Well I was planning on posting a link to a petition that I'm using to solve an argument between myself and a friend about every sperm being good and not "killer" as she erroneously has been telling people... but now I'd just feel uncreative and like a leech.

So Thanks a Lot Snide!

And I signed the paypal petition too, I've been saying for years that I'd pay(modestly).

So Thanks a Lot Snide!!!!!

-Heatwave

maybe I should post a link to a petition asking if people want me to post the petition...naah...

Damnit. Sorry I'm on so late today but it's been pretty busy. Anyways, let me clarify some little things about the petition.

1. I asked blue if i could do this. I'm glad he posted it up, I honestly didn't think he would cuz alot of us regulars have been talking about this for years. It does not smell of a hostile takeover, petitiononline was the just the easist thing I could set up.

2. If you read the petition you'll notice I tried to word it so that this wasn't meant as a "donation". The fact is, I love this site, and would just like to pay blue for his service over the years. Period. You donate to charities, I've always looked at this site as a business, and since I doubt Blue would ever move to subscription, this is the best thing I could think of. My payment I'd consider a voluntary fee for services provided.

3. Notice also how it in no way asks anything of Blue or the site, i don't care if he has a million ads or if my name is green on the board. He can do what he wants with this site, it's his site. I'd just like to give the man some cash because that's how I feel about his service.

Yes, he does has tshirts up, but I don't really want one and thats sort of a waste of capital considering I could just give money.

Anyways, please sign the petition if you can. Guess that's about it. Much love to all the regulars out there who got all this running.


Key word here is voluntary. I'm not saying everyone should be paying blue money or he needs money or any other rubbish. I just would like to see the ability for users to do so if they feel so inclined.

This comment was edited on Sep 19, 23:11.

I find it interesting how the request for a PayPal donation link has stirred up so many rumors of Blue badly needing money, Blue changing the site to subscrition basis, Blue begging for money, adding pay-only features, etc, etc. I mean, wow. It's like rumors create themselves.

There is only one issue here that I am aware of. Some of us would like to give Blue money. That's it. We don't expect anything special for it. We just want to donate some of our cash to someone who's efforts we've appreciated.

Now, yes, we could buy shirts. But I for one don't need a t-shirt. I'd rather donate money without losing some to the middle-men. I don't want them to get my donation. Just Blue.

Here's to hoping he adds a simple little button somewhere on the page.

Hmm.. is Blue's News really about to shut down due to lack of funding? Anyway, to those that are banging their heads for a Paypal link, why not just buy a t-shirt every so often? That way you can support Blue without him having to risk the "begger" tag. And later when those t-shirts start to pile up, you can just donate some away to the Salvation Army or your favorite nephew. Foster the young to read Blue's News!

-- Eric W.
(http://riceworld.kansur.com)

$29.95 for characters with only 85 skill. I could do that in one hour for free lol.
I'm sure EA/OSI is only concerned about helping out newbies, they wouldn't try to rip them off..

LOL after installing the demo that you gave the link for I was so taken by the memories that I installed the original that I somehow found in the depthes of my 3.5 archive....

I even have the patch disk that they had to send to fix the episode one secret level (it would crash if you tried to go to it) Don't see that stuff getting sent to people any more

Sigh... the sad thing is I can still get 100% on about every level without even guessing....gee thanks Blue, now I am going to waste all my time playing this just because of your nostalgic findings

Regarding making a Civic do 140mph, according to http://www.honda.co.uk the Civic Type-R can do 146mph going horizontally rather than vertically

Just thought I'd point that out to be pendantic... you know me

I signed the petition - I figure if Blue linked to it he can't be too upset about the idea

The only thing I'd say is to echo Ray's point - no strings attached... I'll pay Blue a donation (probably something modest, I'm currently unemployed ;)) regardless of any benefits. I know how much I use this site, and I'd like to support both the site and its owner!

Cheers,

Rolphus

What if Blue did something like Sluggy? www.sluggy.com

For those who donate.....they get "add free" sluggy....

--------------------------------------------------
Kiss my shiny metal butt

I just read through the comments on the donation page and noticed that some people are expressing their concern about blue "begging/asking" for donations.

Actually I think there's quite a difference between actively asking for money and just having a paypal button on the site. These things depend very much on the way they're implemented. For example, I wouldn't want to visit Bluesnews if it had a start page along the lines of:

"Please support me by clicking HERE. After you've done that click below to see the news."

A simple paypal button below the menu to the left is something entirely different, though. I don't want Blue go around demanding donations (he wouldn't do that anyway :)), but simply to allow me to donate something out of my own free will.

I guess those of us that really want to donate will find a PayPal button no matter how small and bland it looks. And those that don't want to donate will probably not even notice it. So everyone can be happy and as a side effect Blue might even get some money out of it.

Please consider it Stephen! Just a small button somewhere and I'll be happy :).

On the topic of the flies' homosexual tendencies being related to higher temperatures:

Even if for all the wrong reasons, perhaps this will get more fundamentalist christians interested in slowing down global warming, heheh.
I guess you could say I'm a pragmatist.

rist3903

Ah ok. Having no idea what changes you were interested in, my mind came up with some dark images. Thanks for the clarification. It seems fine and well for the visitors of this site to request some changes to how it is operated such as bronco did in his recent post, but when you bring a petition into the picture, there is an implied threat and no small amount of force. I know it doesn't really apply in this case, but usually petitions have the undertone of 'change this or we shall take our business elsewhere'.

rist3903

edited because I misspelled bronco's name. Sorry about that!


This comment was edited on Sep 19, 13:19.

"too many beggers.." that quote right there conjures up an image that has me laughing... I just imagined Blue, taking the role of Eddie Murphy in Trading Places. The part of the movie im talking about is right at the start, where Eddie is in his little box on wheels, rolling around begging for money, pretending to be a blind Vietnam Vet. For some strange reason, I just see Blue rolling around in a blue box askin for money...

I picked the wrong day to quit drinkin mt Dew

Well there are some idiots signing it and saying they wouldn't contribute, hehe...

Well - the petition is to ask Blue to add a Paypal button. If you support this, then you can sign it even if you don't think you will give $$$.

The REAL idiot is the one who said that he's against it as he thinks that Paypal sucks and that there are too many beggars...THAT moron doesn't understand the concept of a petition.

Edit:
Speaking of Paypal/Beggars - That guy has a point, and I understand Stephen's reluctance to add such a button. You don't want to drive ppl away with annoying "Give me Money" PayPal buttons all over the place.

I'm sure that if (when) he eventually agrees to put up such a button, it'll be in the same tasteful manner that the whole site has always been run...

This comment was edited on Sep 19, 11:47.

This gives me chills. The whole idea of taking someone elses idea or implementation of that idea and forcing them to change it bothers me greatly.

I know I wasn't too clear in that post because I've posted on this subject so many times.

What I meant was to use the poll to set up a 'wishlist' that people who might consider paying a subscription fee would like.

It would be silly for Blue to start charging for a service that no one is interested in wouldn't it? Like it or not, we are his customers. A business ignores its customers at its own risk.

I certainly have no delusion of granduer here. This place is Blue's and only his. He makes the call on everything, like his sig file states.

When I say 'implemented around here' I mean things like being able to set up your user account so that it emails you when a topic you posted to is updated. Or being able to launch links that are posted in message bodies in new windows, stuff like that.

Sorry about the chills.



-TPFKAS2S

That is it, basically. I think it is important to give to and appreciate others in general; Blue's News is a site that has been my homepage for...it has been so long that I could not even give you a specific date.

I like PayPal (the idea) because it is a straightforward donation without any strings attached. I think that a few people would donate occasionally and it could only help out the site or just make things a bit easier for Blue and crew.

Likewise, I see it only as a good thing. If nobody donates, nothing changes; Blue still works on his own and keeps on dealing with things as they are. If people do donate, Blue has everything from a meal at fast-food place all the way to not having to worry about dealing with the advertisements or even expanding the site (increased downloads, a staff, etc.)

It really is meant only as a kind, appreciative gesture with a nod to the current internet economy.

Shutting up now :),
Ray

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just say no to anonymous posting newly-registered trolls!

The dontation button is not a problem in and of itself. This is my homepage and has been for years, and I wouldn't mind contributing to it as well if Blue decided to put a donation button on it, but I had a problem with this:

"Now that the ball is rolling on the users side maybe we set up a poll to see what things the users of this site would be interested in seeing implemented around here"

This gives me chills. The whole idea of taking someone elses idea or implementation of that idea and forcing them to change it bothers me greatly.

rist3903

Well there are some idiots signing it and saying they wouldn't contribute, hehe...thanks for bumping up the numbers anyway

It's fair enough if people don't want to donate to Blue's, but many of us who've been visiting (nay relying on) Blue's for many years now feel that Stephen deserves our support, especially in the current climate. It means a lot to us, and we want to both thank Stephen and keep the site going by donating.

It came to this because Blue has been proudly brushing aside our requests for this for ages. Stop being so proud Blue, let us say thanks

Nice one Snide.

This whole petition thing is somewhat disconcerting. It smacks of a hostile takeover by shareholders or something of that nature. This is Stephen's site and he can do with it what he damn well likes.

I think it's just the word "petition" that makes it sound more adversarial than (I'm sure) Snide intended.

I signed it, but I have no intentions other than to express to Blue how willing I am to contribute to the well-being of the site. Nothing more hostile than that. It's not like anyone is saying "I'll stop coming here unless you allow us to give you money, dammit!"

Jeff

>This is Stephen's site and he can do with it what he damn well likes.

That's right, and when the Paypal donation thing is all set up, the money I donate will be with the complete understanding that there are no strings attached.

This comment was edited on Sep 19, 10:59.

This whole petition thing is somewhat disconcerting. It smacks of a hostile takeover by shareholders or something of that nature. This is Stephen's site and he can do with it what he damn well likes.

rist3903