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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Nihilist ago
Fuck Microsoft azure. Go 100% Linux to save shitloads.
Licensing fees or for normie losers.
9138766? ago
I'm not sure how feasible this suggestion is, but I think I recall Atko saying something in the past about potentially switching to Linux? Or maybe that was him saying it would require massive changes to everything? But didn't Putt complete that massive overhaul?
This might be worth considering if feasible.
Chiefpacman ago
Question for you, as you kind of have been a voat "angel".
Would you not want a receipt? There is a lot of unrest right now over the admin announcement, and I see a lot of people who are hesitant to give money, because what the fuck is happening with the money we give him.
I think it's time we got a receipt. I think you're a good person to be asking for one, I have no right to do so. I have not given nearly as much as you
9141031? ago
Well you get receipts for your donations, but I understand that's not what you're talking about.
Personally I would like a donation bar to highlight how much funding Voat has received to cover the current month's goals that month. It would also be nice to know the operating costs (Putt has told us that in this post, but they are likely to change soon if he cuts back on intensive features), and yes, exactly what elements they go towards.
The main problem is Putt doesn't hardly have the time to do what he's doing now, let alone implement and manage a donation bar. The old one was manual and impossible to keep up-to-date. As for specifics as to what features cost how much, yeah that would be nice, but I don't know how frequently these figures change. I of course would gladly see that information if Putt could provide it, but I don't know how meaningful the numbers would be if provided at this time.
ruck_feddit ago
I cannot find your post concerning a list of users interested in paying a monthly subscription fee. It's probably right in front of my face. Please add me to this list. I look more than I touch around here, but no one else will have me...
9144027? ago
Here's the thread, and I'll gladly add you. Mind stating how much you hope to donate each month?
And we're glad to have you mate. :D
ruck_feddit ago
Put me down for a Jackson. I've donated before through a close friend/fellow-voater who wasn't scared to use his visa card.
Keep up the good work.
9144146? ago
Will do, mate!