Remove ads!

[Jamie Anumia]

Question? Does this remove ads for just the nation we purchase it through or puppets included?

I've got forty some puppets, and I'm rather active with twelve of them.

It's on a per-nation basis. As said by [violet]: "This works on a per-nation basis and lasts forever."

[Aglrinia]

Question? Does this remove ads for just the nation we purchase it through or puppets included?

I've got forty some puppets, and I'm rather active with twelve of them.

It's on a per-nation basis. As said by [violet]: "This works on a per-nation basis and lasts forever."

I suppose over time they'll get my $120.oo

[Riemstagrad]

Question? Does this remove ads for just the nation we purchase it through or puppets included?

I've got forty some puppets, and I'm rather active with twelve of them.

So now you can now pay $2.99 to enjoy the site without ads! This works on a per-nation basis and lasts forever.

i put the relevant part in bold.

EDIT: i'm too slow...

[Crushing Our Enemies]

If a nation with a supporter account is deleted for rules breaking, could they transfer that status to another nation?

[Jamie Anumia]

If a nation with a supporter account is deleted for rules breaking, could they transfer that status to another nation?

From the T&C:

In the case of nations deleted for violating site rules, terms, or conditions, purchases are lost along with the account(s). Purchases don't grant exemptions from site rules: upgraded accounts are treated no differently from other users when it comes to moderation/policing.

[Aglrinia]

Suggestion:
Would it be possible to add nations to a cart, instead of going through the constant repetitive process of one checking out one nation at a time?

[Sichuan Pepper]

I like that idea Aglrinia. I intend to use this feature for Christmas gifts to friends on NS and it would make that process much faster and easier.
Also I might add it to some of my puppets.

[Aglrinia]

I like that idea Aglrinia. I intend to use this feature for Christmas gifts to friends on NS and it would make that process much faster and easier.
Also I might add it to some of my puppets.

This is exactly why I want that idea.

[Romanar]

Wow, looks strange without the ads!

[3lit3]

This is probably the first time I haven't second guessed myself when agreeing to buy something.

[Edward Richtofen]

Short version: You can now remove ads from the site for the modest sum of $2.99 (US).

http://www.nationstates.net/page=store

Long version: Currently, NationStates is 100% ad-supported. This is not ideal because some people don't like ads and would prefer to support the site directly. Also, it's kind of nerve-wracking for us to be 100% dependent on one revenue source, since if that disappears, we can't pay the bills.

So now you can now pay $2.99 to enjoy the site without ads! This works on a per-nation basis and lasts forever.

You can also buy it for another nation as a gift.

I'm pre-announcing it here ahead of a public unveiling on the News page so we can be sure it's all working. I don't think there are any bugs left, but if so, please report them! I will fix up any mistakes. (You should probably not go crazy with purchases, if you're considering doing that, for the first few days of testing.)

There are a few more details on the store page under "Terms & Conditions".

A lot of people have suggested we do this (or a donations page) for a long time, so hopefully it works out! Please let me know of any questions or issues, thanks!

am i allowed to donate larger sums of money?
i am seriously willing to donate $3000 if it will help, if not how about $10,000?

[San Leggera]

What would happen if someone tried to send it as a gift to a nation who had already donated/been gifted?

[Qazox]

The Ads don't bother me any.

[[violet]]

Would it be possible to add nations to a cart, instead of going through the constant repetitive process of one checking out one nation at a time?

It probably would! I'll look into that.

[Republic Of Hell]

The Ads don't bother me any.

But don't you want the warm, fuzzy feeling of reviving NS2 funding NationStates' hard working team?

[[violet]]

am i allowed to donate larger sums of money?
i am seriously willing to donate $3000 if it will help, if not how about $10,000?

Uh... honestly, not really sure what to say to that. That's a lot of money. It's very generous of you, but I'd be concerned about whether (a) you could afford it and (b) you would regret it later.

I know other sites have done a "bounty" kind of thing, where a user offers money for a developer to code a particular feature. It's a little sticky, potentially, since the admins are here out of love, not for financial reward, and a bounty system can mess with that. Plus, of course, there needs to be overlap between what the user wants coded and what admins think is a good idea. But if you were serious about contributing that kind of money, I would feel more comfortable if you were getting a defined result, e.g. buying an admin's time, as opposed to making a general donation.

[Republic Of Hell]

I know other sites have done a "bounty" kind of thing, where a user offers money

I have my credit card, how much to be a game mod?

[[violet]]

What would happen if someone tried to send it as a gift to a nation who had already donated/been gifted?

It tells you so. You don't get charged. I've tested that pretty carefully, including the scenario where two players attempt to gift to the same nation at the exact same moment.

[[violet]]

I have my credit card, how much to be a game mod?

You couldn't afford it.

[Sanctaria]

I know other sites have done a "bounty" kind of thing, where a user offers money

I have my credit card, how much to be a game mod?

Exactly this.

I'm concerned as how far along this road will go. Are we going to stop at this "supporter" account? Although I've donated, because it's a small amount, I'm also concerned at the language used too - "upgraded account".

We all know NS2 was a failure, and a lot of that was to do with the fact money had to change hands to get stuff done. I'm loathe to see NS go down that route.

[Republic Of Hell]

You couldn't afford it.

[Aglrinia]

I have my credit card, how much to be a game mod?

Exactly this.

I'm concerned as how far along this road will go. Are we going to stop at this "supporter" account? Although I've donated, because it's a small amount, I'm also concerned at the language used too - "upgraded account".

We all know NS2 was a failure, and a lot of that was to do with the fact money had to change hands to get stuff done. I'm loathe to see NS go down that route.

It's just ad removal...

[Qazox]

The Ads don't bother me any.

But don't you want the warm, fuzzy feeling of reviving NS2 funding NationStates' hard working team?

I would, that's why I'll (once my next check comes in) pay to remove them.

Is there any other way to pay for it w/o using PayPal?

[[violet]]

I'm concerned as how far along this road will go. Are we going to stop at this "supporter" account? Although I've donated, because it's a small amount, I'm also concerned at the language used too - "upgraded account".

We all know NS2 was a failure, and a lot of that was to do with the fact money had to change hands to get stuff done. I'm loathe to see NS go down that route.

It's a fair concern. I think one of the reasons we have a great community is that we never attempted to split people into free and premium members. That kind of thing can be quite corrosive, in my opinion, even if what people are buying is not very important (e.g. cosmetic additions). I can tell you we'll never sell improved nation stats or anything like that. I'm not sure exactly what you could buy in NS2, but I know they built that game around the idea of encouraging players to constantly pay for stuff, which never sat right with any of us here.

That said, I think we're all in favor of NS sticking around, for which we need a reliable source of revenue. We've been ad-supported for the last three or four years, which has been okay but not ideal, for a few reasons including that ads kind of suck. There are players who'd prefer to pay for an ad-free NS, so I think this one is pretty much a no-brainer.

Now, to the future: yes, we are looking at other options for the NS store. The main one is (warning: spoilers) telegrams. For the last ten years, nations have been restricted to 10 or 20 telegrams in their inbox, because that was all we could support without hitting server performance problems. There's no gameplay advantage to having a larger inbox; it's just a technical limitation. If players could pay a small amount for more storage, I think that makes sense. And what I hope we'll do with the new TG system, when it finally arrives, is deliver major improvements for everybody (for free!), but also allow people who want to seriously tax that system to do so, by paying a small amount--e.g. let them buy an inbox with unlimited storage. It's not possible to offer that feature to everyone, but we can do it for a small number of people, and if they're basically keeping the game free for everyone else, I think that would be great.

Anyway, right now we're just hoping to find out whether Supporter accounts are going to offset the loss of ad revenue. But I agree with your concern, and we're going into this very carefully, which I hope is kind of evident from how it took us 10 years even to get ad-free accounts. Or maybe that's just laziness. But either way, we are all pretty committed to the site as it is today and we have no plans to screw it up.

[Aglrinia]

(warning: spoilers)

telegrams. For the last ten years, nations have been restricted to 10 or 20 telegrams in their inbox, because that was all we could support without hitting server performance problems. There's no gameplay advantage to having a larger inbox; it's just a technical limitation. If players could pay a small amount for more storage, I think that makes sense. And what I hope we'll do with the new TG system, when it finally arrives, is deliver major improvements for everybody (for free!), but also allow people who want to seriously tax that system to do so, by paying a small amount--e.g. let them buy an inbox with unlimited storage. It's not possible to offer that feature to everyone, but we can do it for a small number of people, and if they're basically keeping the game free for everyone else, I think that would be great.

Anyway, right now we're just hoping to find out whether Supporter accounts are going to offset the loss of ad revenue. But I agree with your concern, and we're going into this very carefully, which I hope is kind of evident from how it took us 10 years even to get ad-free accounts. Or maybe that's just laziness. But either way, we are all pretty committed to the site as it is today and we have no plans to screw it up.

O__O Do want..., maybe I'll be nice and every payday i'll pay for ad removal for three random people.