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Lady Bird

Matsuno's Goebbels
I think giving a unique set of emoticons and Like emoticons exclusive to gold users would be a good way to create incentives for more members to purchase gold. It would also increase visibility to gold status. Emoticons (and Likes) affect how you interact with other members, and having some gold-exclusive troll-ish/humorous ones could lead to a lot of funny moments. Especially for Like emoticons, as there are so few of them, so any additional ones would stand out.

So far, gold membership offers mostly "selfish" (not sure if that's the right word) features like QoL upgrades or prestige. Gifting seems to be the only exception to that. Adding a few more features that affect how gold members interact and have fun with the community would increase its appeal, as long as it isn't overdone nor disrespectful to other members.
 
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cormack12

Gold Member
I've read most of this and I love GAF man. I remember first finding it. Then trying to sign up and waiting a while. Then finally posting. In terms of interactions GAF is cool. Even the console warriors at times. They're just like naughty cousins screaming in the back room.

Been a lot of cool ideas but it sounds like traffic isn't the problem. There's enough traffic, just the way ads are monetised has changed and the site isn't getting the ad revenue the traffic should be generating.

I think there's a few things that might be worth considering. The front page built from the rss feed is the first thing I'd do. News is posted here so regularly so I'm sure someone with some time and base coding skills could generate a front page of latest news from the rss feed for gaming


I think as well it might be an idea to fund some xenforo plugins. Crowd fund the purchase and development costs. That way the community can decide (within reason) if there's a particular plugin they might like. Or sponsor one?

The podcast/video thing might be achievable but not sure if you'd monetise the patreon or the youtube video itself. Would probably need a group of 10 or so people to work on a theme, content etc.

I'd like to see an imageboard subforum for just memes and sharing stuff but not even sure a plugin exists.

All the other stuff sounds cool. I post on a subforum and one of the patreons gives you access to set your own CT as well. Unique reactions are a good idea as well.

Affiliate links are a good idea but is there a parser that can do the heavy lifting for it. Creating a thread takes time so it might be best to have a subforum and do a quick post where you just select the brand, item, price and link and it generates a small post for the specific item - so it looks like hotukdeals. Usually we just get massive lists from psn whereas people might post specific individual items if that's possible?
 

Pejo

Member
I don't have personal experience with this, but isn't there a way to monetize captcha solving, by adding it before somebody can post? I don't love the idea of solving a captcha before I can post something, but if it helps keep the lights on, I'd rather do that than some of the other ideas brought into this thread. Maybe make exceptions if you pay for GAF Gold.
 

BigBooper

Member
The main hang up I've had with buying gold has been credit card being the only method of payment. I don't put my card info into many places. If PayPal were an option I would have paid long ago.

Anyway, I'll make some time this week to buy a prepaid card and buy some gold.
Truth. Often when I'm browsing, I'm sitting in a recliner at least a room away from my wallet. There's been at least twice when I wanted to go gold, but was too lazy when I remembered I had to have a credit card.
 

G-Bus

Banned
Gold it is. Been meaning to do it for a while now. Guess this was the kick in the ass to do it

Hope it all works out Evillore. Been coming here a long time and I'd like to see it keep going.
 

Miyazaki’s Slave

Gold Member
All In Meme GIF


Take my filthy fiat patronage....

Also, direct advertising would be cool as well. I don't know what you are using for ad mediation but if you have the ability to run House Ad's and can share your asset requirements perhaps some folks here who have "things to sell" could pay you directly for advertising.
 

Reave

Member
Haven't read everyone's posts to see what ideas have been suggested so far, but here's my take (and hopefully there are no redundancies) based on my experience in brand-building and content management. Hope it's useful.

Ad revenue strategies, subscription models, and the like are serviceable options for the time being. However, if we're being honest, those initiatives likely can't resolve the long-term challenges NeoGAF will face. Times have changed, as have the definition, location, and motives of internet communities at large.

I think it's going to require a big-picture perspective to understand what NeoGAF really needs to thrive moving forward because, well... ad revenue strategies, SEO, and subscription models aren't going to cut it. They're band-aids, at best. In the end, the proposition for both new, undecided, and longtime members would remain the same -- come here and be a part of the community. But... a community of what, exactly? About what? For what?

Simply put, NeoGAF is a community without a cause. A bit aimless.

So, in order to solve the financial future of NeoGAF, I think it takes calibrating and redefining the branding and purpose of NeoGAF first. Once that happens, we would have the brand-driven parameters, missions, and core pillars we need to find true solutions that keep the site alive and motivates users to pay or subscribe to the mission of NeoGAF. Anything short of that will just amount to a glorified "hey please help fund us" charity request with meager perks to offer in return.

Community feedback, as helpful as it is, can't match the kind of insight and foresight you could attain from those resources. That said, my suggestion is to reach out to a branding agency or a full-service performance marketing agency. Doing so can help to establish a CBI (creative business idea) to help lay the all-important groundwork for NeoGAF's future, along with determining if/how to leverage this community beyond simply being message board members to drive/curate content and to provide true "onlyness" compared to other avenues out there (social media included).

Perhaps that means expanding the borders of NeoGAF beyond being a message board, as some suggested. One (rough) idea is to create a NeoGAF Network, of sorts. Community-made podcasts, game reviews, carefully curated thought-pieces or videos from solid content creators -- all under the banner of that proposed network and volunteered without charge by its creators. Perhaps this means more visible leadership from Tyler and others, literally. Videos, perhaps a staff-only podcast to talk about NeoGAF's journey, and such. Or hey... perhaps not. All comes down to what this staff and any third-party resources determine.

Point being, there's a way through this patch. But, it's going to take a more cerebral, organized, big-picture CBI first. Then, you can work backwards from there and pair the right ideas with the right version of NeoGAF.

This was all a stream of thought, so apologies for any jank. Hope this helpful.
 
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.Pennywise

Banned
In order to be able to go forward, you must let go the past.

You don't have to lose all that history either. But archiving it would be the best way to proceed. There's no use in keeping all that up when 98% of users don't even bother with it. I think most people would be ok with archiving everything before and after the incident™.

Another suggestion. Up the premium perks. As of now, being Gold doesn't give much apart from a normal user. Also, more (lesser and bigger, bronze, platinum, diamond, etc) tiers would be good.

Btw now I know the true reason behind the entire Politics sub being nuked lol (at least that was something good from all of this).
 

Arimer

Member
I"ve unblocked my ads on this site and i'd be willing to use affiliate links for things i buy already. Will rebuy gold when I can spare it also.
 

Rest

All these years later I still chuckle at what a fucking moron that guy is.
Since GAF has Twitch integration, is there a way to reward our streaming community if they plug the NeoGAF Patreon and GAF gold?
 

STARSBarry

Gold Member
Open to suggestions if there's anything you'd like to see! Our service differentiation is centered around Gold subs at the moment but we can add stuff for Patreon too.

I think improving what gold offers is the way to go, as it essentially self advertises rather than offering higher patreon rewards.

You know I was just thinking about how I miss PlayStation theme's since I upgraded to my PS5. Perhaps allowing gold users to set custom colours for their post backgrounds that other users can see/ be forced to put up with, although that might drive the dark mode people nuts.

Outside of that maybe allow gold membership to set a custom header for the area that displays our username and title...

Those above two would take a fair bit of work however so in a more basic note, perhaps allow goldmembers to use animated gif's for avatars.
 
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EviLore EviLore

Rather than keep the entirety of the Gaf Archives. Maybe just save the threads that are notable and have them in a 'Classic GAF/Retro GAF' section?

I don't know who would mine that material but most of that stuff can probably be purged if it's really driving up the costs of maintaining the forum.
 

Iced Arcade

Member
Dropping the price of Gold and adding a few perks might increase the subscriptions.

Have a webpage front for news/articles.

Have a podcast that's tied into the gold subscription, possibly partner with someone. (With the option to purchase individual episode).
 
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Batiman

Banned
I feel like I’m the only person alive that is not bothered by adds. I struggle to find how it really bothers some. It’s not like I ever have to click through an add to get to new pages or anything. If that was the case is find it annoying. But little adds don’t faze me at all.
 

ChoosableOne

ChoosableAll
I unblocked it on adblock now. I thought you guys making money with sponsored threads(IbizaPacholo?)(some VGC threads recently)(and assassination of Kretos for Microsoft etc.). If it was not the case, then you should think about it. And you can make a new shiny but simple homepage that includes gaming news(like n4g) which will hopefully attracts more ads? , and we(and visitors) can click those links and discuss them on forums(visitors could give like?), among other old style threads. It would attract more outsiders to forums imho.

Hope you can survive this crisis.
 

Chiggs

Gold Member
EviLore EviLore

It's pretty simple, honestly:

1. Make people pay to register
2. If people get banned multiple times, they pay to register again and unlock their profile.
3. Make people pay for avatars and custom titles.
4. Make people pay to access the archives.

These are plays straight from the SomethingAwful playbook, circa 2004/5. It worked then and it can work now.
 

Dr Bass

Member
Re-upped my gold sub. Happy to do it.

EviLore EviLore
I'm sure your tech team is more than capable, but always available to offer free advice on reducing infrastructure costs, if it's possible. Again, this is probably a hollow offer, but it is on the table.
 

bitbydeath

Member
That would work if gaming was segregated into platforms. But GAF isn't.

An option is to just ban the guy in Gaming, but the vast majority of console warriors only care about posting in Gaming. I don't post in Communities often, but I do in OT. All the well known warriors over the years (banned or not) almost never post in those tabs. Some probably never have once.
It’d also work if it’s applied based on tags used in the thread. Eg. A PlayStation news thread gets a PlayStation tag, members who previously harassed that section become blocked from commenting inside it.

Head-to-heads can work the same way too. Have a PlayStation or Xbox tag applied and either parties restricted can’t comment either.
 

near

Gold Member
EviLore EviLore

It's pretty simple, honestly:

1. Make people pay to register
2. If people get banned multiple times, they pay to register again and unlock their profile.
3. Make people pay for avatars and custom titles.
4. Make people pay to access the archives.

These are plays straight from the SomethingAwful playbook, circa 2004/5. It worked then and it can work now.

I'm in favour of this. The only problem is that it's a risky move for a community that is trying to generate traffic and stable revenue streams, it would need to be supplemented with features like podcasts and other forms of exclusive content for it to be remotely viable. I'd throw money at this though.
 
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Plantoid

Member
I have no money for gold, but i don't mind seeing ads, this site has almost no ads, maybe block the site for AdBlock users and increase ads? Also, deleting some old stuff
 

BadBurger

Many “Whelps”! Handle It!
I been lurking Gaf since the early 2010s and yes I do like it. Just because someone likes something dude doesn't mean that they are obligated to do stuff for free.

Neogaf is not being ran by a family member or someone that's close to me. That would have been different. No sane business will do stuff for you for free whether they really like what they are offering or not.

I am not sure where you are getting with this to be fair. I could give a discount sure, but that's about it. Just because I chill here and talk doesn't mean I am here to throw free hook ups.

Also, don't try to bait people into trying to paint them as selfish individuals, it looks really bad on you and you come of as a narcissist by attempting to manipulate people.

No offense dude but I do not think you have any clue how any business entity operates. Either that ot your just trolling me.

With that being said, want to be my video editor and work for me for free? Come on now dude be a good person, we've been friends for a while now!

Do you see how dumb this sounds dude?

Even though I disagree with you I gift you gold, because this place is great and we can disagree on things in one thread and then be best friends in another. It's also a community of sorts. I enjoy everyone here, even those who clearly don't like me, because I was raised a good Christian boy before I forsook the Lord. Kind of losing my train of thought. Anyways enjoy the gold and hopefully you can one day view these kinds of internet communities as the communal spaces they are and also take joy in being a part of it.
 
Even though I disagree with you I gift you gold, because this place is great and we can disagree on things in one thread and then be best friends in another. It's also a community of sorts. I enjoy everyone here, even those who clearly don't like me, because I was raised a good Christian boy before I forsook the Lord. Kind of losing my train of thought. Anyways enjoy the gold and hopefully you can one day view these kinds of internet communities as the communal spaces they are and also take joy in being a part of it.
Damn dude, I appericiate the love ❤️

And yeah you hit nail on the head. It's OK too be normal humans and disagree/agree with certain things but still being respectful unlike other places
 
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EviLore EviLore

It's pretty simple, honestly:

1. Make people pay to register
2. If people get banned multiple times, they pay to register again and unlock their profile.
3. Make people pay for avatars and custom titles.
4. Make people pay to access the archives.

These are plays straight from the SomethingAwful playbook, circa 2004/5. It worked then and it can work now.

Probably not going to be good for new signup numbers.
 

Lord Panda

The Sea is Always Right
EviLore EviLore

It's pretty simple, honestly:

1. Make people pay to register
2. If people get banned multiple times, they pay to register again and unlock their profile.
3. Make people pay for avatars and custom titles.
4. Make people pay to access the archives.

These are plays straight from the SomethingAwful playbook, circa 2004/5. It worked then and it can work now.

Nah, only agree with 2 and 3. Banned folks can pay to get out of jail again. Think of it as a fine for their transgressions.
 

Dr Bass

Member
Banned folks paying to get back in I'd support. And the more bans you get the higher the fee. For extra laughs, their profile can even be tagged to see how many times they paid to get out of jail.
yeah I dunno. You would have to have some pretty iron clad reasons for banning if you're talking about involving money on an increasing scale to get out. I can't say I understand why some people get banned and others don't considering the behavior of some who don't vs. those who do. I keep my mouth shut about it though because I just sorta don't care. :messenger_beaming:

And it ain't my business.

My point? Seems like huge can of worms without real monetary benefit. I mean how many banned people are gonna pay to come back. This is a forum not a place for extortion.

The answers, sans gimmicks, seems kinda obvious to me. More Gold Members. Patreon supporters. More users, with more eyeballs on ads.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
yeah I dunno. You would have to have some pretty iron clad reasons for banning if you're talking about involving money on an increasing scale to get out. I can't say I understand why some people get banned and others don't considering the behavior of some who don't vs. those who do. I keep my mouth shut about it though because I just sorta don't care. :messenger_beaming:

And it ain't my business.

My point? Seems like huge can of worms without real monetary benefit. I mean how many banned people are gonna pay to come back. This is a forum not a place for extortion.

The answers, sans gimmicks, seems kinda obvious to me. More Gold Members. Patreon supporters. More users, with more eyeballs on ads.
Fair enough. It was a more for potential laughs than a serious feature. But if actually implemented, I'd be ok with it too.
 

Chiggs

Gold Member
yeah I dunno. You would have to have some pretty iron clad reasons for banning if you're talking about involving money on an increasing scale to get out. I can't say I understand why some people get banned and others don't considering the behavior of some who don't vs. those who do. I keep my mouth shut about it though because I just sorta don't care. :messenger_beaming:

And it ain't my business.

My point? Seems like huge can of worms without real monetary benefit. I mean how many banned people are gonna pay to come back. This is a forum not a place for extortion.

The answers, sans gimmicks, seems kinda obvious to me. More Gold Members. Patreon supporters. More users, with more eyeballs on ads.

Except there is a use-case for this exact scenario. It's called SomethingAwful, and it allowed Richard "Lowtax" Kyanka to live quite a comfortable life until he blew his brains out last November.

Getting banned doesn't automatically mean you pay to get back in, but 3 or 4 bans = permaban = time to register for a new account. It would be the site's discretion.

Again, for the people that poo-poo'd my ideas (and they're really not my ideas), what are the alternatives? Patreon? Donation begging? That's a fate worse than death.
 
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Dr Bass

Member
Fair enough. It was a more for potential laughs than a serious feature. But if actually implemented, I'd be ok with it too.

It could be funny. I give you that.

Except there is a use-case for this exact scenario. It's called SomethingAwful, and it allowed Richard "Lowtax" Kyanka to live quite a comfortable life until he blew his brains out last November.

Getting banned doesn't automatically mean you pay to get back in, but 3 or 4 bans = permaban = time to register for a new account. It would be the site's discretion.

Again, for the people that poo-poo'd my ideas (and they're really not my ideas), what are the alternatives? Patreon? Donation begging? That's a fate worse than death.

So working for the Red Cross or St. Jude's is a fate worse than death. Noted.

I wouldn't take disagreement over ideas too personally. What worked for SA doesn't necessarily work for NeoGAF. There is such a thing as the culture of a forum. I think some of the suggestions have been higher NeoGAF tiers to allow for things like changing the avatar quote etc. but that would basically destroy the point of "earning" one from the mods. Those things are either badges of honor or extreme badges of shame, and they are hilarious. The second you let someone change that for the friendly fee of 10 dollars a month, that whole inside joke feel of NeoGAF goes out the window. That's part of the draw, for me at least.

I don't think these are "easy" problems to solve, otherwise they would already be solved. I think the first step is the right one. Ask people who practically live on this board to contribute if they can. You know when I take my girl out for coffee now, I'm paying 15 bucks for two drinks. It's not unreasonable to ask the regulars for a fiver a month.
 
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