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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Michael_Obama ago
Pretty ironic considering what's been implemented and who it has benefited.
Not being ungrateful but this doesn't match reality.
Where did the initial funding come from? That is an interesting question.
9138736? ago
I've debunked these points before and I'm tired of humouring you. These times are too trying for me to bother with your nonsense. You've benefited enough from Voat to spend thousands hours spreading disinformation to slander its name and the admins' goals, and yet not a single of your countless accounts has donated a penny.
You have the time, but not the dime, despite the use you've taken from Voat.
Grifter42 ago
You debunk points like an extremely constipated man shits: Poorly.
You give half-measure answers, and the leadership here are the kings of half measures.
9139061? ago
This is your line and you stick to it, regardless of what logical and rational explanations are handed your way.
It is not my ability to explain and debunk, but your willingness to accept reality that is so poor.
Grifter42 ago
Why should Voat have to deal with someone who has already posted child pornography on the site, and is a known pedophile? I don't give a fuck if there wasn't a rule against it at the time, it's common sense. Any sensible person would have banned him long ago. And Beatle conspiring to have him flood my inbox with CP is something that should warrant a ban too. It's a federal fuckin' crime to conspire to distribute child pornography, and could get the site itself in serious hot water.
9139307? ago
Obviously my explanations are not the formal explanations but there are legal and reputational concerns Voat must contend with. CP is removed, but until we had in the rules that users posting CP would be banned entirely, it might not be in Voat's best interests publicity-wise to do so. That of course has changed, it is not in the rules, and if, now, someone were to post CP we have the codified statement to act on it in the way you'd desire. Why so concerned with the failings of then when we have the state of Voat now to hold a torch to?
Grifter42 ago
Because I don't think you folks are acting in good faith. I think you're being intellectually dishonest.
"Not in Voat's best interests publicity-wise"?
You've gotta be fucking kidding me. It's not in Voat's best interest to ban someone for posting child pornography?
Don't act like I'm fucking stupid, PS.
9139643? ago
hecho has come out in this thread to say that "conspiring to post CP" was in fact a "conspiring to post gay porn" so you don't even have ground to stand on with this.
Grifter42 ago
You know he had posted CP before, you know he's a pedophile, and you know what they were threatening to do.
I'm not a fucking idiot, PS.
9139843? ago
I know he's harassed many subverses, like /v/offgridders with porn before, but I'm not certain it was CP. I won't deny that it may have happened though, but I won't confirm that it has either as I do not know.
He has admitted to being a pedophile in the past but I don't think that's grounds for banning an account. Voat is concerned with the content posted here, not its users disgusting and immoral personal lives.
I don't think you're an idiot, I just think you're pressing an issue without paying heed to the state of affairs, to the actual information Putt has access to and how he has reacted to it.
Michael_Obama ago
You haven't debunked anything.
What have i gained? We lost many good users because of the bullshit the admins let happen. This site is unrecognizable from a year ago, just go look at archives. And I've never slandered anyone, I just want to know facts.
I use reddit too and i wouldn't give them a dime. The reality is I've contemplated every possible situation behind the motivations of voat, and after what I have experienced, giving them money would be like giving money to someone who hates you. None of the shit that is wrong with Voat is my fault. I'm just a loud mouth.
9139125? ago
Every spam post you've made has been 50%+ false and insupportable claims, often in reference to Putt. I call that slander in an effort to drive people away.
Dubious. You fail to understand Occam's Razor and claim to understand every possible motivation.
Voat's admins have had extremely finite amounts of time each day to do a great deal of work for a userbase incapable or unwilling to support it financially, despite Voat's -- Voat's -- dedication to freedom of speech from the beginning. There ability to pursue ideal solutions for every non-ideal feature you find and exploit is extremely limited. So they have slapped on quick CCP-related restrictions as temporary solutions while the've contended with higher priorities, like ensuring Voat remains usable (free of spam and brigaders) and now and then attempts at securing more funding from the userbase. They had start-up support, but like all avenues of support of that nature, time has run out.
There was never any selling out to venture capitalists with agendas, no canary death or FISA requests, no mysterious manipulation of anything from behind the scenes. Putt -- and not too long ago, Atko -- worked hard to do what he could with what time he had, and now the only tangible support he had financially is gone. It's that simple.
Michael_Obama ago
Referencing shady things taking place isn't slander. Admins silence is just deafening.
and as for the rest of your comment, I don't believe for a second the admins just own a site and have no idea what goes on here. That's a lame argument to sell too. Admins know exactly what is going on and let it occur.
9139268? ago
I'm not saying that off or shady things aren't happening, and I'm not saying that, if they are, the admins haven't known. What I'm saying is the time and energy required to properly handle whatever might be going on is not available, as Putt must concern himself with other things primarily.
But I've said all this before.
Michael_Obama ago
The admins know, and if you want me to believe they are lazy and have other things going on.. instead of running one of the most controversial websites on the internet.. then you are nuts.
9139341? ago
I didn't say lazy, I said (and have been saying) that the admins (right now just Putt since Atko left) have full-time jobs and lives to lead outside of Voat, personal responsibilities, and with what little time is left to Voat after that must be spent wisely.
Michael_Obama ago
and they leave the site to be ran by pieces of shit who ruined it. So where am i supposed to feel sympathy in this equation?