More Perks For Supporters Please

[Phydios]

Xero:

• You can easily access a nation's page by clicking on their flag/avatar anywhere that it appears.
• Making NS pay-to-win is bad. Very bad. And the idea of restricting the Moderation forum to site supporters only is surpassingly horrific. It is even worse than that proposal I saw over two years ago to split all the forum functions (RPs, chat threads, technical support, etc) into completely separate areas of the site "because Facebook and Twitter do it". As thanks for supporting the site, supporters receive a few bonus features that affect only minor areas of the site. Non-supporters are not seriously handicapped by not having these features.
  Mods don't do official business through personal telegrams, so your idea would make non-supporters go through supporters for any Moderation business at all. That would have roughly the same effect on Moderation as firing half of the mod team- to say nothing of the horrid behavior and rampant abuse that it would encourage in supporters! If your idea were to actually be implemented, the resulting furious outrage would be greater than "Liberate Haven" and the May Massacre combined. Much greater. And I, despite being a P-G, would be leaving immediately and permanently, barring an immediate reversal and effusive repentance of the decision. No, no, no, NO!!
• I forgot everything else that I wanted to say, except this: there is a truth that has been stated here, yet you still seem unable to grasp it. Making money is not the first and foremost goal of Max Barry for this site. NationStates is not nearly as profitable as it could possibly be, but it is probably as profitable as it could ethically be.

[Xerographica]

Have you even shared one idea in this thread about how to increase value for Supporters?

I'm not the one who thinks we need one. You, and maybe one or two other posters in this thread are the only ones to have this idea since the introduction of Supporter accounts.

A small one time payment to get rid of ads permanently and prevents reuse of the nation names seems like a terrific value. Two slightly larger, but still one time payments improves private communication. I don't see a need for more. I don't see a need for metrics on why we need more. I don't see any suggestions in this thread that are useful, reasonable, and balanced.

Though now that I think of it, I did share one. It's not feasible at the moment, but it might eventually happen. And it's a big one - sharing your Supporter account across all your puppets.

The one suggestion that you shared isn't relevant to me, given that I don't have any puppets.

[Valentine Z]

Another side note: If you consider making Moderation duties to be accessible through payments, it will go extremely, extremely wrong.

Ask YouTube Heroes. History CANNOT repeat itself here.

YouTube Heroes is a program introduced by YouTube offering rewards and incentives to users who contribute to the site by providing subtitles to videos, moderating comments and reporting videos for violating the site's Terms of Service.

The one suggestion that you shared isn't relevant to me, given that I don't have any puppets.

True, but to be fair, it will be relevant for people like me (13 puppets), or those with 100+ of them.

[Frisbeeteria]

The one suggestion that you shared isn't relevant to me, given that I don't have any puppets.

Oops. Sorry. I forgot that any changes in this thread must focus first on serving your needs, not the vast majority of players. I'm suitably chastened.

[Lockdownn]

Question, would anyone be interested in a flashy badge on the main-nation page?

I do understand that there is already a badge on the bottom of the page but I figured since suggestions were being thrown out there, I figured this would be worth a shot.

Similar to this?:

[Phydios]

Another side note: If you consider making Moderation duties any leadership position whatsoever to be accessible through payments up for sale in any way, shape, or form, it will go extremely, extremely wrong.

Fixed that for you.

[Valentine Z]

Another side note: If you consider making Moderation duties any leadership position whatsoever to be accessible through payments up for sale in any way, shape, or form, it will go extremely, extremely wrong.

Fixed that for you.

Touché !

[Xerographica]

You can easily access a nation's page by clicking on their flag/avatar anywhere that it appears.

Thanks, I realized that after I posted it.

Making NS pay-to-win is bad. Very bad. And the idea of restricting the Moderation forum to site supporters only is surpassingly horrific.

Part of what made the idea a bit sticky for me was that moderators have been complaining that they don't have enough time. At my friend's elementary school there's a person who has two jobs... 1. helping with things like getting the students Google accounts and 2. helping with disciplinary issues. But she ends up spending all her time dealing with mostly frivolous disciplinary issues because the teachers don't want to deal with these issues themselves. As a result, all the kids end up being far less computer literate than they should be.

It is even worse than that proposal I saw over two years ago to split all the forum functions (RPs, chat threads, technical support, etc) into completely separate areas of the site "because Facebook and Twitter do it".

A division of labor is generally a good thing.

If your idea were to actually be implemented, the resulting furious outrage would be greater than "Liberate Haven" and the May Massacre combined. Much greater. And I, despite being a P-G, would be leaving immediately and permanently, barring an immediate reversal and effusive repentance of the decision. No, no, no, NO!!

Personally, as far as I can remember, I've never once asked any moderators for help. Well, I've asked them to stop locking my threads. So I suppose this is the equivalent of asking them to stop helping.

But if somebody truly values moderation so highly then they should be willing to pay a one time price of $3 dollars in order to post in the moderation forum. Anyways, I never said that this is a good idea. Then again, I never said that it's a bad idea.

I forgot everything else that I wanted to say, except this: there is a truth that has been stated here, yet you still seem unable to grasp it. Making money is not the first and foremost goal of Max Barry for this site. NationStates is not nearly as profitable as it could possibly be, but it is probably as profitable as it could ethically be.

But this is like saying that making money is not the first and foremost goal of the Red Cross. Well yeah, but the more money it receives, the more effectively it can accomplish its goal.

[Xerographica]

The one suggestion that you shared isn't relevant to me, given that I don't have any puppets.

Oops. Sorry. I forgot that any changes in this thread must focus first on serving your needs, not the vast majority of players. I'm suitably chastened.

I wasn't trying to chastise or criticize you. I wasn't saying that your idea is bad or stupid or ridiculous. I was simply stating that your suggestion wouldn't personally benefit me. Do all suggestions have to personally benefit me? Of course not. But of course it would be nice if you did make a suggestion that benefited all supporters.

[Aureumterra]

Lately I've been trying to encourage more people to chip in to help support NationStates... here's my most recent attempt. I haven't had much success. Well yeah, free-riding is a real problem. This problem can be reduced by offering more perks. Naturally my favorite idea for a perk is voting-with-donations. For example, donations could be used to rank/prioritize suggestions. Here are a few other possible perks...

- Colorful username for supporters in the "WHO IS ONLINE" section. Moderators have red usernames, and the people on the secretariat have pink usernames. I've seen some people with green + bold usernames... what does this mean? (it means role play mentors)

- Supporters should have their own forum. What would we discuss? Let's find out!

- Supporters stay logged in forever. This is the only forum I participate in where I have to log in each day.

- Postmaster generals receive a signed digital copy of one of Max Barry's books. Ok, it doesn't have to be signed.

- Each year one postmaster general wins something really cool.

Are these perks of any interest? Can anybody think of more desirable perks?

Also, it would be really great if it was super easy to buy Supporter/Postmaster/Postmaster general for other members. Merry Christmas! Happy Birthday! Happy Arbor Day! Happy Earth Day! [This option already exists!]

I just tried to buy a gift for Maqo, but it didn't work because he's an ex-nation. It would be nice if the gift could function as virtual CPR.

[updated for attempts at clarity]

While I do agree with supporters having many perks over normal players, I don’t want NS to become Fortnite, where the people who spend money on the game are basically higher members of society and get judged based on it. One look at NSG shows that there’s enough toxicity on this website to allow that

[Xerographica]

While I do agree with supporters having many perks over normal players, I don’t want NS to become Fortnite, where the people who spend money on the game are basically higher members of society and get judged based on it. One look at NSG shows that there’s enough toxicity on this website to allow that

I've never played Fortnite before. What are the perks of paying?

[Aureumterra]

While I do agree with supporters having many perks over normal players, I don’t want NS to become Fortnite, where the people who spend money on the game are basically higher members of society and get judged based on it. One look at NSG shows that there’s enough toxicity on this website to allow that

I've never played Fortnite before. What are the perks of paying?

Well for one you get extra skins, more emotes, more harvesters, gliders, back blings etc. Whenever you see someone with that stuff, most people treat them like higher members of society and it really makes the game a sort-of pay-to-win (or more like pay to earn respect, since most of the items are cosmetic)

[Frisbeeteria]

Part of what made the idea a bit sticky for me was that moderators have been complaining that they don't have enough time.

I've never seen such a compliant. I've stated many times that we're not 'on post' 24/7/365, because we're volunteers, not a paid help desk. That said, most forum tasks get response within a couple hours or shorter. Gameside requests are typically processed in about the same timespan. More complicated requests (and there aren't many) can take a little longer.

Even with that, there's a certain amount of competition between the mods to grab the tasks first (for Mod Olympics points, if nothing else). I get complaints that I resolve too many of the tasks while others are at work or school. There are a few of us who have far too much time to devote to the site. When we're online, tasks can be resolved in seconds, not hours.

In short, a solution in search of a problem.

[Eclius]

Lately I've been trying to encourage more people to chip in to help support NationStates... here's my most recent attempt. I haven't had much success. Well yeah, free-riding is a real problem. This problem can be reduced by offering more perks. Naturally my favorite idea for a perk is voting-with-donations. For example, donations could be used to rank/prioritize suggestions. Here are a few other possible perks...

- Colorful username for supporters in the "WHO IS ONLINE" section. Moderators have red usernames, and the people on the secretariat have pink usernames. I've seen some people with green + bold usernames... what does this mean? (it means role play mentors)

- Supporters should have their own forum. What would we discuss? Let's find out!

- Supporters stay logged in forever. This is the only forum I participate in where I have to log in each day.

- Postmaster generals receive a signed digital copy of one of Max Barry's books. Ok, it doesn't have to be signed.

- Each year one postmaster general wins something really cool.

Are these perks of any interest? Can anybody think of more desirable perks?

Also, it would be really great if it was super easy to buy Supporter/Postmaster/Postmaster general for other members. Merry Christmas! Happy Birthday! Happy Arbor Day! Happy Earth Day! [This option already exists!]

I just tried to buy a gift for Maqo, but it didn't work because he's an ex-nation. It would be nice if the gift could function as virtual CPR.

[updated for attempts at clarity]

Ok, this sounds no different than EA's Battlefront 2. Please don't do this, more people will lose interest in NS.

[Lockdownn]

Question, would anyone be interested in a flashy badge on the main-nation page?

I do understand that there is already a badge on the bottom of the page but I figured since suggestions were being thrown out there, I figured this would be worth a shot.

Similar to this?:

(Image)

The main reason I suggest this is; it seems, to me at least, to be a middle ground suggestion.

[Eclius]

No kidding, if NS suddenly turns into a pay-to-win kind of thing (similar to the idea you've suggested), then I'm quitting NS, quite certain a lot people will do the same or gradually do the same. You don't understand the fundamental point of NS, which is to provide a space for people to RP, chat, make friends and have fun together. Rather than a profit-driven pay-to-win game like Battlefront 2.

[Aureumterra]

Lately I've been trying to encourage more people to chip in to help support NationStates... here's my most recent attempt. I haven't had much success. Well yeah, free-riding is a real problem. This problem can be reduced by offering more perks. Naturally my favorite idea for a perk is voting-with-donations. For example, donations could be used to rank/prioritize suggestions. Here are a few other possible perks...

- Colorful username for supporters in the "WHO IS ONLINE" section. Moderators have red usernames, and the people on the secretariat have pink usernames. I've seen some people with green + bold usernames... what does this mean? (it means role play mentors)

- Supporters should have their own forum. What would we discuss? Let's find out!

- Supporters stay logged in forever. This is the only forum I participate in where I have to log in each day.

- Postmaster generals receive a signed digital copy of one of Max Barry's books. Ok, it doesn't have to be signed.

- Each year one postmaster general wins something really cool.

Are these perks of any interest? Can anybody think of more desirable perks?

Also, it would be really great if it was super easy to buy Supporter/Postmaster/Postmaster general for other members. Merry Christmas! Happy Birthday! Happy Arbor Day! Happy Earth Day! [This option already exists!]

I just tried to buy a gift for Maqo, but it didn't work because he's an ex-nation. It would be nice if the gift could function as virtual CPR.

[updated for attempts at clarity]

Ok, this sounds no different than EA's Battlefront 2. Please don’t do this, more people will lose interest in NS.

That’s what happened to Fortnite, also a big reason why the community there is so toxic. If you think NS can’t be that toxic, you’ve never been on NSG

[Eclius]

While I do agree with supporters having many perks over normal players, I don’t want NS to become Fortnite, where the people who spend money on the game are basically higher members of society and get judged based on it. One look at NSG shows that there’s enough toxicity on this website to allow that

I've never played Fortnite before. What are the perks of paying?

The issue is, you're trying to turn NS into a profit-driven pay-to-win site that people will consequently lose interest than to gain interest. If you do that, people will make other free forums for RPs and chats, and NS will lose more players and consequently, more donations. The idea is this, you can ask for whatever price you'd like, add however many DLCs and paid perks, however, at the end of the day, it's up to the players on whether or not to pay for them.

[Sacara]

Question, would anyone be interested in a flashy badge on the main-nation page?

I do understand that there is already a badge on the bottom of the page but I figured since suggestions were being thrown out there, I figured this would be worth a shot.

Similar to this?:

(Image)

First decent proposal I've seen on this thread.

[Eclius]

Also, please no paid forums, this is preposterous, it will turn NS into a literally greed-driven mess.

[Xerographica]

I've never played Fortnite before. What are the perks of paying?

The issue is, you're trying to turn NS into a profit-driven pay-to-win site that people will consequently lose interest than to gain interest. If you do that, people will make other free forums for RPs and chats, and NS will lose more players and consequently, more donations. The idea is this, you can ask for whatever price you'd like, add however many DLCs and paid perks, however, at the end of the day, it's up to the players on whether or not to pay for them.

None of my suggestions have had anything to do with paying to win. Like I said, I don't even play the game, I solely participate in the forums.

[Eclius]

The issue is, you're trying to turn NS into a profit-driven pay-to-win site that people will consequently lose interest than to gain interest. If you do that, people will make other free forums for RPs and chats, and NS will lose more players and consequently, more donations. The idea is this, you can ask for whatever price you'd like, add however many DLCs and paid perks, however, at the end of the day, it's up to the players on whether or not to pay for them.

None of my suggestions have had anything to do with paying to win. Like I said, I don't even play the game, I solely participate in the forums.

Well, as aforementioned, the fundamental idea is the same. You want an exclusive forum for paid people, this is preposterous, either it will be cold and inactive for months and months, or the fact that NS just got more paid perks will drive more people away from the site.

[Xerographica]

None of my suggestions have had anything to do with paying to win. Like I said, I don't even play the game, I solely participate in the forums.

Well, as aforementioned, the fundamental idea is the same. You want an exclusive forum for paid people, this is preposterous, either it will be cold and inactive for months and months, or the fact that NS just got more paid perks will drive more people away from the site.

Is there any possibility that the exclusive forum will be super active?

[Xerographica]

Question, would anyone be interested in a flashy badge on the main-nation page?

I do understand that there is already a badge on the bottom of the page but I figured since suggestions were being thrown out there, I figured this would be worth a shot.

Similar to this?:

(Image)

Would this replace the trophy? Or would it go somewhere else on the page?

[Eclius]

Well, as aforementioned, the fundamental idea is the same. You want an exclusive forum for paid people, this is preposterous, either it will be cold and inactive for months and months, or the fact that NS just got more paid perks will drive more people away from the site.

Is there any possibility that the exclusive forum will be super active?

That depends, how many people do you think paid for Darth Vader in Battlefront 2? You don't play those games and I understand, but the fundamental concept is the same, sometimes, greed will not get you anywhere. And I can guarantee you, if you do that, someone (literally could be anyone) will make another forum, a free one for people to chat and RP together. Please stop this, you're trying to turn NS into another Battlefront 2 game. Also, you said earlier that paid people should get suggestion priorities, well in that case, should rich people also be given priorities in life saving organ transplantation?