Edit:
I'm simply blown away with you goats. I was expecting a somber farewell in this thread but instead you've done the exact opposite; pulled off a rally at the bottom of the 9th. On a personal note, and this may seem sentimental, but you have given me a new hope for Voat at very dark time for me.
All I can say now is: Let's do this! I think your message is clear. We have a ton of work to do, a short window in which to do it, and I fully understand I can't do it alone. We will need all hands on deck if Voat is to have any chance at survival.
I will post the plans I have for Voat as well as a status update on your contributions by Monday.
P.S. Old goats, be nice to the new kids. ;)
Original Post
As I sit here about to write one of the most difficult announcements yet, I was just reminded that my account is one month shy of three years old. Nearly three years ago I came here from Reddit when the vote counts disappeared and I felt I could no longer trust what I saw. Nearly three years ago I met @Atko and started contributing code because I believed in him, his mission, and what he was doing. So much has happened during these last three years.
I know a lot of you are new, but Voat has been through a wild ride, and never at any point was it an easy one. My memories are bittersweet when it comes to Voat. I’ve sacrificed the best years of my life for Voat, I’ve lost my business partner whom I miss a lot, I’ve lost people in my life, I’ve given up golf which was my passion, and even with all this I still believe in Voat. I still see the dire need for Free Speech in this world, I fear a world without it, and I still will do anything I can to continue providing it.
But alas, I am powerless to keep Voat running without financial support. As of right now Voat has no solid commitments. Voat has always needed a financial partner whom had balls of steel and backing deep enough to give Voat the capabilities to run as an actual business (being able to hire staff and set itself apart from its competitors), not just a one man show. Potential investors have one or the other of these traits, but we have yet to find one with both. In this day and age, this is Voat’s unicorn.
In the past Voat has been lucky enough to be part of special programs designed for startup companies which gave us free licensing on various products and significantly reduced hosting costs. These programs have since expired and we are now paying full costs. Last month was our first non-discounted month on Azure and the usage was $6,600.90 USD. Donations, ads, and merchandise only put a dent in this and this is the primary reason why we have not launched another merchandise run. And begging for donations was always something we hated doing.
I’m writing this announcement to prepare this community, and the Voat family, for the possibility of a closure. I’m not certain on timing and I have too much invested in this place to give up just yet, so I cannot provide any timelines. In the meantime, I will soon be scaling back all Voat’s servers by at least 50%. I will also turn off some features that are resource intensive.
Voat needs funding. Without it, Voat will be no more.
Voat needs an Angel
Canary
https://voat.co/v/announcements/1330806
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234234242 ago
why the fuck would I add funds just to get brigades after me.
you have failed voat.
just open to advertising. you will not get one dime from me.
PuttItOut ago
I should deed Voat over to you. How does $1 sound? Good luck with Sane, FakeSane et al.
Grifter42 ago
Yeaaaah. Everyone's Sane, if they're critical of you. You let the site get taken over by SBBH and this is what you get for it.
9138947? ago
Sane has the same talking points, an acquired obsession with alts, and a notable style. It's not absurd to suggest these accounts stirring up shit at a time like this (as Sane was always wont to do) are Sane.
Grifter42 ago
Sane types like a crazy person, and almost never on topics that it's relevant.
It's not unreasonable to be suspicious of this site being compromised by SRS-types, when that exact same thing happened on Reddit, and there isn't really anything to prevent it from happening here. That, and the brigading of anyone slightly critical of him down to negative ten points in about two minutes doesn't inspire confidence either.
9139317? ago
Or maybe the Voat userbase at large supports Putt and all he has done and has little patience for dipshits bent on insulting him at every turn.
Grifter42 ago
What has he done? Seems like he's been asleep at the wheel, letting SBBH run rampant.
I told you they would run this site into the ground.
9139628? ago
As if brigaders and "narrative manipulators", if they even existed, have anything to do with financial trauma.
234234242 ago
SURE, I'LL JUST SHUT IT DOWN
9138956? ago
The fact that this is your attitude towards the platform you've spent so much time criticizing is very, very telling.
234234242 ago
retards who cant understand sarcasm is a cancer onto voat.
im the iron fist
https:// discord.gg/Ye7by
Jimbonez_Jonez ago
You pretty much spit in his face and then when people say 'what the fuck' you claim it was just a joke. But we all saw it wasn't a joke. IF that really was a joke from the get-go, you need to learn better jokes. Because you fucking stink at them.
234234242 ago
no, you are trying to demonize me. im simply speak the truth. You see im alpha. you are retarded. im the iron fist. simply follow this link if you'd like converse further.https:// discord.gg/Ye7by
im sure voat has well over 20k dollars by now
Jimbonez_Jonez ago
Demons are cool. I wouldn't demonize you because that would make you cool in my mind. I'm just calling you out for shit, non-jokes. I don't know who you are and I definitely don't have any opinion on you other than I believe you talk a much bigger game on your keyboard than you ever would with your mouth. I know for a fact I'm taller than you so you now know that I'm actually the alpha. It works like that.
I'm also not clicking your malware infested link. I'm right here. And I hope Voat has over 40K by now. I love this place and get along with most people of the people on here. It's all of you paranoid fuckers that ruin this place with your bizarre sides/factions/I-don't-know-what-to-call-them-they're-fucking-ridiuclous-and-cringy.
234234242 ago
fake news
ps.
im the iron fist
Jimbonez_Jonez ago
I think you mean you take the iron fist you fag.
234234242 ago
you see im none of them, im not alone.
I do not want to see this site shut down. But clearly you need to step up the plate.
again, im not going to give a dime to this site, its actually comical.
im the iron fist
https:// discord.gg/Ye7by
Umrtvovacz ago
Go fuck yourself then. Fuck people who take and never give. You are cancer.