subscriptions?
I’ll be talking more about this in future updates, but my current thinking is that subscriptions will fund the development of complex and potentially expensive new features like image uploading, search, and an entry calendar. I’ve been listening, and there’s a big master list.
Building out the ability for the site to support subscriptions (which is a lot of work) will come out of my own pocket up front, as I don’t feel comfortable funding that with community donations. Once the subscriptions start happening, I’ll pay myself back and we’ll go from there.
And finally: there will always and forever be a free and ad-supported version of Prosebox, and no existing features will be going away.
In closing, I just have to reiterate how amazing all of you are. I knew this community was strong and passionate, but I am and remain in awe. I’m so happy to be a part of it.
(caption me)
<3,
-J
Last updated June 19, 2018
Deleted user ⋅ June 19, 2018
While there is all much suffering in the world, it's good to know there is an island of comfort for people.
Silverstar46 ⋅ June 19, 2018
Dad, why do you always point that thing at my face?! You're giving me anxiety!
Lol!
Silverstar46 ⋅ June 19, 2018
Ps. Thank you!
MadSeason ⋅ June 19, 2018
You rock :-)
Deleted user ⋅ June 19, 2018
Mochi & my pup Dwayne can be bff’s.
Leanne 🌈 ⋅ June 19, 2018
Mucho Thanks :)
Mystery ⋅ June 19, 2018
So glad to know not of the existing features will go away! I've always hated it when sites take things away just because they add things.
stargazing ⋅ June 19, 2018
Thank you for keeping us open. We really do love this place. :)
ConnieK ⋅ June 19, 2018
I continue to enjoy the site. Very well run. I appreciate the updates. Thank you.
EvequeFou ⋅ June 19, 2018
For photo upload, you might look into integration with www.postimg.cc. They offer free options for forums to integrate. You might have to do / buy the integration piece, since you're obviously not built on one of their supported platforms, but I believe their hosting is free for small providers and "work something out" for larger ones.
Walking Crow ⋅ June 19, 2018
Very Awesome! I <3 this place
Gangleri ⋅ June 19, 2018
Cool.
Deleted user ⋅ June 19, 2018
Thanks for keeping us informed!
Shattered ⋅ June 19, 2018
Thank you!
Mercurial Muse ⋅ June 19, 2018
:D all of this sounds awesome
Camdengirl ⋅ June 20, 2018
Brilliant!
Marg ⋅ June 20, 2018
All fabulous news! Told you we were a good bunch!
Caption - "What? That $3,704.80 wasn't for that deluxe special dogfood we saw in Aldi the other day??"
Domino ⋅ June 20, 2018
Thank you very much xxx
M ⋅ June 20, 2018
Mastering the side eye.
Firebabe ⋅ June 20, 2018
Impressive haul. We are the champions!
Mochi says: "Safe deployment process?!? What is this sorcery?!!"
*This caption brought to you from the person who works at a software development shop that thinks "safe deployment" means testing random things for a couple hours before calling it good*
I kid. We're not that bad. Typically.
aglow ⋅ June 20, 2018
Thank you immensely for all the time and effort you've put in—not just on this end, but also on the "being part of this place" side of things. From the get-go, you made it clear that you were interested in being an active part of our community here, and everything you've done since has fully reflected that.
Seriously, dude. Thank you.
Finn ⋅ June 20, 2018
Image hosting would be amazing. That's really all I've been missing from this site, but I refrained from mentioning it because I knew it was a big, big request. Thank you for considering it. And thanks for everything!
EchoSeven ⋅ June 20, 2018
Woooo! Thank you so much for the update! This community is so awesome and I am so glad I am a part of it. :)
dickson. ⋅ June 20, 2018
HURRAY TEAM MOCHI AND JOSH.
Yeah, I put Mochi first.
pandora ⋅ June 20, 2018
"I was not just pooping under your bed."
Thank you so much for all of this! Much appreesh.
Exhumed By Scrying Eyes ⋅ June 20, 2018
I love the family approach here at Pb from the developers keeping everyone involved and in the know to the everyday users who contribute in many ways to the weird cousins that fill out this irreplaceable family tree.
Comfortably Numb ⋅ June 20, 2018
Mochi is giving someone some serious side-eye. My dachshund has the same look when I upset her ("get down from there!" "time for your bath!' "No, you can't have my steak", etc).
Thanks for saving the site and for giving us a place to vent.
Question- is there or will there soon be a "edit comment" button? Either I can't find it, or it's not there, and I'm the typo queen, but I never notice until I've already hit "post comment". This would be a huge help!
raeven ⋅ June 20, 2018
Thank you. :-)
littlefallsmets ⋅ June 21, 2018
Thank you so much, not only for continuing the prosebox project, but also for being so transparent along the way! It is very much appreciated.
king of i ⋅ June 21, 2018
Even though I write only occasionally, I really appreciate the work you’ve done. Thank you for it.
Not to be a Debbie Downer ... but are there any contingency plans in case something happens to you? If I missed this, apologies.
Deleted user ⋅ June 21, 2018
Thank you for all you do !
Jeanine ⋅ June 21, 2018
Thank you! This place is really important to me.
TellTaleHeart ⋅ June 21, 2018
I imagine that is the face Mochi gives you when you blame your farts on him.
This fundraiser was amazing. Thank you for all you do!
Dirty Numb Angelboy ⋅ June 22, 2018
Can someone tell me how to post photos
Narrator ⋅ June 22, 2018
Thank you for shepherding all of this through!
AlmostGenuine ⋅ June 22, 2018
"Can we spent some of that money on treats?!?"
TruNorth ⋅ June 22, 2018
Adding my vote of thanks
colour of water ⋅ June 25, 2018
Caption: You guys are so awesome, it's scary.
BlueEyes418 ⋅ June 30, 2018
This is such a generous community. Thank you for the assurance that there will always be a free version. I don't mind the ads, and I sincerely appreciate all that you do.
Lord VileCore ⋅ July 07, 2018
Sounds good. Honestly, if you stick to your word like this, then I'm impressed. Sorry I was so cynical (but then that's just me I guess). I stand abashed.
Lord VileCore ⋅ July 07, 2018
But uh... please, no pop-ups. Please.
Nebiyah ⋅ July 11, 2018
Caption: I may or may not regret eating that thing I just ate.