rich Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Hi all, First of all - yes, that's an advert in the top right of the forum. I went with Carbon ads because they're far less intrusive than Google and the ad content is mostly more relevant to the sort of devs we get here. Why though? because I have some things I want to do with the forum in 2014 and it'll require some funds to complete them. Given our current page views the ads should bring in enough (depending on Carbons ability to fill them) to pay for these upgrades early next year. Invision Power Board are releasing v4 of their software soon. This looks really nice and I want to upgrade to it, but will almost certainly need to buy an upgrade license.I want to get the forum properly designed. At the moment we're still using the default Invision theme, which while quite nice doesn't feel reflective of HTML5 game dev and could be a whole lot better. I've a great designer lined-up who can do it, but obviously he'll need paying. Same goes for the theme build once complete. I don't want to waste money doing this and then find the theme doesn't work in IPB V4, so we'll wait for that first.I want to add some other services here: a chat room (IPB have this feature, but again it costs), a gallery and a monthly newsletter. I'd also like to run some monthly contests for everyone here, and I've some fun ideas how best to do that - just needs the time really The forum is growing far better and quicker than I ever expected, we're closing in on 2000 members, 13,000 posts and nearly quarter of a million page views a month. Swapping from a 'news only' blog site to this forum was the best decision I ever made (lots of you never even saw it in its previous guise!), so hopefully with a slightly nicer design, IPB 4 and a few more community features we can continue to grow this place next year and beyond. Cheers, Rich Rudrabhoj Bhati, IndieDevAustin, tackle and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 I don't mind the ads and even clicked a few of them. The forum is a cool place and your development plan sounds absolutely ok to me. I don't mind the default forum design thou cause it's perfectly usable and pls just don't brake it with the new "html5" design Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 This community has the potential to be the hub of all things mobile/web game development (especially if html5 becomes the de facto target for web and mobile games). I'm excited to be a part of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich Posted October 30, 2013 Author Share Posted October 30, 2013 I don't mind this default theme either to be honest, but there are a few things I'd like to do to enhance it - just not point until IPB v4 ships as it'll all change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kolba Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 It's unfortunate that the FiMaRu battle seems to have been discontinued, so a contest here would be brill, prizes or no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rune Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Great to hear! I remember the old site and we've come a long way. Here's to another year of progress! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funkyy Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Ads placement is cool. As long as you dont get those in-between post ads. Also some monthly competitions would be cool - without prizes also. Keep it good man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezelia Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 All this sounds really good just one point about this. I want to add some other services here: a chat room (IPB have this feature, but again it costs), a gallery and a monthly newsletter. why not using #html5gamedevs chat room ? you can integrate an HTML IRC client in the forum menu for those who don't want to use desktop IRC clients Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rune Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 I'd definitely like to see some more contests. I'd be more than willing to help organize something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-AAG- Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Put all the ads you want. This community is awesome. I also belong to private communities where we all chip in to cover this kind of thing but I guess ads make more sense here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich Posted October 31, 2013 Author Share Posted October 31, 2013 I hate ads So I will keep them as low profile and relevant as possible. In reality we only need to cover a few thousand dollars to pay for all of the enhancements I want, which I don't think will take too long. Typically I've funded everything myself and if the ads don't work out then I'll carry on doing so, but it would accelerate when they can happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndieDevAustin Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 I use Ad Block Plus, like many others, so it's not really a concern for me. But I hate ads too While I'll admit I use Ad Block also, I suggest disabling it on any sites that you believe deserve your support. I have it disabled on a handful of sites and I just added this one to the list. Kolba 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatalfluff Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 If the ad revenue should fall short for any reason - set up a tip jar. There are people who see the usefulness of this site in full and are willing to contribute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dev Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Cool stuff Rich, let us know if and how we can support you in this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benny! Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Very cool Rich. Being here around for the first day - it's a amazing to see how fast this forum grows. I really have to say - that your choice of forum software was very well chosen. One of the best forum softwares around IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intotech Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Only discovered this community last night but it's already a great source of advice. Hopefully will be able to contribute more when I have something decent to show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vieo Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Exciting stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudrabhoj Bhati Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Moderate ads wouldn't annoy and it would be great if they pay for forum upgradation. Probably it would pay off for server too! That would be great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulR Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 I have no problem with ads but they are not displayed on my work computer. We have Trend Micro at work and it notices and then blocks the carbon ad URL. The trouble is it also pops up a message box with a warning saying this URL (carbon ad one) is considered dangerous. This happens on every page Ioad and could get quite annoying. I don't find it a big deal as I probably browse this site more at home but thought I would mention it. I doubt there is much you can do your side of things and is probably an understandable safety first policy at my work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich Posted October 31, 2013 Author Share Posted October 31, 2013 Erf that sounds really annoying Paul. Doesn't it do that for loads of sites though? I mean ads are everywhere these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingsushi Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 If the ad revenue should fall short for any reason - set up a tip jar. There are people who see the usefulness of this site in full and are willing to contribute. I agree with fatalfluff on this. If for whatever reason the ads don't pan out, I'm sure a lot of the members here would be more thanwilling to throw a donation or two your way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hima Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 Rich, will you add a donation button of some sort? I really like this place and if I can help support it in some ways, I'd love to. Edit: Oops, I should have read that somebody already mentioned a tip jar! I second that idea :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DELETE THIS ACC PLS Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 I'm sure a lot of people will click on the ads to help you in this.Also, nice choice of forum software.I'd like to know more about that monthly contest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich Posted November 4, 2013 Author Share Posted November 4, 2013 Don't worry about clicking on them unless they genuinely interest you, as I'm paid per impression, not per click. I'll consider a tip jar for sure. What would be the preferred method? PayPal donate? Something else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DELETE THIS ACC PLS Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 (edited) @rich I guess it should be PayPal donate, unless you find something which allows more than just PayPal donate.Edit: ClickAndPledge is an option ... Edited November 4, 2013 by Hadzy Hayman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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