It does this through the cell development process of transdifferentiation, which alters the differentiated state of the cells and transforms them into new types of cells.

Implement revenue sharing as soon as you are profitable and as soon as it is possible.

Big hands up for reducing your costs significantly. Also with the new API will you be removing the Alpha that is scrawled across the VOAT name? That might be turning advertisers off, also if they see that you only 30 days until this site goes POOF! that might also discourage advertisers. Wish I had some money to donate :/

https://voat.co/v/announcements/comments/1004026/5029455

Boats is the best app for Voat he have right now.

Agreed <3

Sounds good to me.

But for the paid no-ads model, please implement better than most. I don't think it should really garuntee no ads forever, we dont know how long that is. But, if I can do $10 or $20 per year, that is more than fair. Also, if you are able to do it as a non-recurring charge, that would be awesome. I could easily buy another year with no ads whenever I get around to it, and might want to do a month or two of the ad version if I don't use the site often.

Lack of subscription might reduce revenue, but it's more than an acceptable compromise for users in my opinion.

Just please keep this place. I hate reddit.

Sorry but I have no intention of supporting Voat financially seeing as how Voat inherited a lot of Reddit's censorship tactics and group-think ideologies. There are far too many ex-redditors,sheeple,retards,feminists and fail-trolls lurking around this site downvoting my content and comments.

Even if I were to advertise on this site all that would do is attract the worst that Voat has to offer and cause me nothing but problems and grief in the long run. I have already personally experienced first hand advertising on Reddit and I doubt it would be any different here.

I have no intention of investing my hard earned cash to a negative and ignorant community that has no interest in any of my services or content and only seeks out to hurt or to destroy me. This is my take in this matter and it should be taken into consideration.

You can do as you like with your money but I am no fool.

I love the future. I will so fuck you all up in the future.

I don't mind ads at all. But we need to keep the SJWs out.

I don't want to see ads from companies who then go:" MEEMEEMEE, YOU'RE VOAT IS NOT INCLUSIVE! DROP THE OFFENSIVE CONTENT"

Can you look for companies for whom WE are the target group? And not fucking SJWs?

I'll read as many sidebar adds as you like for this website. As long as the advertisers have no control over you, and I know they won't, I'm totally happy with it. I trust Atko is no shill. xO xoo xO <3

I can host voat.co, hit me up

I just turned off my add blocker, thanks for everything!

I'll chip in too, turned disabled ad block for voat.co

first time I ever did that

If more websites had this kind of ad policy, I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't be using adblockers. The ads with animations and scripts that have security issues are the main offenders.

10 ideas for monetizing voat:

1. Ads (duh)
2. Voat gold premium features. Payable in bitcoin for anonymity loving folks
3. T-shirts, random shwag
4. Subverses could sponsor an icon on the sidebar that went to their subverse.
5. Subverses might require donations with respect to their traffic to keep being featured in the header.
6. Members could purchase little collectible badges that would go next to their handle in comments. You could tier these and charge an annual fee.
7. Have something where people could tip posters anonymously and voat would get a cut. This would probably only work in gonewild .
8. Paid posting in certain subs like craigslist does with job ads.
9. Trending meme analysis reports for Internet marketers.
10. Have a burning man like event for voat people and charge an entrance fee.

Atko i want to be an investor

like really really badly

also yes on the ads

DO IT!

That's what I think, I'm amazed that you haven't done it already, I turned of ABP for this site a looooong time ago just for this reason. Also you may want to consider organizing as a NFP or NP, this may help reduce liability. And companies hate the bad press that may come from suing a NP.

Yes. You are doing the right thing.

So long as this places no restrictions on the speech allowed by the users (outside of whatever is obviously criminal), this sounds fair enough to me.

@atko

I don't see the ads on my mobile.

awesome news! i love this site and want to see it stay around.

I have no problems with adverts on websites. I recognise that you need an income to survive and this is a good way to do it.

It's why I've got adblock disabled for Voat! Do yer' thang, sys admins.

This should be ever sites ad policy. It would get rid of the need for ad blockers.

If we donate, do we get some type of badge or little graphic that goes with our name? I donated $50.

And up until recently so did reddit, that is just part of having an open online discussion board. You have to to enjoy the parts you like and not get bent out of shape about the parts you hate otherwise you end up like reddit is today policing content and the whole thing turns to shit.

As long as the content remains unaltered by the inclusion of advertisements... we're good!

Sounds good to me, nice move on the no-scipt-embedding. If I see an advert for something I'm after I'll be sure to click on it!

"Even their dog is fat" is the best ad ever. I would come here just to see that!
On a serious note. I think Voat should start an ad-agency. Make ads that the meme starved community will enjoy. I fucking hate the polished "PR-agency" art directed crap you get in your face every day. Funny and insane ads would make me enjoy and look at them!
"Do you still like to play tongue-hockey with farm animals or have you gotten a new set of Ray-Bans?"
"This puppy don't give a shit and neither should you! Just do it!"

I don't mind passive side ads. It's those animated bastards that take forever to load and then blast out my speakers.

Ads are fine, but you need to be EXTREMELY careful with them.

Don't allow companies to track users, by using javascript, 1 pixel icons that point to strange urls, etc.

So, what do you guys think? Are we doing the right thing?

Spot on. This is the type of ads were part of the web when the web was great and actually had interesting content.

Ads makes your web site a bit more colourful.

It's weird how Voat and 8chan shares the same idea behind adds.

And yeah, it's the best move to do for that kind of site.

Just don't do what Reddit did and you will be fine.

That seems fine by me.

I like it, atko! It is realistic and necessary to look for a stream of revenue and I fully anticipated that VOAT would need to do this. You have our trust and gratitude so do what is necessary to both keep VOAT running as a platform that honors free speech...but also (!)...

dude, make some money on this. You deserve it. You really do!

I might add one other idea: Please also have a separate parallel search for philanthropic donors (Trump? Putin's Cellist friend, Sergei Roldugin? Free Speech advocacy groups/Billionaires supportive of Free Speech?) that could plop down a cool million on your project here.

Be creative. Just putting out the request along with the VOAT mission statement might create a mad scramble for the oligarchs to display their generous concern for maintaining our liberal (Free speech, Liberty, Freedom) society.

Wikipedia's founder might also have some tips?

(Maybe Geert Wilders might have some powerful names to connect you too?)

Anyways, I like the idea of the adds. It will make me feel like VOAT has a foundation besides just our donations. Go for it!

The ads you're describing are the good kind of ads. The bad ones are pop ups, scripts and ones that play before videos. The money needed to run the site isn't going to come from thin air.

Keep the donations option. We don't want you to be beholden to anyone else but us.

And kudos for all this hard work, we appreciate it!

等等

I don't really mind ads.

Answering your question YES your doing the very best thing unlike other website Your just advertising on the side bar with maintained ratio ads (1:1) Yes Yes and Yes i am a big fan of advertising since it boosts up my business and i have 3 years experience with advertising i make creative ads to get my website to the Max Potential ! VOAT is the best website unlike reddit VOAT doesn't suck and what i like the most about VOAT is the community which is friendly

You may have a case of the retard.

Do it.

Curious if the number of inquiries has been to your satisfaction, or even the number that have purchased ad space.

Byłem tu. Polska przejmuje voat, strims umarł, a voat odradza się na nowo, ave.

If an advertiser is brave enough to use Voat, I would support them. Seems pretty simple here.

Anything but advertising. Someone donate a kidney.

For what it's worth I think you are doing the right thing.

Why shouldn't ads have animations? As long as they don't emit sound (without it being clicked on by the user), they're okay in my book.

Seems good

309'000 users? That's a lot. Make an app. A free one but with (a few ads) or 4 times 1,- per year. I'd pay for that and I'm sure lots of people would also.

Also, get in touch with the sli.mg guys (if you haven't already) and involve them, grow bigger.

Number 5 is up to @atko and @putitout. This place is alright and I think I'm gonna stay until then. Reddit was okay in the 4b phase for years, now it's between 6 and 7.

Where is a donate link?

shut up and take my money

Make some money on the side in your free time, when your bored, when your waiting for someone, it adds up fast! Sign up today (takes 2minutes) and start making easy money! http://www.mb102.com/lnk.asp?o=5106&c=918273&a=196119

I think text ads are the future. I would not mind unblockable text ads on the side of the page, if it means that it will help Voat. I know I will get deth threts from this statement.

If all Websites had an ad policy like that, i wouldn't even have an ad blocker installed.

This is really the only way to get things done without accepting donations. I personally wouldnt mind doing something like a paid subscription that would remove all the ads every month. Even though everyone already has adblock, ive personally turned it off for voat, but this would make people feel like they actually have some kind of stake in the site. Which as long as it always stays open and free I have no problem doing.

amazing article about city of the future http://www.the-dialogue.com/en/en26-city-of-the-future/

Thou needs to be shot in the head multiple times until death do part.

There goes the neighborhood :P

Go for it. I'll make Voat a(first time ever) exception in my adblocker, and if I could buy a coffeecup, a T-shirt or something like that, I'd do that too. It's small price to pay for the quality we get.

I don't expect you to do this for free or without any revenue stream, so an ad model is fine by me.

I disabled my adblock for voat.co. I think everyone who loves Voat should do the same.

My only concern is that the downfall of reddit began with ads.

Sounds reasonable. Just don't change your free speech policies.

So so happy with this news. And you @atko and @PuttItOut - man I remember the days when @PuttItOut explained it PUTTitOUT not PUTitOUT *sigh*...Oh, the WhoaVerse days!

As long as you remain the bastion of free speech people will come. You guys are great, keep it up.

I will whitelist Voat. I never do this. Couldn't donate, but this is a contribution, no?

8 . Site continues on as a shambling zombie, returning to devour and subsist on the brains of the living.

The current ad is A+ #1 super I love long time

I need to start charging you rent

Atko, would you consider also informing the subverse moderator team when a new ad is purchased directed at their viewers? A global ad is not such a big deal, but when someone purchases advertisements in a specific sub, it may be something a moderator team would want to know.

If it were me, I would only introduce ads if the donations coming in weren't enough to cover the server costs..

Thats a reasonable policy. If it get annoying I can always just block them anway.

I'm glad you have finally decided to do this. It was certainly the right move for you, and it was the right move for us as well because we want this place to stay around. I wish you the best of luck on your new business venture! I hope it turns you a nice little profit, you deserve it.

No popups

No sound playing on load

No flashy ads

No obstructive ads

Then I don't need uBlock tbh fam

You're too late: Mwahahahahah

of course you are doing the right thing! never apologize to anyone for trying to make money. this is fucking america, and making money is a GOOD thing (despite what some douche bags will have you believe). good luck with your new venture and i wish you all the success in the world.

So, what do you guys think? Are we doing the right thing?

I would just say I recommend to be as transparent and truthful about costs/revenue as possible. Maybe have a monthly report or something.

and both me and @PuttItOut have agreed that asking for donations is not something we want to keep doing

It seems like they just don't like asking for them, but I think they'll still accept them. I can't see why they wouldn't.

I usually send bitcoin every couple months but I don't mind non-intrusive ads. I wouldn't mind an option to disable NSFW ads. Or just have a consistent url/naming system and I'll block those and whitelist the rest.

If you could have a preference panel for ads all the better. I'm a sucker and horrific impulse buyer of all things tech.

yes

I think Patreon might be a good option, i'd certainly sign up for that. The problem with ad funding is that Voat could quickly start to rely on this outside revenue, which in turn gives the marketers leverage to influence things, first subtly, then openly.

I think donations are best, but if they're not covering the bills then this is sensible.

It doesn't bother me at all and I don't turn on adblockers on 2 condition:

If the advert is a giant cock then it has to be blocked because I don't need my mother-in-law seeing it.

If the advert is giving me epileptic seizures and causing blindness because its half the page and blasting coloured lasers.

Okay a 3rd one is - if the advert is crashing my browser or making pages come to loading bogs, crawling speeds etc.

There isn't some ethical problem but there is just one big risk: The entire point and purpose of Voat was to smash SJW's, PC correctness, call gay people faggots AND write any long hate-filled rants about corporate sponsors if someone so chose without having mods magically delete it for fake reasons.

and having said that - its triple respect for any sponsors that have the balls to advertize here. Even if they are some fag-enablers selling 'Bernie Sanders' t-shirts you know I would respect the hell out of them for sponsoring and refusing to quit. Far more than I would on any other sites!

Spam me with your add spunk mighty Atko. I'm ready!

Why no Patreon for monthly costs?

I think we all care about one thing and one thing only, when it comes to ads. We don't want what happened elsewhere to happen here. We don't want outside parties pressuring Voat to push an agenda, to censor, to skew, or to shill. It looks like you are making sure to uphold those standards, so, thanks! I would love for you, @Atko (not @PutItOut, fuck him.), to live prosperously off of Voat's success. Just remember that this site is a success precisely because it is a free speech platform. Remove that, and we might as well go back to...well, you know.

Thanks for being the best, and standing up for what you know is right, for upholding the mission, and for protecting our rights across the globe! You truly are an exceptional person and we love you for everything you've done for us.

I would gladly pay a modest subscription fee to avoid advertising on Voat

Can't polish a turd.

I think this is the first time I've seen a website say "you are always free to block our ads". It's what makes you guys awesome.

As long as the ads do not interfere in the site's moderation, it's completely fine for me.

I really appreciate the effort you have on the site since way back, I'm ok with the ad proposition.

It's gotten so big, I wonder when the loli/jailbait subverses will come back?

I love Voat and I thank you Atko and Putitout for not letting advertising tarnish the original purpose of this fantastic free speech forum.

It's a fantastic ad policy to keep Voat running and free. Thank you for letting us know.

Ads don't bother me at all, I'm just glad you are turning away investors who want to change voat.

That isn't real time though. That is just manually added.

Also what about groups/people who buy ads and aren't apart of a company?

Where can i donate for this site?

The ads themselves aren't even in real time. How do you expect them to make the lists real time?

I love you.

As long as you stick to your principles, I'm 100% ok with ads as long as it's clear they're ads (Reddit selling front page access for subtly sponsored content is not cool).

So, this isn't a shitpost? What about this one? Or even this similar one? Would you call this one which says nothing, much like this post?

None of these provide ANY "narrative," therefore there is no narrative to be controlled. What you're saying isn't offensive because it's irrelevant... it's simply irrelevant. You're not adding to any narrative, you're just complaining about nothing, and doing so in the most irritating and irrelevant way. This is the very definition of trolling.

There are rules here to stop trolling and shitposting, and you've proven that it works perfectly: You create shitposts, then you get downvoated for shitposting, and then you fly off the handle about "censorship" when you get downvoated for shitposting. I don't see where you have a platform to stand on, because the system seems to be working.

But you keep on trying, and you keep posting, and I don't understand why... because it provides more shitposts for people to downvoat.

Websites can't exist unless someone pays for them. I trust ads more than I trust Reddit investors. The ads just want me to buy something (that I might buy anyway), the Reddit investors want to change my political opinion by banning posts.

I think you should accept interview requests, especially once you have the income and infrastructure to handle to incoming flood wave.

The publicity that Bloomberg TV, Swiss national TV, BBC gives could dismantle Reddit. Reddit is rotten and doesn't deserve many users. I know you've said you don't want Voat to become that big, but I don't think it's Reddit's size that made it rotten, but its leadership and cabal moderators.

Btw ads are great, as long as you don't cater to any remove request from the ad buyers.

The policy needs one more thing: a stick.

In order to place an ad, you've got to pay upfront +10%. Any advertiser that knowingly uses deceptive advertising, or tries to install unwanted malware onto voaters systems, or who attempts to circumvent the policy in any other way, or who attempts to enforce editorial control on the site will immediately forfeit their ad spend and their deposit, will immediately be banned from further advertising on voat forever, their company name or personal name will be placed in a publicly available "hall of shame" list, and the punitive policy does not limit further punitive actions the site may take against malicious advertisers including litigation in a forum convenient to atko.

I'm delighted for you to do whatever needs to be done to keep Voat and it's ideology of free expression afloat.

Yes, I've disabled adblock in preparation and I'm looking forward and hoping that the revenue raised is more than sufficient.

The best way to have control over your ads is to have your own system rather than relying on a ad serving network.

How will you handle mobile devices? Sidebar ads don't work on phones.

I mute Pandora and the TV during ads. I actively avoid companies and products that have been obnoxiously pitched to me in loud, annoying commercials.

So, I'm not a unicorn after all and there are others like me out there!

Yes! I knew my donation would be worth it! I have such immense respect for you both right now.

I'm good with it. Also, don't worry about turning off ads in my account, every little penny helps keep this place running and that's what I want. What I don't like are targeted ads and it seems, I'm understanding correctly, these won't be targeted.

BTW, not sure if you guys are in communication with the sl.mg folks but they seem to have done something similar. And it's working.

I could have been going out every weekend blowing hundreds at a bar to drink and party but I've enjoyed hanging out here, having my drinks and talking to these folks way more than I ever did at a bar.

I will turn off ad blocking for voat. Thanks @atko @putitout I'm a reddit refugee who has been clean for a year now. Thanks to voat. Come one people donate, even if it's small. Do it for the voat.

Can we at least agree on SFW ads, unlike 8chan? Some of those ads are damned near Pizza.

I will donate this painting to the highest bidder, payable to Voat itself, in thanks for giving me a platform.

I guess you'ld have to send your {bullion, cash, cheque, money-order, etc} to /u/Atko or however that would work. You guys can figure it out together, the winner and Voat. And they can pass on your mailing address after they've received your payment. And I'll ship it to you.

The bidding shall end in 48 hours, if you would accept my offer, that is.

Self promotion? Hell yeah. They ruined my life; gotta sell art now and save up for plastic surgery so I can change my (name and) face and move far away.

None of the money in this auction here goes to me though; just the "fame" (which shall help mitigate the discrimination I get in the Art World for criticising LGBT Nepotism).

All the money goes to Voat.

So if I can help you help me help you help me, I can feel like I've repaid a debt I feel I owe to Voat for getting out the False Flag Attack at UBC and how they framed me as a bigot hater.

And for drawing so much attention to your site. Sorry.

I'm going to shut up now. I have court in ~~the morning~~ an hour.

Well, times up. Don't know whether to be sad that noone wanted my painting, or happy because I get to keep it.

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It's not controlling the narrative, it's curbing the trolling. You have to rack up a TON of downvoats in order for this to happen, and that comes from the community as a whole.

In other words, Voat as a community doesn't want to hear your trolling, so you have lost some functionality... this is intentional. It's not controlling narrative, it's limiting trolling. None of your comments here have added any narrative, they have been offensive and pointless. Thus, you've lost enough points to lose you functionality.

You want to be part of the community, act like it. You want to shitpost, then you're going to have a bad time.

yeah

The site was always going to need this.

Don't worry. I already have that idea and I am going to use it.

Do it. Capitalist scumfaggot! Who EVN NEDS MONY?

Ignore the stupid commie cucks. Websites cost money to run. Not only should you generate revenue to keep the site running, you both should also get paid handsomely for your time and the risk you took building the site.

Capitalism makes the world great.

I just added voat.co to my adblock whitelist. You guys are literally the only page in it. Hope my 2c helps out!

This is reasonable. I didn't donate before but will there still be an option to donate later and turn ads off? If not I would still keep ads on here.

Honestly didn't realize this was an ad free place... But yes toss in the side bar ads. Would rather not lose this place.

Like other commenters here I approve of your methods of advertising. (although I don't understand what's wrong with collecting aggregate impression numbers) but I'm worried about what the future will bring.

Ads will bring pressure from advertisers. A slippery slope. No animation, right? What happens when times are tough next year and someone offers a big contract, but only if they're allowed to use a animated .png Not scripted, not third party, but it is animated. And once you're allowing an animated ad what's the difference, really whether it's animated by the client after download one way or another? Why not allow a simple script to animate efficiently? And wouldn't it be more efficient to build a site-wide API that pushes ads to various pages? And since you already have an API why not give advertisers easier access to better choose which ads they want to put up where? Soon enough Voat will be a bloated, ad-ridden malware zone.

I'm 100% okay with this. We all have to realize that even though this is a great platform for free speech it also costs money. I will happily leave my AdBlock off for Voat.co, since guidelines for what can be an advert are fair, and seem to be safe.

I'm late to the party here and this may never be read but I plan to buy up add space for the primary purpose of being hilarious. We could all band together and instead of donations we buy up the add space and just place the rarest of pepe's there.

Sounds good to me :)

LOL

If that structure actually generates the income that you need, then I'm all for it. It threads the needle. Polite ads for people who don't mind them, and no ads for the donors and the blockers. I hope it works.

@Atko

Can I propose a small and stupid idea? Can Voaters all invest with donations into some form of Bitcoin making factory where every donation will go towards a warehouse where we can get weekly updates of the progression? Every bitcoin made by the cards will go to Voat.co hosting and your salaries. We'd trust you and PuttItAll to fully take care of it.

I know it sounds silly at first but if we can do it, that'd be insanely cool. It would be a form of self-sustainability. What do you think? Nobody could take Voat away from us if we're self-sustainable.

I was seriously considering helping a bit but unfortunately I don't want to use my credit card (for the ads) due to privacy concerns and there doesn't seem to be any simple way to buy bitcoins with a credit card where I'm from so I guess I'm all out of options for now.

Do what you need to do. You have been square with us in the past and I along with others trust in your judgement in these things. It seems like you're being more than reasonable in how you are going about this and once again showing transparency in how clean your wording is. I don't use Adblockers and I don't intend to start because you Voat.

Implement Reddit's Gold feature.

It was arguably the last decent thing they did before the fall. It has been suggested for VOAT before.

• It creates another revenue source
• It lets users select the better comments
• It makes users strive to make even better comments
• It lets you generate excess money which you can donate to other good causes. Not only it is good for everybody but it also generates a lot of good talk. The money Reddit donated to FSF et. al. is still talked about.

I appreciate your openess, however I firmly believe in the Value for Value model, put forward by the No Agenda Show

It is the only way to ensure that we do not become the product and that we can never be told what not to talk about because it might look bad for their customer base. Reliance on ads also opens Voat up to campaigns lead by the minions of shills and disingenuous people that could then leverage that reliance to submit to their will.

Yeah, as long as you are passionate about having ads that behave, I'll absolutely whitelist Voat. I don't use ad blockers to avoid ads, I use them to avoid asshole ads.

addition to this, moot refused to accept donations and look what happed to 4chan

Voat is the only white listed domain in my adblocker. Would pay x$ per month though instead.

I think this is acceptable, but I really like the idea of still being able to buy an ad-free experience as well as buying various flair.

On that note, just donated $50. You guys are awesome.

A little late, actually

IT seems to me that since we had the "days remaining" thing on the sidebar Voat became much less active so you're probably right. We're in no position to complain though, since Voat is free.

Irrefutable proof!

as long as you stay clean of things like the saudi, chinese and usa government, i'm pretty sure we're cool :)

It's not a bug... The downvoat button works... Look at his totals...

He's just racked up so many downvoats (since he's a troll) in a day that he's locked out of a lot of Voat's options.

No problems on my end. As long as the site works without censorship, I'm OK.

This will be the only site that I'll ever whitelist.

Cool with me, ese.

do you think they'll go for it?

Wow, you just described every website that ever became popular.

le ebic maymays

Some of those "maymays" were pretty damn funny, and seriously worth keeping around. Personally, I can never get enough of leek-spinning-girl-with-adorable-smile. The overplayed ones like goatse and rickroll need to be allowed to die though.

I'm fine with this and will disable ublock for this site if it means Voat will stay alive. I'm just a lurker for the most part, but I love reading through the discussions here. Would hate to see this site disappear.

Anyone from /v/Linux could have told you so.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxTQKxyJyxw

If you think it's for the best so be it.

It cost $5k a month to run Voat? Waaaaat

Atko and PutItOut, I could help out in a few divisions and it would bring revenue to the site and help. Could one of you PM me at least or are you just working together on ideas alone? Im not sure if theres a Voat team that helps you all or if its just you two.

EDIT: The basic ideas of it without writing a lengthy post here are: Managing the Voat brand around the web, sponsored adverts (yea I know this ones tricky), and an actually voat team whoever needs to be helping out closely.

What if the ability to turn off ads was available as a one time purchase of 5 dollars?

Are there any restrictions as to what kind of ads can be placed? (ie. what if the ad had "bad" language)

If someone buys ad space, will that information of the transaction (purchaser, amount, etc) be available by subpoena?

Run the ads. Running a Web site costs money, and the more popular it is the more it costs. No one will break down and weep if you run ads, as long as they aren't obnoxious. You seem to have a handle on that already, so do it.

I just started to give this website a chance and it honestly seems like an extension of /pol/. I've seen enough to understand that I don't relate or care enough about the majority of new discussions generated here but I sure do love this website's format. Best of luck!

You're doing the right thing and I appreciate you consulting us about this. I would not object to a model where users can pay to disable mods as well. Something to consider.

Edit: And as for future features, could the ability to sort out post history's by things like "Top", "Controversial", or "Lowest", be implemented?

I think it's implemented so the site wont be overpopulated by trolls, downvoting everything they see fit. You need to spend a while to be able to downvote.

So, what do you guys think? Are we doing the right thing?

Yes. I think optional donation keeps users on equal footing (being a customer), but expecting everyone to be a subscriber with a paywall is the wrong way to do it.

You guys are great. Thanks for looking out for us and the site. No one likes ads, but everyone here likes Voat, so ads are just a bummer reality we'll deal with. Hardly noticeable as it is anyway.

Good luck making the transition to full time Voat management.

For being honest, I have disabled ad block for Voat.

Send those advertisements my way!

I'm in. I already have ya'll white listed. I'd pay a couple bucks a month subscription too. It'd be a pain to come up with a card that wasn't linked with my identity, but it would be worth it. If there are things advertised here that I want, even if they may be a little more expensive I'd do it. Long ramble short....do it. I love this site.

I up for this. Great Idea Atko.

If it keeps this place alive I'm all for a little ad space. Does any one ever read the side bars anyways? Lol.

Well, I guess this is the beginning of the end. As all similar site before it, voat will start to go down from the moment it tries to start generating revenue.

/We also received a ton of inquiries from investors, but for what it’s worth, we never accepted any offers as most investors simply didn’t share our vision./

It's worth everything that voat stands for. Thank You.

Also, is it too late to donate?

So theoretically I could pay 25 bucks to show everybody my dog for a day?

You are proof that the downvoat button works.

Agreed. If one or both of the devs could post their code somewhere to kick start it, I feel like a community maintained open source app would easily be within reach, seeing as our community is generally more tech savvy than the general population.

Let's keep the voat afloat.

Yes. Unobtrusive ads are welcome and I would whitelist voat in a heartbeat

That's...not what I'm saying at all? His feedback is obviously valid, but that doesn't mean it's without flaws. It just baffles me to think that "other people will pay for this service I use" is something that would come out of a Voater's mind. I thought we were better than expecting some sort of socialistic "some of us will pay for all of us" view.

Guess I misjudged the demographic.

I might become a pariah for asking this, but why aren't clicks/impressions tracked? I enjoy my privacy as much as the next guy, but as long as actions aren't tied to personally identifiable information like an IP, or a region smaller than state/province/territory/oblast level, I don't don't see what the problem is?

First, I want to say how much I appreciate your transparency, candid tone, and willingness to communicate with the user base. This is a piece of the puzzle you're getting very right. Being frank with the community and soliciting our opinions gives people a sense of ownership and reason to be committed as users, content creators, and investors.

Regarding ads, I think you have to do whatever it takes to keep the site up. If this allows you to make Voat your full time occupation, I think you should work toward solutions to restore Voat to an ad free or ad light zone.

$60k a year is pretty doable. You need the obvious merchandise line; t-shirts, hats, mugs, bumper stickers, plush toys, etc. If you've already got that, I missed it. This stuff not only brings revenue, but spreads your brand.

I still think Voat Cheese, like reddit gold, is a no brainer. Same vehicle, no lame subverse, just recognition and an ad free experience for 30 days.

Another Web based product you could add would be a monthly or bi-monthly podcast. Pick a few of Voat's hot topics, invite a guest, and discuss for 60-90 minutes. You could feature audio ads in this vehicle that would be less intrusive than on site ads. 30-60 second spots every 10 minutes are more tolerable than sidebar and banner ads. This has the benefit of providing unique original content to Voat, and if you're funny or charming at all your cult of personality could draw interest to the site. It could be a fun diversion for you guys. Have a subverse that helps pick topics, with their help write up some questions and points of interest to add structure, and line up some interesting guests. A little bumper music to open and close, and you're done. You don't even need prerecorded ads, just read them. It's done all the time. Suddenly Voat has its own brand of AMAesque exclusive content. Give away the first three, then sell an annual subscription for $20-$30. Then again, the in-podcast revenue might be better if it was free to listen and reached a wider audience.

I think you need to think outside the site too. It's tricky finding ways to generate revenue on the site proper. Even harder without being obnoxious. I know you're trying to transition from your day job to full time voat, but having a side business, Voat centric or not, could be the answer. Small batch microbrew, lightly-worn Swedish panties with a signed photo, escort goats rented to migrants...there are things you could sell on the side that would support Voat without wrecking the vibe.

Finally, you might try a letter writing campaign for donations outside of Voat. Free speech groups, Constitutionalists, Gun rights groups, libertarians, PEGIDA or other immigration reform groups, etc. There are a plethora of organizations who will value the open expression forum you're marketing, but you're not going to reach them through VOAT. You must cast a wider net. You're one wealthy silent benefactor away. You just have to let him know you're here and incorruptible.

Not quite. Here, let me fill in a few details.

>owner of site makes thread asking for feedback on ads

>user gives feedback on ads: user states voat should be ad-free, disables ad-blocker, states that other users will help keep voat afloat

>other voat user that understands that a website has to at least break even points out the entitled mentality of "I'm not paying for this, and I'm going to actively prevent the site owners from getting paid for their efforts, and I expect someone else to pick up the slack"

Nice strawman, though.

Atko do what you gotta do brother. Everyone's gotta eat. Your proposed policy seems very reasonable. Congrats on all of your continued success. Just don't sell out!

You deserve it @atko, this is what many have suggested for a while now; the only thing to ensure is that advertisers have no say over the content on the site.

I love it. just require ads to be images (possibly animated) with no scripts or plugins

Sounds good

Yes, ads are the right move. Ads were never a problem on other sites really, only limits on free speech is really.

Ads are only a problem to the extend that advertisers can pressure site admins to make sure content is politically correct. Once you go down the road of filtering (legal) content you give the impression you stand behind the content that remains. ""You removed X but not Y? Why do you support Y so much?"

As long as you openly state that Voat is simply a platform that encourages debate and legal free speech advertisers aren't put in a position of being told they support any individual subs or opinions on the website for advertising here. With free speech you either embrace free speech or embrace political correctness and almost any position in the middle is just a temporary move to political correctness due to the slipperyness of that slope.

I do think advertising is a good idea. Success of the website should seen as "great, more advertising money to do what we are doing" and not "Crap, we got more popular, how are we going to afford this?"

This is cool, but what about merch? Or monthly fee? Would be good to have more options. You've done amazing things over the years and I applaud you for that. Thank you and to @Puttitout for making this place a better place for all of us.

Your policy is far beyond amazing, just keep it up with that tempo. I Am sure that in the future, every hour, tear & sweat will be paid of. Small step at a time and you will get there.

I love you both and the lovely Voat goat community we have.

Thanks for everything.

I think this is a good idea, but I think maybe you should consider a subscription option of some sort. Pay x money on a schedule and no ads.

To this end, we will start selling sidebar ad space.

And hence will fall into exactly the same trap that every other major form of media has fallen into since media was invented. Read my lips: YOU CANNOT HAVE A FREE AND OPEN WEBSITE/NEWSPAPER/TV CHANNEL WHICH SUPPORTS ITSELF THROUGH ADVERTISING. It is a total fucking contradiction. Advertisers are not charities. They advertise (i.e. spend revenue) to reach a particular client base. Hence, once you become dependent upon that revenue, you find yourself (at first covertly, and then overtly) showing favouritism to the views, wishes and opinions of that same client base. You simply cannot afford not to.

Funnily enough, myself and a friend were talking about the future of Voat just the other night, and we both agreed it would go the same way as Reddit:-

1) People will use it because it is free, open and uncensored.

2) Because people are using it, its popularity will keep growing.

3) Once its popularity peaks, the creators will scrap the "free, open and uncensored" part because they are being offered millions of dollars to do so.

4) The creators get rich. The userbase which made the site popular (i.e. worth millions of dollars) gets screwed.

You absolutely are not doing the right thing. You can't let the Devil in and expect to keep him on a leash.

If ads are what will keep this site alive, I'm all for it. No ad-block for you!

You need to make money somehow. Unobtrusive, non-malicious ads seem like a reasonable way. I would also not be opposed to a store full of Voat swag.

I think Boats is now inactive. It hasn't been updated in a while, and the @SpaceMonkey account (developer) hasn't so much as posted a comment in over a month.

You mention subverse specific ads. Wouldn't that allow companies / groups to advertise something against what the sub wants? Example. Some sort of pro-fat company advertising on /v/fatpeoplehate or am I missing something here that might make you so they won't do that?

Relevant username....

Transparency = awesome you guys rock

I'm totally okay with ads. As long as the ads aren't super obnoxious or clearly scams they don't bug me at all.

Great job Atko. If only the rest of the Internet followed your example...

It made Google worth more than Exxon. I think it is a great idea. People today too often forget the money has to come from somewhere.

I'll give 50 bucks to paypal to fund this site....but how do I do that?

So, what do you guys think? Are we doing the right thing?

No-strings attached donations should never be turned away. Advertising is Edward Bernays Propaganda, and intended to alter people's behavior because money was spent to change minds. Advertising isn't free magic. People who fund it expect a return (altered social behavior) for their layout. With donations, the funding goes directly to the site and isn't promoting something else...

If only we could come up with a system (like a subverse) where the community could vote on which ads get accepted. It seems important to voaters to integrate the community with ad many aspects of the site functionality as possible

As long as the ads abide by those rule you mention since I'm fine with whitelisting, but try not to have Candycrush (or really any mobile application game that does this), why? Because their ads open up the App Store/Play Store. I'll gladly keep this site whitelisted as long as the framerate doesn't drop to 15 FPS because of some overly complex animation/video ad.

Put up ads.

Cut the fucking costs! $5K/month... you kidding me?

thanks Atko

uBlock to the rescue!

If the site were to become unusably slow because of ads, sure that would be a "problem" that would probably drive users away, but I doubt Atko will allow it to ever get there.

Keep all analytics, trackers, ad network shit, off voat, just like it is now atko! We love you for it.

I just white-listed voat.co in Ad-Block so I don't forget to later.

Non-intrusive sidebar ads are a great idea!

This is good, but also don't discount fundraising. I'm a professional fundraiser. Trust me, people with much more sinister goals are out there fundraising and generating huge amounts of revenue for much less worthy causes. I think a platform dedicated to free speech in a time where other online platforms are being caught red handed censoring is a great ask. I've been wanting to donate for a while and once my husband gets back to work will do just that. Please give yourself the benefit of the doubt and talk to a tech fundraiser consultant. You are in such a prime spot right now! I'm not talking $10 donations either. I mean major donors giving six plus figure checks, businesses partnering with you philanthropicallyvto support you, etc.

Seconded, for those who want to, why refuse them.

@edsnowden is just busy destroying people in rocket league...

I agree with this move. This is how Voat can be funded.

That said, other users have been correct in saying that this is a similar path to what so many other websites have gone. Reddit included.

Going forward from this, you guys seem to have the right idea: reducing operating costs instead of getting more revenue. As long as we aren't inundated by ads, and as long as we have free speech here (no, trolls, child porn is not free speech), we're happy. Having the place be less monetized helps to achieve both goals.

One idea that another commenter had was paid membership to not see ads- I think it's a good idea personally. The only people who might not like it are whoever is paying you guys to host ads here ;)

I study it every single day. I have for decades now. I do nothing else but study history.

• "What about Simon of Trent? The Jews killed him for their blood ritual. All throughout medieval Europe Jews did their blood libel. It happened. They did it. They did this many, many times. One of the countless reasons why Jews got expelled from. Europe."

• "The Holocaust didn't happen."

So, how do we get baddragon.com to advertise their dragon dildos on the sidebar of /v/sdbh? BECAUSE THIS NEEDS TO HAPPEN, PEOPLE.

It happens rarely, ive had it.

Voat hosts the ad, javascript is not allowed, advertizer doesnt even get any metrics, theres nothing fishy here. This is the way to do ads atko.

If it really came down to it (the profitability that allowed you and putt to work on voat full time), i would be ok with a letterbox ad on the bottom of the subverse/front/all as well, if it fits this non animated, no js, no ad network format.

All for it.

I wish I had caught this thread while it was new, but good luck guys - this is the time that will make or break Voat, and while I know that it'll all fall apart eventually, I'll be here as long as possible.

Disabled ad block.

Absolutely, this is the right thing. It's actually way overdue.

As long as you vet your ads for malware (Ala Yahoo's bullshit), I have not only no issue, but I'll happily whitelist you guys in my adblocker.

Given your restrictions, I am willing to whitelist ads for Voat. This is something I won't do for just anyone, because I don't think I can trust other sites' adverts. I don't know what they allow or prevent, so better safe than sorry.

Having an advert-free environment for supporters is also reasonable.

I'm excited about Voat's continued viability. Unobtrusive ads are a small price to pay for that.

Proceed with the ads.

I don't mind having ads on the side bar. I trust the admins with this since they have a track record of transparency and being open with the community about these changes. Especially allowing us to give them straight feedback.

Obviously, the ads are going to grow, but I think given how crazy most of us goaters on this website are about transparency and keeping free speech at the heart of the website will be enough to keep the admins in line if they try to go to reddit.

As some others have said, I think paying a certain amount every month to make the website ad free for single users is a good method. It gives people choice.

the main problem with ads is that they are easily hack able by malicious people that would like to do harm injecting trojans and worms in to their code.does voat has a plan to combat or rather address this issue?meantime, i truly wish atko and CO. the best in their endeavors

If I wanted to contribute to Voat, could I buy like 3 days of ad space and just put a picture of the Voat Goat that says have a nice day? Or do the ads have to come from a company, and hyperlink to a website of some sort, and be an actual advertisement?

I donated $13.37 last month which doesn't cover much, I know. But I am thus far happy with the progress of this site, I just hope advertising doesn't overshadow our potential future. i.e. - Don't pull a Reddit. :)

I added Voat to whitelist from the day I registered here. As I do on every other site which respects his users and which I want to support somehow. And I fully support you on this decision.

Do it, @Atko!

Non-intrusive text ads are acceptable.

No one could possibly have a (reasonable) problem with this.

(By the way, it's spelled "advertise," at least in American; if the Brits use a z and that's what you're going for, then ignore this.)

It looks for bleak the future of capitalism:

HUMANS NEED NOT APPLY: CGP GREY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pq-S557XQU&nohtml5=False

I would like to perhaps see some pre-made ads for things like eff or subs that people could use as their "donations" outlet. 2 birds with one stone, the site gets funded and people can show support for things they care about. It could maybe be set up by the orgs themselves, and people could "donate" to their ad campaigns on voat.

I don't see a better move so I fully support it.

Think of it this way: you're exploiting corporations to fund a place of free speech and thought. As long as the ads are strictly for salaries and server costs, I think it's the right thing to do.

I understand how it works. I just don't support that system. Blockchain technology is interesting and all, but I don't believe Bitcoin itself is a very good use of it.

There was a discussion at one point regarding how any advertising can have negative impact on freedom of speech. Basically, by becoming dependant on advertising revenue, you become dependant on what the advertisers want, not your users.

Please keep this in mind. Any ways that the users can pay for the site directly is better, if it's sustainable.

i would prefer to pay a subscription fee to make it ad free, but i'll whitelist the site. until i start to see porn ads. then back on goes my ad blocker.

can we buy ads ourselves?

Yes, excellent work!

I like it. I don't like ads but I realize that they are necessary. I also think ads like this are much better than typical ads, as they are usually for something decent and not something like weight loss pills. I'm actually considering purchasing some ad space, my only complaint is that I'd just want to focus gaming related subs. Those don't get the same amount of traffic as other ones. Are there any plans for a light version? Like you spend less but can only target a certain number of subs (like 5)? Or you can target slower subs and get extra days for the same price, or something like that? One of the big advantages of advertising on a place like voat is that you can target specific markets without invading privacy. New political youtube channel, site, etc? Hit the politics subs. new gaming site? Hit the gaming subs. It seems like voat currently doesn't allow for that.

The direction is good, I'm fond of these soft serve type of ad systems. Mainly because you end up with people wanting to advertise on the site because they are drawn to it, instead of relying on an ad aggregator to push whatever is most likely to be clicked.

I had dental work and could not eat solids, so i got the bright idea to puree my shawarma. It looked exactly like the lower photo and turned me right off from consuming it.

I think this is a perfectly acceptable ad policy, and wouldn't mind expansion in ad count, so long as they are aligned with the principals listed here

To this end, we will start selling sidebar ad space. Our ad criteria are very strict. Ads cannot have animations, ads cannot embed 3rd party scripts. We will not track ad impressions and we won’t track clicks on the ads.

With that said,

and both me and @PuttItOut have agreed that asking for donations is not something we want to keep doing; It just doesn’t feel right.

I think that the community would agree that we would prefer voat continue asking for donations, since that means that ads don't have to spread as much (since its unrealistic to assume that a single sidebar ad can support a site of this size, let alone if the site grows), plus I, for one want to show my appreciation for the site where I can afford to (i'm sure others feel the same). There's nothing wrong asking for donations, so long as one does not beg for them.

I visit Voat pretty much every day, and I spend a considerable amount of time here - and I want to keep doing it! So your need for revenue is understandable and I WANT TO HELP!

Saying this as a marketing / advertising dude: People don't mind advertising - as long as it's relevant or an interesting thing for them. We can benefit from ads, learn about new products, services, or special offers which could benefit us. Youtube has done ads right, where the user can skip an ad. And, speaking AS an advertiser, I like this feature as much as the users do - I don't want to show my ad to people who aren't interested and I will, in fact, pay a PREMIUM to any medium that can offer me a more targeted audience.

I could suggest: offer your users a method to select what kinds of ads they're interested in viewing, and allow them to "voat" on ads which they're served. If I like the ad I see, I voat it up and you track this in my profile. You can then customize what ads users will see based on profile history and you can charge advertisers a premium for this.

You'll have a unique advantage in that you can approach advertisers and tell them that you have a method to serve their ads to audiences which have indicated that they want to SEE these ads.

The advertising of the past was that you'd serve your ad over the TV and you knew only maybe 1 out of 100 viewers were interested, but you had to pay the freight to show to all those 100 viewers.

That and - CHARGE PEOPLE for high profile AMAs! If you are approached by a movie studio who wants to pitch "MALL COP 5 - PAUL BLART GET AUTISM" fucking charge them a couple grand, these studios would pay it in an instant and if you stick to your integrity, you don't have to suck their dicks and turn shill just layout the ground rules, you'll have a honest profit generator.

@atko, the dimentions are between 270w x 100h - 270x x 540h. So those are the two options or the height can be anywhere between 100 and 540. I want to be first in so get back to me quickly if you can.

Thanks @atko!! We are going to make Voat great again!!

Yes, you are definitely headed in the right direction.

You should consider allowing subs to be run by sellers to push a specific product line also, as long as they don't spam other subs. This way they get periodic front page on 'default' or if the user is subscribed. You would have to figure out how to monetize this though.

Of course, that is how reddit happened. But if you have two choices, close or take ads, you take the ads but, here is where it gets tricky. Say you start taking ads and your stance is this "if you don't like the content don't advertise here". That's all fine until money starts rolling in, and things get more expensive, and you have a staff, and you get bigger, and you need more money, then there comes a point where decisions need to be made, and they are tough decisions. now you get to the point where maybe a couple advertisers are paying big money and if you loose either one they hurt and maybe they get some nasty emails form customers saying they can't believe they would advertise at a site that hates fat jewish black people. Then they pressure @atko, and he has some really tough decisions to make, start censoring subs to appease advertisers or loose money and try to find replacements.

If you plan accordingly you can make yourself somewhat immune to that scenario but it takes some foresight, intestinal fortitude, and not becoming a slave to the dollar. Now these problems are in the future and in order to get there, you might just need to take some ad money.

As long as voat continues to be a bastion of free speach, I don't mind what you try to sell me. As long as you don't sell voat, we will stand behind you.

I share your worries, man. Advertising is a pernicious influence. Just look at Reddit...

However, I think it will take several years before any influence starts to show. It's not an instant corruption. It takes time for the worries about how to fund the site to overtake worries about how and why the site should exist in the first place.

I'm all for ads. Whatever to keep the site going. If they are relevant to me, I may even click on them.

One type of ads I don't mind are Amazon link ads on the sidebar. For niche subs they would be good. For offgriders there are a million cool little items that can be linked. I don't know how we'd go about deciding what items to put up but I'm sure each niche sub mod is somewhat knowledgeable on their sub topic and could put stuff up. As I'm typing this I can definitely see how it could be abused. Just a thought.

The advertisement serves no purpose outside of propaganda, manipulation and the spreading of falsehood.

It serves the purpose of generating revenue for the site so Atko and Putitout can work on it full time. Server space is expensive not to mention the man hours involved. They are also being selective about the ads they choose to feature and are being very transparent about their actions. I'm getting pretty sick of people offering criticism without any constructive or practical alternatives.

People often do things because they love them or they want to make a difference in the world. Atko and PuttItOut absolutely fall into this category, but it does cost money to host a site, and to eat/live and so most are okay with this move. Money and power corrupts people as we saw with digg and reddit, and so the users here are very weary of signs of voat changing its path. You are right otherwise, i just wanted to point out that people contribute to humanity all the time not expecting monetary reimbursement (OSS for example),

In a word - yes.

Get your advertising base in line. Make sure you have an iron-clad contract with them.Once that is accomplished,

I don't support Bitcoin.

Edit: Looks like the donation button is there.

It got a fair amount of visibility in the state of voat post. I'm assuming Atko has seen it. If you think the idea is interesting feel free to mention it there.

Not at all. If you think you can refute us, take a stroll to /v/Niggers, we'd love to discuss.

You guys have a lot of integrity and I love this site. I have only given $5 but havent been here long. I intend to give a few bucks every so often. Probably monthly. I can afford it, and I'm happy to help support this wonderful site. Thank you for everything you have done. Voat has made the internet a better place.

I've had my adblocker disabled on this site the whole time for this very reason. By all means; especially if you're not going to have flashy autoplay bullshit.

Are users able to buy ads to promote a subverse? For example, a niche gaming subverse could advertise in /v/gaming for a few days, since that space is set aside for ads anyway.

Edit: what the hey, I'll give it a try. I just bought five days in /v/gaming's sidebar for a text-only ad. I think it's a great opportunity for us as a community to support less-obtrusive internet advertising.

ditto. came because blatant censorship, and got REAL tired of seeing entire threads full of [deleted].

I will whitelist voat for you Atko. I appreciate this place existing.

:disables ad block:

I'm ready to add Voat to the white list on ad block to keep revenue flowing. I think it's a good idea

/cheer @Atko

Thanks so much for doing all of this for all of us. Whether anyone comes out and tells you or not, I will: Thank you!

drats. i agree it may well be a simple function of user number growth, i just figured maybe an impassioned plea from atko for some idea to come through that could hold off going ads, corporate, etc down that road so quickly. it's only really been a year.

yeah, stage3 :(

Make money, don't step on or take users for granted and all is good. We are adults, we know how the world works. Keep up the good work. And thanks.

I have faith you will do the right thing. I hope you will make it easy to buy and upload ads.

So I could buy an ad that just says "blow me" for 25 bucks? I'd rather buy an ad then donate just for the lulz.

Both the site-wide and the subverse specific ads cost $25 per day. Subverse specific ads should be significantly cheaper.

Sad, but true

Sounds about right. Im hoping for at least 2-3 years before corporate influence, shills, JIDF, SJW... and the rest of internet cancer ruins it and enforces to much censorship.

Please include ads on the mobile site.

Not a fan of ads, but I can't fault your logic. Whatever it takes to keep up the good work, keep it up.

So, what do you guys think? Are we doing the right thing?

Yes- However I would still like to see a subscription option which would hide ads.

I understand not wanting to do impression tracking for the sake of anonyminity, but I'd count clicks at a minimum.

Right now you're offering totally blind ads with no way for the people who buy them to tell if they're working or not.

Perhaps you're right, only time will tell honestly. I just do not think allowing ads has to always lead to a bad place and I think with how many viewers the site has, an ad a page may be able to keep it afloat but knowledge of advertising is far from my strong suit.

I feel that if done "right" and "correctly" (<--- then again how often do you hear that?) it can keep the site running and making money it needs to run without turning into the shit show reddit is and staying the same site it is now. I mean shit if it all goes down hill in the future because of this, I'll look back and think "damn, thejudgeofhumans was right about the ads and got hated on to hell and back for it." Let us keep on keeping on and see what the future brings eh?

Ive just disabled my ad blocker and ill try to suggest it to others from time to time going forward. Thanks Atko!

voat.co has been on my whitelist for a very long time and this will do nothing to change that.

I would like to think I speak for the majority of non racist, non jew hating, non fat hating users who come here because reddit is a pile of shit, but it's not a pile of shit because of ads, it's a pile of shit because of the censorship. You can run ads, you can ask for donations, you can implement a gold system to help, you have a dunking booth with helpless grandparents, a cute kitten shooting gallery, or whatever else you need to do to keep the doors open @atko. You do what you think is best for the site and to help pay the bills, that is what counts. As long as you don't up and fucking sell out the user base for cash, I think were going to be ok with whatever you decide.

If you're going to shit on his comment, at least give an intelligent reason.

that was the exact cycle i was referencing, and well put! thanks :)

maybe it would be beneficial to slow that process.

would you say we just hit stage 3?

When you say corporations/investors dont share the same vision om voat. What do you mean specifically?

I've been using some form of Adblock since the initial release in 2002, and today is the first time I've turned it off for a particular site. Welcome to my whitelist, voat.co.

I'm with it. Cant imagine the stress of money going out with no guarantee of coming back. You both deserve compensation for your work. It's great work by the way. Thank you for everything you do here.

Please re-enable donations. I'm not done throwing my money at you yet.

I am talking about slavery done by jews.

"Voat running, open, and free." define open and free. " that asking for donations is not something we want to keep doing; It just doesn’t feel right." its ok... i have adbock installed. the rest will be read later.

but of course you are always free to block our ads.

You guys deserve more support, and if ads can help it, everyone using voat should disable their ad-blockers.

http://sli.mg/a/S1av34

As long as you guys don't go the way of.. that other place... letting profits run the site, then I am happy with ads.

Just don't let yourselves be bought out by some investor that only wants to turn the place into an ad machine like what happened to... that other place.

Here's to a long future for Voat!

Yes you are doing the right thing. Welcome to running a business. Ads and subscription is the only way to make $ online (unless you are a storefront).

Way I see it, either allow 1 minimalist advertisement on a page, or Voat goes the way of the dodo. What are you going to do when there's no Voat? Where else can you speak your mind without what you say being deleted? Seems like a reasonable compromise for now. I don't think Voat will require ads for the rest of eternity, this seems more like a stepping stone to keep the place up. Isn't that what we want, to keep this place running because we are free to say what we want here?

Voat has been mentioned in Wired UK, Business Insider, Time, The Verge, Marketwatch, International Business Times, Ilta-Sanomat, Washington Post, Forbes, The Guardian, Vice Motherboard, Le Monde, The Independent, Venturebeat, Mashable, BBC, Coin Telegraph, The Christian Science Monitor, Fortune, Daily Dot, CNET, Engadget… We have had interview requests from Bloomberg TV, Swiss national TV, BBC

Now it all makes sense. This was the plan all along because they wouldn't promote voat for nothing. The Zionist media is now taking over Voat.

With advertisements will come corporate influence. Eventually they'll control the site.

@Atko sold us out.

Lots of other people in this thread have suggested the same thing, though usually as a side-note. I'm glad that this will act as a basis for revenue, but is there anyway a subscription fee to avoid ads could be introduced? I and I'm sure many others would pay.

I think that sounds more than reasonable. Voat needs to survive, and it can stand as an example of ads done respectfully.

Do you know about their slave their history or present?

Stop being a dumbass please.

You don't know anything about jews then?

You're already greenlit in my ad-blockers. No matter what happens, you gave us this place and it is appreciated.

That's not actually him, is it?

Then you should know all about how jews are the scum of the Earth.

Voat.co is now the only whitelisted site on my adblocker. Glad you guys are trying something, really hope it works. Also, meeeerch. Need voat meeerch!

Love the ad policy, especially the no animations/scripts aspect. Perhaps you could give ad priority to existing Voat users?

Okay, buddy. Glad to see how pragmatic you are.

How do you think voat should generate revenue?

Racist is a word made up by jews. Do you know nothing about history?

Let me ask you this - if you wanted to charge a monthly or yearly fee to use voat, what would you charge? I would be more than willing to pay for like $10 - 15 a year to be free of ads with the exception of subverse ads.

Although allowing us to simply turn off ads in our setting and having ad criteria makes you fucking awesome.

Again I think you're missing a huge opportunity here. Replace that ad box with a standard comment box. Let users pay $10 to put whatever they want in that box for exactly 1 hour. Automatically have a sliding scale downwards if there is no ad following. Eg - over the next 10 hours the price linearly declines to $0 to get people interested and active in using the service.

I hope you'll be able to hold the line once we cross into this territory as the common theme tends to be:

ads -> donations dry up -> sponsors don't like certain content and threaten to pull out -> shut down or remove content -> sponsors want native ads and threaten to pull out -> shut down or include native ads

This is just my observation and is in no way scientific. If I were in your shoes, I would attempt the FreeRepublic model where they do native ads quarterly until they hit their goal. If this were to fail, I would then pursue the ad route, but I'm a lowly badger, not the creator. :-)

Yes, you are doing the right thing. Keep it up.

Woah! Wait... wut?

You guys are awsome

Yes, particularly on two points.

1. No 3rd party scripts (though I'd prefer zero scripting in the ads).
2. Sidebar, obviously ads. No attempt at "sponsored posts"

Presuming they're unobtrusive, I'll white list Voat.

Would much rather have direct ads coupled with a high integrity site, rather than hidden, imbedded revenue generators based on user manipulation, so go for it but please keep the integrity at all costs.

To be honest I think for the time being this is the best choice. We all want Voat to remain online but donations can't keep going forever. I'm guessing a lot of people who donated will not donate a second time so it won't be a good long term strategy. Good to see your strict rules regarding how the advertisements can be presented to the user.

I'd be really interested in alternative revenue generating strategies. Have you considered a monthly subscription? Or something like letting Voat users pay other Voat users for quality content (and then taking a small percentage as the hosting party)?

I am actually wondering why you didn't do ads much sooner. Non-obtrusive image ads without scripts, trackers etc. are absolutely fine and probably the best way to cover part of the cost to run the site without draining the pockets of users with constant donation drives or becoming hostage to an investor.

As long as add revenue doesn't dictate the rules to start censoring subverses i don't see any problem.

Your policy is reasonable. If you got any merch I'll buy

We have had interview requests from Bloomberg TV, Swiss national TV, BBC and about 30 other, all of which we’ve declined because we had to work hard to bring Voat back online and keep it running. Running and maintaining Voat takes time, a lot of time.

I think you declined them because you'd have to explain why the hate groups are the most popular areas of the site, and that question would be really awkward to explain without looking like you agree with their message. Honestly I don't blame you for declining. I would too.

As for generating revenue, nobody will blame you for this. Nobody expects you to run the site with nothing to show for it. Do what you have to do.

I am encouraged by this. You almost seem apologetic for wanting to make money on this. Most of us don't mind you living a comfortable life as long as you continue to support this platform. My only request is to please be wary of your advertisers. We have all seen far to many examples where the boycott brigades have put websites in difficult financial situations.

I hope you will be serving ads locally like http://www.nyaa.se/ does it to prevent 3rd parties from tracking users.

I think you should also implement something like this:

https://voat.co/v/ideasforvoat/comments/263923

https://voat.co/v/ideasforvoat/comments/270790

So, what do you guys think? Are we doing the right thing?

Advertisement is, unfortunately, a necessary evil.

Ads cannot have animations, ads cannot embed 3rd party scripts. We will not track ad impressions and we won’t track clicks on the ads.

This is good. This is very good.

As a courtesy to everyone who donated, we will allow you to turn-off ads in your user preferences (pending a software update), but of course you are always free to block our ads.

Why not another option where users can pay for an ad-free experience, so they get to both browse without ads, and don't have to feel like leeches?

I'll add the Voat.co domain to my adblocker white list.

Given the criteria, I'll consider turning off my ad-blocker. Keep up the good work, and good luck for your future projects.

I think this is reasonable, I'd much rather have advertising I know is advertising, instead of the shilling, astroturfing, and viral marketing that are the bread and butter of places like Reddit.

That said, would you please consider implementing a way to differentiate ads for voater-owned businesses from other ads? I'm much more interested in supporting other voaters than a large corporation.

I really like what you guys are doing with the ads. I don't know if it will be enough to sustain the site, but it's definitely a start.

I know others have mentioned it, but I would definitely do some sort of monthly donation to the site. I have no problem giving $10 to the site that has had such an impact on my life. Keep doing what you guys are doing, you're awesome.

I'd pay for site wide flair, and possibly the ability to change the color of my name.

great news, keep on keeping on guys.

How are mobile apps such as Boats for Voat going to display these ads, so that mobile users can generate ad revenue for Voat as well?

I'm really excited about this. I want to see Voat be successful and I think you're taking a reasonable approach. I've already got you guys whitelisted on my adblocker anyway. :)

We want to be able to work full time on Voat. We love Voat, we love doing what we do and we want to focus all of our energy on Voat.

I'm glad you no longer see this as a side project.

I love voat. But I'm sorry to say seeing the Google ad on the sidebar freaks me out. I know you need ads to generate revenue and I'm ok with that. But seeing Google as your first advertiser (and its name in such huge font) is uncomfortable for me. Google is notorious for privacy invasion.

Voat users are extremely protective of their privacy so I find Google as the first pick to be a bizarre choice.

Edit: I just noticed that the Google ad is no longer visible. What happened? Was their logo just a test feature?

Too lenient on pedos and other degenerates.

Offer tiered site wide flair, people like flair.

As much as Voat hates ads this is the right move. Voat with an ad in the sidebar is better than no Voat at all.

And maybe give everyone an ad free version for like $7 a month or something.

First off, great job both of you!

Yes, it's fine. Publish the guidelines so everyone is on the same page.

I think that this is a reasonable ad policy.

Voat is my absolute favorite website of all time. Thank you very much for your hard work and integrity. You are the greatest goat ever.