Apr 26, 2009, 03:38 AM
Another idea I had (but it's just an idea) is only the top x% of donators get a reserved slot where x is something like 50.
# of Reserve Slot Increase
Apr 26, 2009, 09:34 AM
Drunken_F00l Wrote:Another idea I had (but it's just an idea) is only the top x% of donators get a reserved slot where x is something like 50.
being a poor student, i would rage quite hard
Apr 26, 2009, 02:43 PM
Drunken_F00l Wrote:Another idea I had (but it's just an idea) is only the top x% of donators get a reserved slot where x is something like 50.
go ahead do it id loose my slot but i don't care
![[Image: 174164_random.png]](http://sourceop.hlstatsx.com/hlstats.php/sig/174164_random.png)
Apr 27, 2009, 10:51 PM
Out of curiosity, do you get donations from only us server hordes or also from the people who use your plugin?
If the monthly goal stays around $700 ($2100 a quarter) and you divide that by how many current reserve slot holders you have, what is that amount? (not asking you to disclose, but rather for possibly finding that magic number). You also have to figure out and probably communicate what you believe is fair between the you/us cost. In a perfect world, we'd all help split the bill.
You could also make guest donations (buying other people slots) have an expiration if they don't continue to donate. (I think quarterly system is a nice balance of bang for your buck compared to a monthly system). You could also have those guest donations expire after a month while regular donations last a quarter.
A quarterly tracking system might be easiest on people, as we all know that some months are better than others. Over the summer I can see myself donating more, but once students loans come due in the fall, I'll be lucky to scrounge an extra $10. So, if you have a quarterly minimum to hold a slot, it might work. That way if some people move to different servers or set up their own, the slots become open again after a while. But then the question becomes, can we sand bag donations in the summer to pad tight times in the fall/winter? If you are going to institute expirations, then policies on these matters will be a must.
Another suggestion would be to send an e-mail blast to donors saying "This quarter you have donated $XXX, thank you for your contribution, etc., etc.," Sometimes that simple reminder eggs people on to click "donate" again (that link should of course be in the aforementioned e-mail).
Most of the regs that pay already meet here and it's obvious that you welcome their input, so I don't believe there is a need for "special privileges" or anything like that.
Another thing that encourages people to donate is knowing how their money helped...especially when you go over the budget expectation. "With the extra money this month I was able to blahblahblah." Updates never hurt.
I have more thoughts, but they are all running around my head disobeying any orders of organizing...hope these suggestions are helpful.
If the monthly goal stays around $700 ($2100 a quarter) and you divide that by how many current reserve slot holders you have, what is that amount? (not asking you to disclose, but rather for possibly finding that magic number). You also have to figure out and probably communicate what you believe is fair between the you/us cost. In a perfect world, we'd all help split the bill.
You could also make guest donations (buying other people slots) have an expiration if they don't continue to donate. (I think quarterly system is a nice balance of bang for your buck compared to a monthly system). You could also have those guest donations expire after a month while regular donations last a quarter.
A quarterly tracking system might be easiest on people, as we all know that some months are better than others. Over the summer I can see myself donating more, but once students loans come due in the fall, I'll be lucky to scrounge an extra $10. So, if you have a quarterly minimum to hold a slot, it might work. That way if some people move to different servers or set up their own, the slots become open again after a while. But then the question becomes, can we sand bag donations in the summer to pad tight times in the fall/winter? If you are going to institute expirations, then policies on these matters will be a must.
Another suggestion would be to send an e-mail blast to donors saying "This quarter you have donated $XXX, thank you for your contribution, etc., etc.," Sometimes that simple reminder eggs people on to click "donate" again (that link should of course be in the aforementioned e-mail).
Most of the regs that pay already meet here and it's obvious that you welcome their input, so I don't believe there is a need for "special privileges" or anything like that.
Another thing that encourages people to donate is knowing how their money helped...especially when you go over the budget expectation. "With the extra money this month I was able to blahblahblah." Updates never hurt.
I have more thoughts, but they are all running around my head disobeying any orders of organizing...hope these suggestions are helpful.
Apr 28, 2009, 05:03 AM
Drunken_F00l Wrote:Another idea I had (but it's just an idea) is only the top x% of donators get a reserved slot where x is something like 50.
I think that uncertainty in obtaining a reserved slot for donations will deter donations if the user is donating for the sole purpose of getting a reserved slot. IMHO the demand for reserved slots is exceeding the supply for a couple of the servers. Hence, it seems that those who enjoy being a regular on some of these servers (including myself) would understand if there were a set donation minimum with a defined amount of time defined for that donation. i.e. $x = y amount of time and so on.
These are the most popular servers for TF2 out there, I don't think having a defined cost model of sorts for reserved slots would deter donations or that this would be whoring out the slots. In addition you could ask for user decided donations just in general to keep the servers up without promising a reserved slot. I would suggest keeping it as simple as possible though, such as offering up only a couple of donation options for reserved slots rather than a tiered incremental type up scale of cost for increased reserved slot time etc. The current donation model for reserved slots is excessively generous. People know that. They'd pay more, or more regularly, if that's what it would take to keep a reserved slot. my 2 cents
Apr 28, 2009, 05:13 AM
Agua Wrote:Out of curiosity, do you get donations from only us server hordes or also from the people who use your plugin?Just the people that play on the server.
EggBanjo Wrote:I think that uncertainty in obtaining a reserved slot for donations will deter donations if the user is donating for the sole purpose of getting a reserved slot
This is true, and one reason why what I said was just an idea and not something I think I would do.
Bookie, you must be joking. You've donated a cool $26, but the top donator by far is Gaucho.
All very good input from Banjo and Agua.
Apr 28, 2009, 04:56 PM
Drunken_F00l Wrote:Bookie, you must be joking. You've donated a cool $26, but the top donator by far is Gaucho.
Not if I have anything to say about it... I'm sure you wont mind.
Apr 28, 2009, 05:57 PM
Agua Wrote:I have more thoughts, but they are all running around my head disobeying any orders of organizing...hope these suggestions are helpful.
My thoughts tend to do that 99% of the time.
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