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AVEN Server Fundraiser


michaeld

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6 hours ago, Kelly said:

...How can we make our drive more successful? :) 

I was going to suggest Twitter, but I see AVEN's already done that.

 

I wonder whether a 2 min. commercial-like video of asexuals giving testimonies of how important AVEN was in helping them discover their asexuality might help (or be more compelling); how it continues to be important for future asexuals to discover themselves; and how it even helps educate those who aren't asexual learn about what it is. (i.e., something similar to The Trevor Project's It Gets Better campaign.)

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5 hours ago, Midland Tyke said:

I could volunteer not to make a video, perhaps?

 

More seriously, I wonder how many users really know about this? I'm here a lot and only stumbled on it. Could a common post in every forum be created?

It does show up in the announcements at the top of the page when you're in threads. Maybe the headline can be made more capturing with ********** around it.

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18 hours ago, Kelly said:

No contributions in nearly 24 hours.

 

*cheers people on*

 

How can we make our drive more successful? :) 

Perhaps fix the Aven chat? Many users only use chat and not the forum. I was a significant donor last time, and I know few others who mainly used chat and donated. We actively campaigned in chat for donors too. Imagine my surprise when I find out that we get shitty chat after contributing for the new server! I have been let down and feel like I have been cheated regarding this issue- and this issue has been raised couple of times and conveniently ignored. I could elaborate more, but I can't be arsed- just like you guys CBAed to fix chat- so good luck! *Leaves with grumpy face*

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Thanks for contributing last time. Note that the new chat wasn't really a result of the new server, as far as I know. The new chat was needed because the IP chat software was retired. I understand Coles and other tech admins looked quite hard for a new chat and ArrowChat was the best they could find, given the constraints of integration with AVEN.

 

I'll point them to this thread in case they have anything else to add.

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I know the issues behind chat- since I use it often I know all the changes it went through. Last time, during fundraising we were promised a better server- which meant major functionalities on Aven like forum and chat would remain same- but there would be increased speed and no more server glitches- in other words better experience. I'm disappointed that chat is underperforming and for a chat user- the experience hasn't improved at all and it's worse than pre new server chat. So chat users contribution ended up getting them bad chat experience.

 

How about using the funding for new chat module? Increasing the funding even? Set aside a percentage of time and money for resolving chat issues. I feel only the forum folks are being attended to and chat users are very much ignored like they are nothing.

 

Also, I would like to see timeline when addressing tech issues. I don't care if you say 'takes one year to solve this tech issue'. Or 10 years. It's meaningless to say you are addressing the issue without any timeline in mind.

As far as I am aware the admods team works with time limits for solving Aven issues. Why can't tech team do the same? I don't understand why the tech team is held to different standard... 

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On 11/7/2017 at 2:40 PM, Snao Cone said:

Here's an incentive for people to donate: when we reach 50%, I will post a special video.

$100 more to go!

 

18 hours ago, Snao Cone said:

It does show up in the announcements at the top of the page when you're in threads. Maybe the headline can be made more capturing with ********** around it.

I will ask if I can change the announcement.

 

We used to be able to post announcements in big red letters on top of every forum if we wished with the old ACP.

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I have recorded the video in advance, so as soon as we get to $1500 I will post it for all to enjoy. Except for people who hate videos recorded in portrait orientation.

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8 hours ago, Chihiro said:

So chat users contribution ended up getting them bad chat experience.

Again as far as I'm aware, the new server (which is what the contributions are funding) is entirely unrelated to any chat issues. IP chat was retired. That would be true even if we were on the old server. So we'd have to find an alternative chat provider in any case.

 

If I'm wrong about any of that, maybe Coles can correct me...

 

Do you have another chat provider in mind? Honestly I agree it would be worth spending a bit more money on it if it gave a better service. However it needs to integrate with the AVEN forums (so that only AVEN users can enter chat, and so that chat reports with logs get fed back to the admods). That is a major constraint. My recollection is that Coles and our other techies went through the possibilities carefully and ArrowChat was the best option they found. But if you have another in mind, I'll ask them to take a look.

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On 11/7/2017 at 7:40 PM, Snao Cone said:

Here's an incentive for people to donate: when we reach 50%, I will post a special video.

Ahem, polite cough, cough....

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48 minutes ago, Midland Tyke said:

Ahem, polite cough, cough....

My apologies, I was away from the computer.

 

LADIES, DUDES, AND GENTLENBS...

 

 

 

(I couldn't resist adding bubbles.)

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3 minutes ago, Snao Cone said:

My apologies, I was away from the computer.

 

LADIES, DUDES, AND GENTLENBS...

 

(I couldn't resist adding bubbles.)

*claps claps claps claps claps claps* Lovely video! (And your voice is so pretty ahh.)

 

I keep forgetting to bring my credit card down with me to donate, but I definitely will! <3

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5 minutes ago, kelico said:

(And your voice is so pretty ahh.)

Confession: I filmed it this morning so I could capture my hangover voice, which is better than my normal voice. :P

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3 minutes ago, Snao Cone said:

Confession: I filmed it this morning so I could capture my hangover voice, which is better than my normal voice. :P

How does it differ?

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1 minute ago, Midland Tyke said:

How does it differ?

My normal voice is higher pitched and sounds like I have a frog in my throat.

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3 minutes ago, Snao Cone said:

My normal voice is higher pitched and sounds like I have a frog in my throat.

Intriguing. My hangover voice is also lower than Tyke-normal but doesn't perform any 🐸 removal.

Anyway, what's important is to say Thanks for your effort.

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2 hours ago, Snao Cone said:

LADIES, DUDES, AND GENTLENBS...

Great video! Thanks!

(good voice and well-spoken)

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Snao, you have made disparaging remarks about your looks in the past, and you are instructed to never do that again because you are BEAUTIFUL!   Truly.   And your hangover voice is lovely also.  

 

I wish I could  donate but I can't.  There quite a bit of guilt therein because I've enjoyed and felt grateful for AVEN for probably 10 years now, and hope to do so on through my future.  

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16 minutes ago, Sally said:

Snao, you have made disparaging remarks about your looks in the past, and you are instructed to never do that again because you are BEAUTIFUL!   Truly.   And your hangover voice is lovely also.  

:blush: This was the 6th or 7th take, but the others were more about me tripping over my words than looking bad...though I looked worse in those ones too. :P

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17 hours ago, Chihiro said:

I know the issues behind chat- since I use it often I know all the changes it went through. Last time, during fundraising we were promised a better server- which meant major functionalities on Aven like forum and chat would remain same- but there would be increased speed and no more server glitches- in other words better experience. I'm disappointed that chat is underperforming and for a chat user- the experience hasn't improved at all and it's worse than pre new server chat. So chat users contribution ended up getting them bad chat experience.

 

How about using the funding for new chat module? Increasing the funding even? Set aside a percentage of time and money for resolving chat issues. I feel only the forum folks are being attended to and chat users are very much ignored like they are nothing.

 

Also, I would like to see timeline when addressing tech issues. I don't care if you say 'takes one year to solve this tech issue'. Or 10 years. It's meaningless to say you are addressing the issue without any timeline in mind.

As far as I am aware the admods team works with time limits for solving Aven issues. Why can't tech team do the same? I don't understand why the tech team is held to different standard... 

First, I'm sorry the experience has been a disappointing one for you. Our previous chat software, IP.Chat, was indeed retired, as @michaeld mentioned, and it changed nearly 6 months after we migrated to a better server. When we investigated other forum chat options, this was the only one that integrated with our forum (meaning our user database and moderation tools). We decided having a chat was better than retiring the experience entirely, and I'd make the same decision again. That said, we purchased the basic version of the license as a means of trying it out for AVEN. If the experience has been that bad, then it may not be worth upgrading for, but we don't have other options that integrate with our database. Forum chat isn't really a market being developed for, as other AVEN language forums are also struggling with. We don't have an easy "one year" answer because it's a product that has increasingly been skewed toward sales, and a custom option is beyond our team's scope. It's currently more a question of "Is this worth keeping?" or "Is this worth dropping and needing to fundraise less?" and, to be honest, maybe that's a question best left up to this forum's members at large.

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27 minutes ago, Coleslaw said:

First, I'm sorry the experience has been a disappointing one for you. Our previous chat software, IP.Chat, was indeed retired, as @michaeld mentioned, and it changed nearly 6 months after we migrated to a better server. When we investigated other forum chat options, this was the only one that integrated with our forum (meaning our user database and moderation tools). We decided having a chat was better than retiring the experience entirely, and I'd make the same decision again. That said, we purchased the basic version of the license as a means of trying it out for AVEN. If the experience has been that bad, then it may not be worth upgrading for, but we don't have other options that integrate with our database. Forum chat isn't really a market being developed for, as other AVEN language forums are also struggling with. We don't have an easy "one year" answer because it's a product that has increasingly been skewed toward sales, and a custom option is beyond our team's scope. It's currently more a question of "Is this worth keeping?" or "Is this worth dropping and needing to fundraise less?" and, to be honest, maybe that's a question best left up to this forum's members at large.

The first month or so, the Arrow chat was working well. But since then, it has been having problems. First, it started asking users to refresh  to load comments in chat. It is really a hassle to refresh it every minute when chatting with members. Now the last 2 months or so ago, it started asking you to login as well every 10 min- even though you are already logged in on Aven and continue to access forum the chat asks you to login. Having to refresh every minute and then logging in every 10-15 minutes makes using the chat, a pain in the arse.

The fact that it was working fine when introduced but now it's having problems makes me think that it's a fixable problem. What is being done to address these problems? Perhaps a license upgrade can help resolve these issues?

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7 minutes ago, Chihiro said:

The first month or so, the Arrow chat was working well. But since then, it has been having problems. First, it started asking users to refresh  to load comments in chat. It is really a hassle to refresh it every minute when chatting with members. Now the last 2 months or so ago, it started asking you to login as well every 10 min- even though you are already logged in on Aven and continue to access forum the chat asks you to login. Having to refresh every minute and then logging in every 10-15 minutes makes using the chat, a pain in the arse.

The fact that it was working fine when introduced but now it's having problems makes me think that it's a fixable problem. What is being done to address these problems? Perhaps a license upgrade can help resolve these issues?

We are current with our product licenses so, unfortunately, that's why this isn't something easily actioned. We've had more pressing issues; our team has been focusing on other issues around profile images, log issues, and issues with account creation. Up until recently, we were making preparations around AAW's increased traffic and server load, and have been helping our partner language sites with their own bottlenecks. Most of the issues that have been surfaced to me have been with regard to mobile chat--something we can upgrade our license for, for $120 a year, but mobile chat support doesn't guarantee a solution to the issue you're describing. 

I can say this for certain: when we reach our funding goal, I'll purchase the license and upgrade chat. It'll be a last-ditch effort on an integrated, official AVEN chat client, and I hope it succeeds in solving everyone's issues. If people still have huge issues by AAW next year, we'll see what replacements may exist and, if none do, we'll have to retire our official chat.

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Elftober Country
8 hours ago, Snao Cone said:

My apologies, I was away from the computer.

 

LADIES, DUDES, AND GENTLENBS...

 

 

Excellent video, Snao. You are now officially hired to do all of my future public speaking. 

 

I love the way you framed the video, so very you ;)

 

Nice hangover voice too! My hangover voice is the same voice I use when I call my boss and pretend to be sick, which I NEVER do :ph34r:

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10 hours ago, Snao Cone said:

My apologies, I was away from the computer.

 

LADIES, DUDES, AND GENTLENBS...

 

 

 

(I couldn't resist adding bubbles.)

I'm just bumping this back to the top of the thread. And don't intend to point out that there hasn't been a single donation since you originally posted this. Oops, I just did...

Come on peeps....

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On 04/11/2017 at 10:59 AM, michaeld said:

As part of Asexual Awareness Week, David Jay put together this fundraiser for the AVEN server. It's been on the front page of AVEN and our Facebook for a while. It's no longer AAW but I figure it deserves a thread here too.

https://www.gofundme.com/aaw2017

 

Many of you will remember how flaky our previous server was, and will appreciate how immeasurably more stable our new cloud based server is. It even held up during AAW itself - including when we had a large spike because of the media coverage.

 

We greatly appreciate anything people can donate towards ensuring the continued stability of our servers.

 

Thanks and :cake:,

Michael

 

PS. Thanks to those in chat who pointed out this deserves its own thread.

Quoting this so we have the link on second page too :)

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Here's another little banner. : ) One with the ace pride heart but with a white background and purple border. I was bored. :P And I just now donated, too. : )

 

Spoiler

 

avenserversupportbuttonbordeer.png

 

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Hah, I see my video inspired someone to throw in quite a bit more. :D

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13 hours ago, kelico said:

Here's another little banner. : ) One with the ace pride heart but with a white background and purple border. I was bored. :P And I just now donated, too. : )

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

Cool!

 

10 hours ago, Snao Cone said:

Hah, I see my video inspired someone to throw in quite a bit more. :D

Yay! Must have been a good video... :P

 

Thanks everyone who has donated or has helped spread the word. Only $1,215 left to go...

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The last donation was by Angela Tucker. She was the producer of the movie (A)sexual. Thanks Angela if you're reading. :)

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