Matt W wrote such a moving passage to start this thread you might think we've been in cahoots on this, but it was entirely my doing and no one knew in advance. Extremely well-said, my friend. It got a little dusty over here
The
Support PG-HQ! page is worth reading, even if you have no capability / interest / intention of contributing hard currency to
PG-HQ. In summary:
- nothing about the way this site is run (free, no ads, no spam, etc.) will ever change
- we've collected a shitload of play and AAR data since we launched, and I think it's fair to say that 90%+ of those plays would have gone unknown (not on CSW, not on BGG, not elsewhere) if we didn't exist to pull them in
- people have occasionally asked about making financial contributions and now I've found an adequate platform to do so
Why I like Patreon:- it's financially transparent: patrons can see exactly how much money reaches me less taxes & fees
- it helps me file the W-9 I'll need to give the IRS if we exceed $600 in contributions in a year
- it's geared towards recurring fees which is what a website has
- it has a neat reward system which we will make good use of starting this year
Most importantly: you don't need to donate anything! Our members come from all walks of life and have greatly differing levels of discretionary spending. Some are retired and living on fixed incomes, some are between jobs, some are supporting large families, some of us get paid in
renminbi (ok, maybe just one of us!
) and some of you are multi-millionaires judging by the size of your PG collections!
The best way to help
PG-HQ is to use it and contribute plays, AARs, forum comments, and so on. Anyone can do that and it costs nothing but your time. For those that feel compelled to contribute money to help support our site hosting fees, now or in the future, there is now a way to do that.
We're never going to have a premium section, or content locked away behind fees.
PG-HQ participation has always been voluntary, and continues to be, just now with the added dimension of voluntary contributions
As for you personally, Vince, despite not logging a play in more than a year you remain our all time
Shared Plays leader with a perfect 100% AAR ratio -- one of only 4 people on the site with 30+ plays that can claim the same. In fact, you are the reason we have Shared Plays at all. You'll recall in the beginning we just had play records until you pushed me to divide them into solo and shared, a huge undertaking but well-worth it in the end. Lastly, you brought us the
inestimable Wayne Baumber. In short, your contributions are varied and influential and we are all the richer (embiggened?
) for them. I hope you one day find PG worth returning to. I'm optimistic Matt W and Hugmenot can cook up something that suits you in the future. And I still intend to someday make good on my failed trip to visit you a few years back.
We will never lock you out for being a non-player, but we certainly reserve the right to tease you about it from time to time. After all, you are making a
hughes mistake!
I'll show myself out!
