First off, the app never made money. It costed much more to produce it than we would get back by people buying it. So we are making it free with some unlockable sections and also advertising in the next version.
The magazine does not make money, there are virtually no banner ads, and we eliminated the ability for people to buy ads directly in the mag (you have to buy the package which includes Reefs.com, the app, and the mag).
So consider it a labor of love.
Josh,
Please don't take offense to anything. It is not a personal thing. I guess it comes down to asking for donations from a "for-profit" company. I know that this site is not a "gold mine". But then again it def without a doubt pays for itself and then some.
I know that it is the end-users decision to make a donation or not. So each person makes a decision if they want to give. I will never tell anyone not to do it.
It is also apparent that some people on the forums are given more leeway than other people.
I know of members who have complained about things and nothing is done. Yet I personally have had posts deleted honestly for no reason (IMO). I am sure that you read a lot of posts, and for the most part this is the only thread where I have be out of the realm of actual tank discussions.
I think that Mods need to enforce the rules of the site across the board, that even means to people that the mods call "their friends:. I have even seen some Mods cross the line, but who is going to handle them?
Ultimately enforcing the rules that are made in the "General Discussion" forum, across the board, will just make this site much more beneficial.
I know that this thread it self has evolved from my first post about the site being down. But I don't think that I have seen at least lately any posts where the members have actually complained about things. I normally do not
post like this. But sometimes someone has to do it.
Ultimately it does not come down to how much money the site makes, or what it costs for a magazine, or who gets paid and who does not. It comes down to a GOOD PRODUCT! Which in the most part MR is, but the bull$hit that goes along with some of it is just annoying. For the most part the stupid posts by people or the annoying signatures that people have (either huge long or just plain stupid [off topic]) I can look past that. But a good product IMO needs to work, and the site being down as often as it is, IMO is not a good thing, especially on a Saturday Morning for multiple hours when people are not working. I like to sit down and have my cup of coffee and just read through the threads. I cannot say how much I have learned from just reading through the threads.
OK, I will get off my soap box now.....
