Mid March Update
Hey readers/users, I havent written a blog post since December so I think we're somewhat overdue. I have also made some changes to the site as I do from time to time. Hopefully they have all been changes that have been well regarded.
This is quite a long one, so make sure to be comfortable in your seat. I have added headings so you can scroll to where you are interested.
Updates and features
Squares
I have the site taking on a slightly more square/angular look, as I think I prefer it to the rounded icons. The only thing is I got used to the round avatars, so i'll let it simmer for a bit. the home page 'welcome USERNAME' for some reason disregards the CSS changes but I think i'll just leave it round for now since I dont think its a huge deal.
Alt sign ups
I have discord and google sign ups/ins on the site, Twitter have changed their API and require payment to use it now, so i will not be looking at that any further. I do recommend anyone who signs up only uses the alt sign ins if they wouldnt sign up otherwise. There is no direct harm, however I will get the username and email of your other account. This isnt enough to do anything malicious but good OPSEC does ask nicely that you use a separate email for most things. Just a heads up.
Tags
I have added some more tags since December and that should hopefully allow you all to have more things to talk about but also specify more about the topic. For now this isnt a huge thing, but as the site grows and you decide you do/dont want to see things it will help everyone be able to follow certain tags, ie if you want to look at cars but say hate boats/ships, you can only follow the 'Cars' tag and not the 'boats' one. So do be mindful of that please.
Moderation
Jail
I have added a 'jail' tag, this tag will be used for threads that I do not want on the site but think that they serve as examples or the like. So they wont be deleted, but I will retag them and lock them and post an explanation there.
I was going back and forth on the 'Drug General' that was posted the other day and what I wanted to 'do' about it.
I think that if we end up with 20+ posts talking about how great drugs are and how everyone should try them I would have straight up deleted the thread. However the user who set it up did so fairly nicely, with open ended questions and aside from the odd joke post, people replied in a non-circle jerky way. So I think that for now I will allow it, since I think there is room for good discussion there. Perhaps If it became a popular thread I might edit OP to include a 'mandatory drugs bad' bit (i would make very clear where the edit was). Not to get super personal, but I dont want to seem like i'm encouraging any of the harsh drugs or anything like that since I know and have known many people who have ruined themselves over it, so it does make me somewhat uncomfortable in a sense. I am leaning towards how I moderate my fediverse instance (pretty lax) in this regard. But I thought I should at least make my thoughts somewhat clear. Provided the thread doesnt devolve into DUDE WEEEEEED posting or the like, I will keep it up.
Self-advertising
Advertising is a necessary thing for people to get noticed. Basically nobody can get anywhere from just waiting for people to notice. It is a shame but it is just the way of things. I do have a little to say in regard to advertising though. I'll give some examples and discuss. If you have any disagreements please let me know.
we've had a few shill threads, some more aggregious than others.
We had a couple cases like this, someone signs up, posts a thread marked with the entirely wrong tag and with a clear spam link. just 'this is my company, we sell this, buy here:'. and then poof, logged out. This is the kind of thing I will instantly delete.
A more grey area, and this is moreso because I havent really addressed it until now explicitly, which I will now do. I will use HellKitty's thread as an example. Nothing personal to HellKitty since I think theyre alright and are using the site. The thread does serve as a good example though.
'My class doodles' with 3 images and 'hope you enjoy them' as the content. This doesnt leave room for others to post their content aside from critiques of HellKitty's work. IMO a better way to do a thread showing off your things, and somewhat how i've structured most of my threads would be.
'Doodling general' - Thread name example
'I find myself doodling a lot in class and can be surprised with how happy I am with some of them, do you find yourself doodling a lot to either pass the time or complete a drawing?' - Subject example, with either a double post first post or more underneath saying 'here are some of the things i've done recently, I hope you enjoy them'.
This way other users have room to both offer praise/criticism, but also join in and both post their own things, but talk about the act of doodling itself. It may seem nitpicky for me to write a whole section on this, but I have to think in the janny mindset, what is best for the site in terms of giving users a chance to talk. One is more self-centered, one opens the floor to everyone. The 'Photo Thread' by Basile is a good example of someone showing their stuff, but also leaving lots of room for input.
Again, to reiterate, I have nothing against the user in question, and I think the thread has started to pick up a little. I think in future we can be more deliberate with our wording to encourage eachother to communicate.
I may in future create a mega-thread of sorts and merge in any threads like the above example, so that its more cohesive, or maybe just edit the thread OP if there is just one thread on the subject, if I do that I will be sure to make it clear where anything I do is.
on site ads
Since January, I have had Google Adsense on the site, with ads set up to feature on the columns on desktop, and on the footer for both desktop and mobile. By tweaking the settings I have had it set to limited ads, which is an obscure scheme where you only send 1 test cookie to the user, being both better for them (no tracking etc in cookies, except for direct links) and hopefully not needing a cookie consent screen. This was the only way I could use an ad system that is available without wanting to find the nearest noose to swing from.
This more moral stance on ads however does limit the amount of money generated. Over the 2 and a half months, I have made £2.80 from adsense. I think provided the site continues to grow, that money would increase. however at this time, I do not think that the moral weight of using google ads is worth that amount. I may look at doing bespoke ads in future if I get a deal directly with someone/a company. I think as well you guys would prefer something like that to running google ads (yes i know everyone uses adblock lol)
Edit: I have since removed all ads running on the site
Advertising the forum
I have been keeping track of every stat relating to advertising the forum. As most of you are aware, 4chan self serve ads have been the way that I have been growing the site. I have used other sites too, however funnily enough, 4chan has the best ad system and best value for money. I do also enjoy the style of ads and even the process of making them. I also think that the users that have joined have been a good bunch for the most part.
I spend about an average of £200 a month on advertising, although on the longer months I tend to run out of budget for the last week (this month has been a bit tighter so no ads until the end of the month, so user growth may be slow until then)
I am still looking for other good ways to advertise the forum, if any of you know please feel free to comment with any suggestions.
Thank you
I have been getting quite busy with work and so havent been quite as active, however you guys seem to be doing pretty well making threads/posts which I am incredibly happy to see.
Thank you for reading, this has been a bit of a longer one.
I am being a tiny bit more pushy regarding getting eyes on the donation links so anyone who would like to can donate here:
More donation info here
