What's special about being a PC supporter ?

[Renpuu]

These are just very general questions from someone who enjoys being on Pokecommunity but is not classed as a "Supporter".
I don't know much about being a Pokecommunity supporter, but those who are a supporter or not, I'd like the following questions to be answered.

Official questions:
If you have not donated, why not ?
If you have donated, why did you do so ?
Where do you feel your money goes ?
Why is there a tier system ?

I'll kick this topic off by asking my own questions.

Now I'm not trying to be-little Pokecommunity supporters, in the end it was your decision to donate any sum of money to the Pokecommunity forum, just as the same as it is another forum member's choice to not donate any money to the forum.
If I donated money to the forum..how would the forum benefit ?
I don't see any signs saying "Pokecommunity is going bankrupt, we need financial support for servers to be hosted" or "Pokecommunity is raising money for 'this charity' any donations are grateful etc."
I've chosen to not donate any money, because I don't feel that the forum NEEDs my money.

IF I did donate money to the forum, I would like it go towards the general maintenance of the forum and ensure that the server is up at all times.

What I don't understand however is why there is a tier system in the supporters. I mean surely if I gave £100 of my hard money through a donation, that would make me a better supporter than someone who has continually supported the growth and development of the forum itself with smaller donations ?
In that example, £100 may be nothing to me and I could be a very wealthy person, but the person who has worked really hard doing scripting,admin/mod work and been consistent with putting high quality work/effort to the forum should not be given equal recognition ?

Personally I don't feel there SHOULD be a tier system with supporters. Everyone puts in their 2 cents, works hard and makes the forum a happy and welcoming place to be.
Why should we belittle donations that are small when somebody worked hard to give the forum that money ?

[Team Fail]

If you have donated, why did you do so ?
I did it, not for the perks, but because I like the community, the members, and I'd like to see the site go on.
Where do you feel your money goes ?
I believe, with a high degree of certainty, that it goes towards maintaining the site, costs, upgrades, etc etc.

Originally Posted by Renpuu

Why is there a tier system ?IF I did donate money to the forum, I would like it go towards the general maintenance of the forum and ensure that the server is up at all times.

That's what the donations go towards, and nothing else. The tier system is used to give features to those that donate. The more they donate, the better the features you get.

Originally Posted by Renpuu

What I don't understand however is why there is a tier system in the supporters. I mean surely if I gave £100 of my hard money through a donation, that would make me a better supporter than someone who has continually supported the growth and development of the forum itself with smaller donations ?
In that example, £100 may be nothing to me and I could be a very wealthy person, but the person who has worked really hard doing scripting,admin/mod work and been consistent with putting high quality work/effort to the forum should not be given equal recognition ?

They're considered equal, but the people that do the scripting are doing it on their own terms, and mods get most of the benefits that supporters get, like the extra PM space, blog access, VIP forum access, and the style boards, although some of the perks are exclusive to VIP members.

[machomuu]

I'm considering donating 25 bucks. Would a US only gift card (Visa, Mastercard, etc.) work for donation?

[Hikari10]

I didn't donate cos my mother is strict and won't let me do those sorts of things.

I got my Supporter title as a gift for my birthday when Toujours won it as a competition prize during PCX and after she found out my birthday was after the event finished she gave her Supporter prize to me. I ended up being a Tier 4 for 3 weeks and then a gift donation from PEDRO12 took me to Tier 5.

For where the donations go I think it's to help maintain the site, deal with vBulletin license costs, upgrades and more.

The tier system is probably to give better rewards to those who donate more.

[Bloodex]

I donated 10 bucks via snail mail. Got my blue username in about three days. As for why I did it, I guess it's cause I felt like it's the least I could do to repay the site. Back when I joined, this site really meant a lot to me, and still does. I guess it got me to realize myself as a person. Also, I had 10 bucks to spare, so yeah.

And the money goes to maintaining the forum, specifically server stuff (I hope). Doubt Rukario uses the money to go get so liquor =P

As for the tier system, I think that's a fun add on, while at the same time it categorizes people who've donated how much. Donating 100 bucks is different from donating 5 bucks, and the tier system is a nice way to sort that out.

[droomph]

$2 a month, baby. I have the income and spending ability of a poor person on meth so I can't really "donate" $100 at a time. But I'll drag it out the long way and that way Steve can buy his crack hits once a year. /sarcasm

I dunno if my donation helps (If you only have $2 it's pretty much useless for anything) but I just like to fantasize at night that the server is flawless because he needed two more dollars that month to pay the tax on the electricity and the rent or something.

Oh also, like yeah who wouldn't want the benefits. It's just like donating to KQED. Lovely, you got yourself some radio programs, but YOU ALSO WANT THAT PHOTO-ZINE WHATEVER IT IS

[Livewire]

Putting this here because it's about questions about a specific feature of PC, namely being a supporter. Wider audience for the questions as well. :)

[Spherical Ice]

I definitely donated because I wanted the perks. But I do spend most my time here, so it's a win-win really.

(im ashamed at you guys' dishonesty. you donated for the perks)

[Leaf Storm]

At first, when I was a new member here, I donated to the site because at most I wanted the perks. I kinda, sorta aimed for the blog and nothing else. Second time I donated on this account, I mainly wanted to support it...didn't care for the perks.

Why did I donate? Because I love PC. I am attached to it. So, I feel it definitely deserves donations, because it's pretty much the best site to go to. I've pretty much put forth about $50 towards PC, combining both my old account and this account. And to be honest, I'm quite proud. I'm pretty sure everyone who has donated here felt proud of themselves for donating to PC, right?

It's not an obligation, but many of us do it because we care about PC.

@macho - If it's a prepaid debit card, Paypal *should* accept it.

[Hikari10]

Originally Posted by Leaf Storm

At first, when I was a new member here, I donated to the site because at most I wanted the perks. I kinda, sorta aimed for the blog and nothing else.

This was me when I first joined, I wanted supportership so I could have the blog and the fancy profile.

And look where I am now haha! Supporter changed me a lot and made me care more about PC.

[Twilight Sky]

Mmmm...supportership is kind of a thing that just varies from person to person, I suppose you could say. Everyone has their different reasons for donating, or perhaps similar reasons~! I share a common reason with most of the people that have already donated in the sense that I desired tier 5 for the perks(except that someone donated for me at the time, since I couldn't donate on my own).

I'd have to say though, if I were to donate again though, it'd probably just be for the perks of tier 6, too. :x Though admittedly, it would also be partially for the community, too.

[Renpuu]

So what is exactly the difference between tier 1-6 in terms of features ?
Wouldn't it be more fair if you just donated a set amount, that you gained access to ALL the features and abolished this "tier system" ?

[MidnightShine]

tbh, i donated for the tier 5 perk which sounds awesome right?

imo, if u set a fixed amount, it would be boring and people would be like......
duhh i just donate and boom all sorts of features yippee

tiers make it more interesting

[Hikari10]

Originally Posted by Renpuu

So what is exactly the difference between tier 1-6 in terms of features ?
Wouldn't it be more fair if you just donated a set amount, that you gained access to ALL the features and abolished this "tier system" ?

Tier 1 - Access to Styles Testing
Tier 2 - Access to blogs
Tier 3 - Access to VIP Forum, 150 x 150 avatars
Tier 4 - Extra PM space, up to 1,000
Tier 5 - PokeCommunity email, can be made by PMing Rukario

Not sure about the Tier 6 perks though. Profile pic size also increases with higher tiers.

[Kura]

I see the different tiers as little incentives to persuade people to donate more :3 They are like little treats for saying thanks.

[Patchisou Yutohru]

I donated because I wanted my name to stand out and I wanted a PC email address. Supporting PC wasn't on my mind. I donated for the perks. I used that as an excuse to donate, though. I told my grandfather the site was closing and needed money to continue to function and that I wanted to help. Since I guess he figured I spent a lot of time here, he did it for me. I think I was only here for about four months before I donated. Then I got promoted to moderator. Had I known that I would have gotten promoted and have gotten those perks anyway, I wouldn't have donated. I also donated on behalf of BeachBoy, Forever, and Toshiro.

[PersianTrainer]

I donated since I love this community and would love to see for a long time. I haven't donated for a while. Medication and doctor visits prevent me from donating often (run out of funds too quickly) I may donate again in March or April

[Lunar Crescent]

I'd donate if i can, since Paypal isn't accepted for Macedonia i guess i will wait till i can donate via Mobile, if that happens!
I think people donate to benefit the site, and make the site stay alive even though im sure it will stay alive!

[Toshiro.]

I donated a long time ago, in like 2009 when I first joined, because I wanted an italic blue name haha. But, I didn't have the ability donate a lot, I was tier 1 which was like only $5. And I did that by actually sending $5 to Rukario is the mail, not online haha. So actually donating to help the community wasn't really on my mind since it was such a small amount.

[Corvidae]

Well I donated just because I had a little extra cash and figured, "Why not?". Heh. I do sometimes use the blog though.

The nice thing is that it never expires. You don't need to subscribe to keep the perks, so that's cool. I might donate again sometime soon.

[Renpuu]

Cirno just quoted me in order to be a tier 6 supporter you need to donate over 100 US dollars ? is this true ?

I mean why can't you just make a set price of like 10-20 USD and allow people to benefit from all these features or a monthly 1-3 USD subscription ?
I mean for the benefits of being a tier 2 supporter, you can just make a free blogs website and just link people to it O_o ?
Bigger avatars and access for being a tier 3 supporter ? What topics are even in a V.I.P section O_O ?

PM space and emails ? Big whoop ? I can't see how that can warrant more moneys when you can create a free email address straight away from google,yahoo,msn etc. ?

Abolishing tiers will stop this stupid "dick measuring" of who can give the most money,have the highest tier name and allow people of all budgets to afford and appreciate the features which come to being a PC supporter.

[Corvidae]

Well a lot of people just donate because they like the site. I mean that's the reason I did. I wouldn't personally spend 100$ on it but I still don't mind pitching in. It isn't just about the perks...

I prefer not having a subscription because then I don't have to deal with all that crap with handling the subscription; plus I don't come here enough to really warrant a subscription (but I did donate because I like the site). I mean, I personally really appreciate the way it is and really am glad it ISN'T a subscription, since that'd be so much easier on Rukario's part.

[Twilight Sky]

Originally Posted by Renpuu

I mean why can't you just make a set price of like 10-20 USD and allow people to benefit from all these features or a monthly 1-3 USD subscription ?
I mean for the benefits of being a tier 2 supporter, you can just make a free blogs website and just link people to it O_o ?
Bigger avatars and access for being a tier 3 supporter ? What topics are even in a V.I.P section O_O ?

PM space and emails ? Big whoop ? I can't see how that can warrant more moneys when you can create a free email address straight away from google,yahoo,msn etc. ?

Abolishing tiers will stop this stupid "dick measuring" of who can give the most money,have the highest tier name and allow people of all budgets to afford and appreciate the features which come to being a PC supporter.

Is it necessary? No. Is it required by any means? No. I certainly cannot speak for the staff here, but I think it was mentioned somewhere in this thread(and if not, I'll mention it in my post) that the tiers are nothing more than really thank-you gifts for donating. There was a time in PC where tiers didn't exist, and they were actually a new concept and whatnot, and it seemed to have worked out really well based on whatever people wanted to donate to. For example, if they wanted a bigger avatar/bigger PM box, then they would either need to donate 20 bucks or become a recurring supporter, it's not really that difficult at all.

And yes, to be able to become tier 6, one would need to donate $100, something that a fair few amount of people were able to do. However, you have to realize that it's not a requirement to donate that much money, nor is it said anywhere that you can donate that money all at one time. You can donate a little bit at a time, as it would still count and accumulate with your tier/total donation amount. Therefore, I don't really see it as something that's unfair or far-fetched by any means. It might be quite a bit, but again, that tier is for those who have some series dedication for this place(or just prefer the fancy tier 6 perks, either way goes. XD).

I mean, I suppose I can see a lot of the points you're making, in the sense that a lot of these features you can pretty much do elsewhere. I don't know about anyone else here, but I personally don't use the PC email address, but it's always an option and it's there in case you want to have access to it. And PM space is actually a pretty big deal for most people. Maybe some of us like to save PMs for nostalgia's sake, or maybe some of us host events and need to mass send/receive PMs for them, who knows? Either way, we need to have the extra PM space in order to do so. I myself have around 500 PMs, and while I don't receive PMs that often, I take solace in the fact that I have an extra 500 PM space to go around before it's full, and if I wanted more, I could just donate to tier 6 and get 200 extra PMs, which seems fair to me. o_O

See, what's presented here as far as supportership is concerned is a choice. You are not required to use your blog, hell, you are not required to even post in the VIP forum or even notice that it's there, to be quite honest. You might not find them useful, but there might be others that will. There are a few people here and there that treasure PM space, there are a few people here that love big avatars, and there are still people that post in the VIP forum, so all of the "perks", so to speak, isn't useless or any form of "dick measuring" at all, in which I'll get into next.

What makes you feel that this is, in any way, a dick measuring contest? Can you link or show me anywhere in where there are two supporters in two different tiers competing for perks or something like that? I don't see anyone(especially the tier 6-ers) going: "lol i have more perks than you, you suck lmfao", so I'm really failing to understand where you getting that from, no offense here. It seems like you're just targeting a problem that really doesn't, in fact, exist.

[LilJz1234]

I want to donate for the extra perks and to support this site. So I'm basically going two ways for this. For me AND the site. This site is awesome and donating would be pretty much helpful for it. But as of right now, I'm kind of low on cash.. so I don't know when I'll be able to donate..

[Ultimate PKMN Trainer Red]

You get the perks, like, access to 2 forums and 1 blog, more PM messages space, larger profile and avatar pictures, you can make a blog..etc. I really want a supportership...sigh...too bad I can't donate...