Happy new year upgoat. I'm glad to say goodbye to 2024, the worst year of my life. 2025 is going to be a good year. We have the "good" jew in office again. Free speech is cool again and people are fed up with the bullshit being forced down our throats constantly. I guess we'll see what happens. One thing I do know is it will be a pivotal year for Upgoat.
Back in October our hosting provider increased our rate by 3X. Fortunately they offered to grandfather in our old rate but this is temporary and if I make any changes to the account we'll lose it. If/when that happens it will be harder to justify keeping this place going. It's been 4 years and traffic has flatlined. I'm just tired and bored to be honest. I feel like I've accomplished everything I set out to do. It is still cheap enough to shell out, it went from about $400 a year to over $1100, but I am not a rich man. If prices continue to go up I will have to put the goat on the chopping block.
But I know there are more than a few people who care about this place and I don't take that lightly. I care about you more than I care about the website itself. Upgoat is no Voat but it's become a cozy home for a good chunk of people, myself included. So shutting down isn't something I take lightly. But it's an alluring option I won't lie. It is stressful being in this position, having to worry about being doxxed, or fucked with, having to worry about governments and laws. The world is a scary fucking place right now. Being a nobody is appealing. But free speech is something I am passionate about. It's worth being persecuted and even dying for because I wouldn't want to live in a world without it. That's the only thing driving this place. But I feel like I've given it my all and have nothing to show for it after nearly 4 years.
So I'm conflicted. Have been for awhile, even before the price increase which is more than likely just an alignment to reflect our new fucked up economy (thanks Biden). Our host has been great when it comes to uptime, performance and customer service so looking elsewhere for hosting hasn't even crossed my mind.
So something needs to change. But my options are limited. I value my privacy above money and success and that limits my options greatly.
Many have suggested I begin accepting crypto. I am humbled by your generosity. Seriously. But I never understood it well enough to feel comfortable taking it. I didn't just want to sign up for a website and let it handle everything without me having a clue what is going on. So I've been paying attention to the scene for the past couple years and I now feel comfortable enough running my own wallets on own machines without fucking it up. I'm sure you crypto bros are laughing, but I really had no interest in crypto. I'm not a money guy. Taking money from people is not something I take lightly, I'm a horrible sales person. But not having to worry about paying out of pocket to keep this place running will be a big burden off my back. And the idea of reinvesting into the site and growing is appealing. So fuck it. Here you go. Let's keep this party going.
The upgoat vault will be used strictly to pay for the costs of the site. Not having a safety blanket of capital has stunted this place's growth. With it I will have the confidence to start branching out, adding image hosting and other improvements. These accounts will hopefully ensure we are online for years to come.
I also created separate addresses for myself. If you appreciate the time and effort I put into the place you can donate to me directly through the tip addresses.
Having separate addresses will hopefully avoid any confusion and fuckery. The vault is for website costs; hosting, domains, certs and other misc costs. The tip addresses are for me, allowing myself to maybe have a steak or a cheeseburger every once in a while.
DO NOT donate if you can't afford to. Don't go out trying to obtain crypto just to give. Only donate if you already have crypto and can spare a few bits to keep this place going. I don't want anyone to feel obligated.
I am also considering offering services paid for in bitcoin/monero. Username changes, a pinned post for a certain length of time, pick your name color, sponser a feature etc. Let me know what you guys want. Everyone who donates will get to create a custom badge if they choose (pick the image and flair text) or you can remain anonymous. This is still in the air though.
I know bitcoin is still obscure and times are tough. But if you are in a position to then consider keeping this place alive. I will keep this pinned for week or so. Feel free to click the x to hide it. Someone mentioned the idea of having a PO box where money orders could be sent. I will consider this. All info will be in the side bar "Donate" link (which doesn't exist yet).
I value everyone who contributes to the site through discussion, content submission, and voting. That organic engagement cannot be bought. You people are why this place exists at all. So treating everyone equally without bias will continue to be important to me. I also cannot be bought. I value my integrity and your presence here more than any monetary value. So no special favors or fuckery. However if you do donate I would definitely be more willing to listen to your feedback and spend time replying to you. But everyone is always free to message me as well. I reply back most of the time, if not immediately then within a few days.
Now that I am officially accepting donations I feel I need to clean this place up. Homogenize all the pages, clean up the code, QOL features, minor annoyances etc. Feel free to post your feedback here. I am planning on spending a good chunk of time in the code this year. Even if this is all a failure I want to at least leave behind an open source repo.
Thanks for listening to my spiel. I know it's long but these words have been floating around in my head for a while. 2025 will be the year we grow or die. I'm okay with either. Love you all regardless.
Edit:
We have accumulated .2719 monero and 0.00050836 bitcoin. That's roughly 2 months of hosting right there. Thank you to everyone who donated. Contact me for a custom badge if you'd like.
Edit 2:
Added donate button in the side bar
Edit 3:
Holy crap! We have an angel or 2?. I have received 14.88 monero x 2 in tips and 14.88 monero to the upgoat vault. With this we have the funds to last for years and I can start planning for bigger things like image hosting. This is going to be a transformative year for our website. Thank you to everyone who believes in me and in upgoat. I won't let you down! 🐐
