Support NeoGAF

[Aquamarine]

Gromph is still investigating solutions for the remaining problems. My hands are tied. I've thrown money at server infrastructure to the point where IT gaffers have characterized me as insane. We have really, really robust hardware that I just had upgraded again a week ago. We're also being hit with DDoS attacks on a daily basis.

You have no idea what the financial situation is. Costs have increased tremendously over the last year while revenue has simultaneously declined sharply. It's always a matter of finding sustainable solutions.

NeoGAF is not operated by a big corporation, as most sites are when they're this size. The site's important and valuable, but as a strategic asset, not because of its revenue.

4+ million hits every month + a whole bunch of new infrastructure must be quite expensive when the advertising is non-intrusive and limiting. It's not like you're Smosh...who make 2 million a year by being LOL RANDOMM idiots on YouTube. You have to do actual work.

I also can't imagine all the headaches you have to go through on a daily basis, with people trying to take down the site and whatnot. Having to bear the brunt of an extremely popular website without any kind of financial security must be quite difficult as well.

Probably a lot of jealous persons trying to start a successful forum... or banned users.

I bet NeoGAF's strict moderation policy has gotten them more than a few enemies over the years. It's a real shame, but that's the reality of it all. You have to make sacrifices for quality moderation. :-(

 

[Asimov]

I'm not sure...I mean, I'm a white male living in the U.S. There are no downsides to that. However, I have some physical problems that make having a normal social life just about impossible. So, I don't know what I'd to to be honest.

Wut?

 

[Bboy AJ]

If I ever win the Lottery, I'm buying every member of GAF 6 pieces of McNuggets and every piece will be the boot.

All hail the boot!

 

[Kaako]

Best of luck, Bamelin!

Gromph is still investigating solutions for the remaining problems. My hands are tied. I've thrown money at server infrastructure to the point where IT gaffers have characterized me as insane. We have really, really robust hardware that I just had upgraded again a week ago. We're also being hit with DDoS attacks on a daily basis.

You have no idea what the financial situation is. Costs have increased tremendously over the last year while revenue has simultaneously declined sharply. It's always a matter of finding sustainable solutions.

NeoGAF is not operated by a big corporation, as most sites are when they're this size. The site's important and valuable, but as a strategic asset, not because of its revenue.

Have you ever considered AWS? Just asking out of curiosity and if that could be a viable option.

 

[Salmonax]

If I become crazy rich, I'd hire Justin Bieber to hold up a sign saying "Suck it OT-GAF" while getting a blowjob from hot supermodels.

What do you care if Justin Bieber gets a blowjob?

 

[Drencrom]

You're my boy Bamelin, you know that right?

 

[EviLore]

2 weeks later: "EviL Travels: Africa"

Am I asking for or accepting donations, or charging you for anything whatsoever, or even putting up a standard level of advertising compared to the rest of the internet?

No? Strange, because it sounds like you think I'm acting improperly by taking a vacation.

 

[Asimov]

Am I asking for or accepting donations, or charging you for anything whatsoever, or even putting up a standard level of advertising compared to the rest of the internet?

No? Strange, because it sounds like you think I'm acting improperly by taking a vacation.

I'm pretty sure it was just an innocent joke.

D:

 

[Icefire1424]

Thread took an interesting turn. Knew from my server admin colleagues that managing sites and the like was no joke, but wouldn't have thought GAF to be actively targeted as much as it is. Pretty interesting, actually.

 

[Liberty4all]

For real. A million out of a $10 million jackpot after taxes leaves you with like $4 million for yourself.

Canadian here. We don't pay taxes on lottery winnings =)

 

[Kallor]

2 weeks later: "EviL Travels: Africa"

LOL. You best watch out! =P

 

[Liberty4all]

Gromph is still investigating solutions for the remaining problems. My hands are tied. I've thrown money at server infrastructure to the point where IT gaffers have characterized me as insane. We have really, really robust hardware that I just had upgraded again a week ago. We're also being hit with DDoS attacks on a daily basis.

You have no idea what the financial situation is. Costs have increased tremendously over the last year while revenue has simultaneously declined sharply. It's always a matter of finding sustainable solutions.

NeoGAF is not operated by a big corporation, as most sites are when they're this size. The site's important and valuable, but as a strategic asset, not because of its revenue.

SEE everyone?! I told you GAF could use a million.

Sadly I lost on the 30 million draw, but I've bookmarked this thread in case I ever win in the future.

 

[Rebel Leader]

and if I win the lottery, Evilore's head will be removed and filled with salted nuts.

 

[Drencrom]

Am I asking for or accepting donations, or charging you for anything whatsoever, or even putting up a standard level of advertising compared to the rest of the internet?

No? Strange, because it sounds like you think I'm acting improperly by taking a vacation.

Probably just a silly joke

Spoiler

Maybe a rimshot at Amir0x's fund

 

[Angelus Errare]

If I hit the lotto every GAF member who is in a stupid amount of student loan debt whether it's because they made a mistake or they got bitch slapped by the interest monster and feels there is no escape, consider your debt paid. And to the republican members who think that what I did is bullshit...kiss mah ass.

I'll also be collecting all of black gaf and hip hop gaf so we can go to a strip club and throw $50k at strippers while Drake's "Started From The Bottom" plays in the club.

Peace.

 

[IamMattFox]

Canadian here. We don't pay taxes on lottery winnings =)

Game on.

 

[jaxword]

I do wonder about the DDOS attacks.

Obviously it's someone with a grudge, it's happened on other forums, usually someone who feels they were banned unfairly. Could be the case here, could be some other reason.

 

[Liberty4all]

Am I asking for or accepting donations, or charging you for anything whatsoever, or even putting up a standard level of advertising compared to the rest of the internet?

When I handled some PR at a gaming enthusiast site we averaged about 500,000 hits a month, 300,000 uniques. Not huge traffic but big enough that the bandwidth costs were crushing. We put up all sorts of ads and eventually went with a gaming ad network. I think it made maybe 500 bucks a month in ad revenue (which of course was all eaten up by server costs + more). I wasn't the money guy but I remember talking to the site owner about it and thinking how pathetic the revenue for the site really was considering the traffic.

The big problem with ads were that

a. Nobody clicked on them
b. Majority had ad block
c. The more money per ad the more invasive the ad needed to be which made the site look horrible.

In the end what I learned is that it's an illusion that huge traffic = big money for a site owner. It doesn't once you factor in all the costs of keeping a site running, safe and secure. The (dollar) value in a site like that is what it's worth to other corporations (the site I was with got bought eventually).

I've always wondered though if there might be a way to leverage social media profiles into a site like GAF to make a revenue stream. Make it voluntary of course to connect your profile and then sell the data ... I suppose it's harder on a forum based site to actually get any real "user data" as compared to a gaming news site that can track article and page hits. This is why I want to donate a million. So GAF can just continue to be GAF without consituting a crushing burden on those that currently keep it the great place it is. Sadly I doubt I'll win the lottery any time soon, but if I do, I'm bumping this thread!

 

[Barbacoatl]

I randomly click the ads, even if I'm not interested. It's my way of supporting for all the entertainment provided.

 

[EviLore]

and if I win the lottery, Evilore's head will be removed and filled with salted nuts.

.........

 

[Aguirre]

then gaf could maybe give half to charity ^_^

 

[Clydefrog]

so did you win yet or what?

 

[Aquamarine]

so did you win yet or what?

He lost. :-(

Let's hope some rich multi-millionaire swoops in and saves the day.

 

[Angelus Errare]

Instead of giving it to Gaf....

We should take that money, and invest it into children without certain opportunities. We could sponsor some children, and make points offa their success in the future.

Its like a retirement plan.

We could teach inner city kids;

1. Computers.
2. Web Development.
3. Maths
4. Visual Effects
5. Game development.

etc.

NEOGAF's kids!

it would put a dent in some childs life.

amiright?

I'd leave the two bolded out. Because if they can't get jobs in their industry...they're fucked.

 

[Deleted member 80556]

That's very awesome from you man! Even if I don't need to worry about revenue, it'd be great to see the site to remain secure for a long time.

That, and another million being used as a crazy way! (I suggest giving Titans to everyone in GAF!)

 

[Rebel Leader]

.........

Sorry, Just watched an invader zim episode.

 

[JohnDoe]

Am I asking for or accepting donations, or charging you for anything whatsoever, or even putting up a standard level of advertising compared to the rest of the internet?

No? Strange, because it sounds like you think I'm acting improperly by taking a vacation.

I was honestly joking
I loved reading your travel log and I think you do a great job as GAF's owner.

 

[Dali]

If I won the lottery id def give away a lot of it. Depending on how much I won the size of the cash reward woukd vary but id def give a decent amount to people in my life. Id put some friends kids through college, pay some US gaffers med bills, fund a few indie games... I dunno haven't really put a whole lot of thought into other than it would be in service to things I care about and fairly close to home.

 

[Ghost23]

See the F in GAF? It stands for Fuzzy...

...Norman

 

[EviLore]

I was honestly joking
I loved reading your travel log and I think you do a great job as GAF's owner.

My bad for aggroing on you then ;b

 

[Winterfang]

He lost. :-(

Buuuuuu! Let's kill him.

 

[JustHadToJoin]

lol give it to this site? that is probably the last thing I would do. You would probably forget this site existed with all the other fun activities you took up

 

[Rebel Leader]

lol give it to this site? that is probably the last thing I would do. You would probably forget this site existed with all the other fun activities you took up

maybe we will, maybe we won't

 

[Asimov]

My bad for aggroing on you then ;b

You look so dreamy doing that emoticon.

Spoiler

Seriously. Congratulations... you are an awesome forum owner.

 

[Liberty4all]

lol give it to this site? that is probably the last thing I would do. You would probably forget this site existed with all the other fun activities you took up

After family, GAF would be next. Its been a daily part of my life for 8 years.

then the cruise.

 

[Volimar]

Good luck OP.

EviLore needs a massage.

 

[Feep]

Wow. I wasn't aware NeoGAF was such a frequent target. Do people literally have nothing better to do?

It's unlikely EviL would ever have to resort to it, but I would gladly take either slightly more intrusive advertising or donate *heavily* to some kind of crowdfunding campaign to up server infrastructure. I'd put in a grand, easy.

 

[Liberty4all]

I'm drinking again.

anyways bottom line thread was more or less an appreciation thread for the folks that keep GAF together. Wish I could do more, and will if I ever come into big money.

so thanks to those that keep GAF running. Its appreciated in a big way. There are so many different things one can put their life energy into ... GAF has provided alot for many in its own perverse way. That's worth a mill to me.

 

[Liberty4all]

Wow. I wasn't aware NeoGAF was such a frequent target. Do people literally have nothing better to do?

It's unlikely EviL would ever have to resort to it, but I would gladly take either slightly more intrusive advertising or donate *heavily* to some kind of crowdfunding campaign to up server infrastructure. I'd put in a grand, easy.

penny arcade did that via kickstarter to get rid of ads. They took alot of heat for it too at the time ...