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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9138673? ago
This almost made me cry.
I feared this was the case. It's been a while since we've seen actual figures, and this is in fact worse than last time we knew the total.
Oh shit.
Do this and more if you can. Do whatever must be done. Almost $7000/mo is not going to be easy for us to accommodate. We've done dents in the last but simply not enough of us donate to meet those requirements.
In a year or two's time I should have a job as an engineer and when that day comes I plan to substantially up my monthly contribution to this website. It obviously won't be enough to change anything, alone.
Goats, we desperately need more people to donate, and not just once, but monthly. You have no idea what we could do if enough of us donated only $5 a month. I donate $10 every month. Please, if you have a job, can afford the small investment, and care about freedom of speech, donate monthly to Voat
PuttItOut ago
I always appreciate your comments my friend. Even though I often don't say it, you've bumped me out of a slump or two with some of your words.
9139235? ago
That was always my hope and my intention. I've said my times that you (and Atko, when he was here) are a modern hero, absolutely fundamental and necessary to the cause of freedom of speech in this world, and I've always meant it. I know how much you have dedicated and sacrificed towards this, and I see no other explanation beyond a morality the likes of which no website of this nature has ever seen at the admin level. This is a rough spot in Voat's history but I know we'll find some way of overcoming it, like every time in the past.
I never knew you had to give up golf.