Advertising Disabled: As expected, this will remove all of the advertisements across our site for a user, along with the related ad network code for faster load times, and increased privacy.
We have AdBlock.
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Not everyone steals website content by blocking ads. The very small ads are what's currently keeping the site alive.
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+1
If you enjoy a site regularly, you should not use AdBlock on said site.
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If auto running video ads, ads that hijack and redirect a page, & ads that popup to where the only option is to close the browser were banned from the internet, I wouldn't need to use it.
I miss the old days of static image & text only ads.
For reference I have my adblocker disabled on SG, but it doesn't seem to stick.
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If auto running video ads, ads that hijack and redirect a page, & ads that popup to where the only option is to close the browser were banned from the internet, I wouldn't need to use it.
I understand your sentiment, but I didn't say, "don't use AdBlock." I said, don't use it on sites that you enjoy regularly.
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Profile Colors: This allows a user to customize the different colors on their profile. For example, right now I have different background, text, and avatar border colors selected for mine.
Want it, gotta have it. Make it happen now! lol How awesome would it be if we could customize our profile page a little bit like on Steam. gimmie gimmie gimmie ^,..,^
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An extra scoop of ice cream.
At the moment, I can't think of anything actually useful that hasn't already been mentioned. P
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The SG logo made by caramel syrup at the top of that extra scoop of ice cream?
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I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I'm happy to welcome any changes that will support the website. On the other hand, I really dislike any form of "premium" stuff on any free website/community/game. Most features that are being suggested makes me go "Oh sweet, but that feature should be available to all".
I just want to say, keeping Patreon bonuses trivial things is better. I'd be disgruntled a bit to hear that, for example, more stats would be available for supporters. It's small things like that which can turn a great website into something that feels limited, restricted, and generally unpleasant.
Just my two cents.
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Let me rig my giveaways haha.
No, just kidding, but I support the API idea.
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I think that hiding stats on profile could be tempting. For example, one could hide their Gifts Send/Won, level or Giveaways Entered.
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I would love to be able to upload custom win gifs, actually it would probably make me create more giveaways just as a way to share some of my favorite gifs with the world :D I'd easily pay 5$/month for that(don't think I can afford much more). Don't really care about everything else, except you should be able to hide any donor status icons I think.
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The ability to write in different fonts and colors. Pretty, colorful letters - FTW!
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My opinion is that patreon donator status should give only two things:
- Disabling ads
- Small donator icon next to nickname is OK
Anything else feels like extra thing that should be available to general public and not to donators only. I know that it's not your intention to make SG look like a paid to use website, that's why I'm bringing this concern - jbond pointed it out well.
It'd be best if patreon reward was not connected with any form of having more features available than non-paying user. Donator icon is OK as it's just an indicator that can't be really seen as an extra functionality. Anything else, while still being cosmetics, raises mixed feelings.
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I agree.
There's already some people who feels there is some elitism going on, so having features on the site which are only available to paying members would only contribute to increase that perception.
Disabling ads and having a small donator icon (that can be disabled if someone prefers to remain anonymous) feels quite enough to me.
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Have you taken a glance at cg's profile, though? The cosmetic effects are barely noticeable there, and don't give any indication of elitism. On the other hand, special labels attached to usernames and present in the most public areas is a prime example of elitism- being a public flaunting of an exclusive feature- especially considering that the cosmetic would be actively detrimental to the visual clarity of the site, something which the profile cosmetic changes would not be.
Trying to restrain cg from going overboard from the start is a good call (though given precedence, it feels unlikely that he'll give much consideration to our input regardless), but this favoring of donator icons over less obtrusive cosmetics is just a weird perspective for me to wrap my head around.
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Oh, I know... how about nothing, or give EVERYONE access to special features and not put donators on a damn pedestal. This isn't a F2P game and it shouldn't be treated as such. Also, don't say that it's just cosmetic rewards because "additional statistics" are not cosmetic. Telling users that they have to give you money to gain access to simple features is pretty filthy in my opinion.
I don't think a donator icon is a good idea either, because it will just encourage more elitism and of course there will be users that just add donators to their whitelist. Oh yeah, and I can't wait for donator status to be implemented as a restriction for SGtools! I'm fine with users being allowed to donate, but the idea of there being incentives for donating makes me want to donate even less... I think I'd feel dirty if I did.
Edit: I have no issue with donators getting ad-disabling, but other than that, they should get nothing.
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This. I can't believe some of the stuff that's being suggested as donator-only.
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I'm running a test right now that allows customizing avatar border properties on profiles. It allows a user to adjust the shape of the border, along with the border style (solid, dotted, dashed, double line), and border width. You can see my profile for an example, and it looks like PeteOzzy customized his as well. Let me know if you think it would be a good reward. Thanks.
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It's subtle, a neat addition for those who enjoy customization. It's also not intrusive, being only visible on the actual profile page. Falls straight in the cosmetic category, which seems to evoke some perceptions of elitism (any change to profiles will always create a differentiation)... but It could work, being more of a discrete token reward. The real issue is that any code you apply to the site will be used later down the road in SGtools filters (something to keep in mind, some code obfuscation may be in order)
In the end, it will be hard to find 100% consensus on any single feature (except perhaps removing the ads for donators, that's the most logical one). Relevant criteria are: minimizing the hassle of 3rd-party monetization for Patreon donators, and avoiding offense to the gifting userbase upon which SG's model relies (while at the same time actually creating a controlled demand for donations, so that you may pay your bills and grow). If demand for donations is superior to operational + living costs, It'll also be positive to support the voluntary staff (since the numbers on Patreon are public, I'm guessing you'll have a new issue to contend with: users focused on number accountability, raising the occasional protest thread).
It's a business model decision, which ultimately you'll have to make knowing there are no right answers (there will always be a percentage of users who will disagree, and new questions will arise as time goes by)... fortunately, no decision is written in stone, and can be perfected gradually. This is, of course, an external business analysis, you'll have much more insight to add to all of this.
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Why should that be a donator only feature? Why can't everyone have access to customization?
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Why to your why? It's cg's website, justification is not required.
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If CG didn't care what users thought, then he wouldn't have made this thread...
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Is that a shifting goalpost I hear?
He can ask for feedback, yet still not be obligated to justify.
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Well, then CG can respond to me if that's how he feels. I'm sure he doesn't need you going around responding for him. Hence why the questions were aimed at him, not you.
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I still think that better way to present the rewards is to make them available to all, once the certain common goal reached. Once the next reached - the next reward for the whole community, and so on. It'll unite users, rather then distinguish.
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I've played around with it and think this will make a nice reward. Would you also consider using the custom border and background on the discussion boards and topics? That would make it easier to identity users and I think it might look nicer than a special badge. I've included a small example screenshot of how it might look.
Next to that, as suggested by Omicron before, I'd also very much would like to have the ability to add a small text to my SteamGifts profile. I've included a screenshot of how that possibly might look, hope you are willing to consider including that in some perk as well. :)
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I'd particularly like the text box, too. But unfortunately it's foreseeable that it would also create yet another element that Support would have to police, to avoid abuse (especially if links could be included). Your image is an example of a good use... but others might not be so productive, and decide to include refs / 3rd-party sites / misleading or offensive text / etc. The popular phrase "that's why we can't have nice things" comes to mind.
As for the use of the border on the discussion boards, we should look to the previous reactions in this post. Many users have publicly voiced their concern that a easily distinguishable element (like badges or special borders) would create a feeling of differentiation between users. I imagine that CG is currently experimenting with profile page cosmetic changes due to this, only being visible if you actually open the profile in question.
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Sure. I don't think this affects anyone who doesn't want to get involved in the donatio process.
Like, if you guys don't want to see custom borders on a profile, DON'T CLICK ON THAT PROFILE!
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I personally have no interest in such a customization. I'm much more interested in functionality than cosmetics.
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Premium stats sound hilarious.
I also can't think of anything at the moment that haven't already been mentioned. But the cosmetic rewards and a short beta access to new features sound reasonable. Premium stats sounds like a bad idea though.
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Since some folks are against any distinguishing features, how about just an anonymous "Donate" button rather than a Patreon? I remember thinking I'd toss a donation or two back when the site was super slow before SGv2.
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Yes, I'd rather just Donate via PayPal or something rather than have to go the Patreon route.
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I endorse this whole hog,what the hell happened to donating without wanting a reward? i think patreon has shitten up that idea.
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I would imagine, as I'm sure most people do, that public rewards encourage more donation. Patreon's success is an indicator of this. Naturally, the appropriateness of such a method is up to personal opinion.
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No Patreon.
No donator status.
Donations made through most common online payment systems without the need for additional account.
Community donation goals with rewards that apply to all users with a successful giveaway.
Removal of ads for those who donate is fine.
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I've been in many communities where patreon was available. I think this is the only one so far where people have had a problem with it. If you're not gonna get less than you have now, why do you care that others have more? So long as they don't take any features currently available to everyone and make them patreon only(which they won't), I won't be losing anything regardless of what amazing and wonderful things they may offer patreon subscribers.
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You forget, this is SG. People aren't happy unless they're getting five AAA games in a bundle for $1.
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Psssssshhhhhh, 5 AAA games for a $1 and I already paid $60 each for them. DUPES. Worst bundle ever.
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- A way to note why you whitelisted someone... 256 characters or so should do.
- Notifications when a wishlisted game is created (public only) - Also able to turn this off/on...
- The ability to ignore a single giveaway (not on the game itself)
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Sounds like a good idea. When you put the Patreon thing live, make sure to send a mass email to tell people. I don't read forums too often.
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I think Patreon donators should not get any benefit other than maybe an optional lack of advertising or cosmetic changes. Perhaps, at most, I would not mind them being granted access to beta features that would eventually be available to all.
Steam Gifts has a reputation for fairness. I definitely think giving any sort of benefit that would noticeably increase a user's ability to win just because they paid money would damage that reputation. This would include any features that made winning significantly more prevalent - easier giveaway entry, more efficient searching, special notifications or filters, more detailed statistics, or anything else that could be used to improve a donator's chances over other users.
Perhaps I'm being cynical but I even have minor doubts about cosmetic rewards such as winner notifications and profile embellishments since these publicize the donor status and may result in deferential treatment. Also advertisement removal seems like it would improve page load times for donors, which would be an advantage for those on slow networks., I am not sure either of these would make a significant difference though so they might be acceptable.
Just $0.02
Yes, I took a long while thinking about this.
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Bump
With the renewed interest in Patreon, I figured it would be useful to send this to the front page. :)
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Hey everyone, a Patreon campaign for SG is in development, which will also allow users to link their Patreon account to our site to redeem rewards. A lot of the code is already up and running for early testing, and ideally it'll be ready to go live in June or July. The difficult part right now is coming up with rewards, which is why I wanted to reach out for suggestions.
We obviously do not want to turn our community into a pay-to-win site, so I would like to exclude any rewards that would give users an unfair advantage, such as a higher chance of winning, or more points. On the list of user rewards so far we have...
Other suggestions that have come up...
Thanks for ideas!
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