So, it looks like it's come time to figure out a new way of paying for this thing. Due to the amount of people running adblock and the dying web advertising industry, and the fact that I've not had a very successful ad-space selling campaign...the costs of running the dedicated server are about to start coming out of pocket again. Something that hasn't happened in several years. In the short term, I've changed the donation bar to a monthly goal which resets every month, and I'm considering resetting all of the donor titles prior to a certain date I haven't determined yet. But I wanted to discuss some other options with you all first.

1) a dedicated PR person - we've needed someone to be a public relations person for the site for a while, because I'm not good at it, and I'm not around as much as I'd like to be. I can keep the lights on, but I can't be at the cutting edge of the community both here and in other mapping communities to share and cross post and promote interesting things that will generate traffic and ad-clicks. This person would also deal with other companies to help me sell ad-impressions and manage the advertising campaign.

2) a paid subscription level - I've considered this a LOT, but the problem is...no one would want to pay unless there was something to offer. I could apply limitations to non-paying visitors such as storage space, and messaging limitations, and then remove those limitations for paying members. I could also turn off ads for paying members. There are some options, but I'm not sure what I'd be able to promise, deliver, and maintain to make it worth anyones money. If you have any ideas, please comment how much you'd be willing to pay (yearly or monthly) and what you'd like to see as a benefit for being a paid subscriber.

3) a new co-admin - RobA has been probably more absent than I have lately, and that's ok...but it would be nice to have another co-administrator that knows and understands some php programming and linux server management skills. This person would have to be someone I can trust, and someone that would like to help out around here and not get paid for it. PM me or post here if you know anyone or wish to offer your services

The last thing I want to do is abandon the site, but given my current life situation, having this site cut into my personal finances is not an option. I don't have the free cash laying around like I did when I started the site, and I'm not as involved in the gaming community as I need to be to keep the site active and promoted. I'd like to see it thrive though, and am open and welcome to hear all options.

(I will say, I'm not super interested in any kind of retail or selling things right now. Maybe with more active "staff" to help with that, I'd reconsider)

Discuss!