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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9138620? ago
@PuttItOut
Ask for an infowars sponsorship, in exchange we get to see alex jones face everyday
on a fucking banner right there >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Donbuster ago
and this............ is how we become reddit. We can't take support from a partisan outlet without starting down the same road of making the site more appealing to that outlet and its agenda. Voat's defining characteristic is its commitment to free speech. So we need to partner with an organization that exists to protect free speech.
suramartian ago
no such thing as an organization without an agenda
anyone willing to pay is buying the rights to voat's speech parameters
Donbuster ago
Exactly. The way to keep voat what it is, however, is to find one which will never back down on its commitment to free speech. I'm currently writing an email to ReportersWithoutBorders. I think our best bet is an organization who's founding goal is the furthering of free speech. Such an entity would not suppress our free speech, for the simple reason that our goals align.
The day Breitbart or InfoWars or Huffpo or any other such heavily agendad organization that would willingly tread on our free speech to push its agenda enters into any kind of formal arrangement with voat beyond the buying of adspace is the day I leave this site for good.
suramartian ago
Who funds reporterswithoutborders?
Donbuster ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reporters_Without_Borders#Funding
Its a mix, but the fact of the matter is, their mission is to prevent infringement on free speech, both by funding and providing legal advice for outlets and journalists acting under oppressive regimes, and to ensure that legislation protecting freedom of expression is upheld where it exists. In the past it has willingly acted in ways that angered major funding sources, all in the name of ensuring accountability when it comes to free speech. Their largest form of donor funding, at around 17% comes from corporate, and the backers there run through most of the political spectrum. Are they perfect? No. Are they much bigger than most organizations of this type? yes. Will they infringe upon Voat's freedom of speech? Not likely. Hell, they give journalists in war zones Kevlar so that they can continue investigating; A little racially charged internet argument is nothing to them.