As you might have seen, I’ve added a Patreon button on the main page.
Currently I’m paying around $80-$100 per month for hosting the site as you can see in this summary:
And this is actually using a discount the provider (AWS) grants any new customer for his first year. This period will end soon.
I’m happily providing my time and skills for the site, but I cannot pay that kind of money forever. So I’d like to ask you kindly for a small donation to keep the site alive.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it anonymous?
Well, as anonymous as using Patreon can be. You have to create an account with them and give them a valid email address and payment details.
So Patreon knows about you.
I will only get your email address, though, nothing more. And you can also set your profile to ‘private’ so no one (but me and you) knows that you’re pledging for this site.
How much do I have to pay?
This pledge is completely voluntary. Noone has to pay.
The minimum pledge is $1, but you’re free to pay as much as you want and can afford. Everything is really appreciated!
What happens if your expenses are not covered?
I won’t shut down the site any time soon and I will not put any ads on the site either, that’s a promise!
But what I just cannot promise is, that I’m going to be able to pay for it forever. Almost $800 of expenses have already piled up since I got GSS from Hugh last fall, and at some point I might be forced to look for someone else to take over for me or shut down the site, if I can’t find any other way to compensate my expenses.
Why don't you use a cheaper provider?
The site was originally developed by Hugh based on Amazon Web Services. Unfortunately, it’s not trivial to move it to another provider. There might be cheaper ones, but none of them can provide the same quality, feature set and reliability for considerable less money.
Also Amazon ensures my and your anonymity and has quite liberal regulations for the material hosted on their servers.
Do I get any advantage if I pledge?
I’m planning to add a couple of exclusive (but optional) features for pledgers. Like getting email notification for new stories and comments, maybe an RSS feed and the option to get a public badge on comments written by active Patreons and in the forum. Let me know if you have other ideas.
Still, all of the site’s core functions will always remain available for everyone.
How do I pledge?
Just go to the GaySpiralStory page on Patreon and click on “Become a Patron” there. You will have to create a Patreon account, if you don’t have one already.
What are you doing with the money?
I only want to cover my expenses. As soon as I’ve reached the amount of money I have to pay each month, I will let you know. The bar on GSS’s main menu next to the Patreon button makes the progress towards that goal transparent for everyone.
I’m not looking to make a profit with GSS!
What happens when the goal is reached?
The Patreon button will still be there, but it’s dimmed so it’s not as prominent any longer. If the amount that is pledged each month should drop below the goal (my expenses) again, will be shown fully again.
You can still join, if you want, and as soon as I’ve implemented the announced special features, this would be the only way to get them.
Feel free to ask additional questions or comment here!
