Out of the Blue

My recent post about being dropped again by the Amazon affiliate program prompted renewed calls for a Blue's News Patreon. Since advertising revenue is not supporting the site, it seems the time is upon us for the first steps and launch a pilot program. Patreon is something Frans and I have been discussing for some time, and our planned rewards for patrons include an ad-free version of the site. But implementing and testing this is not ready to happen yet, as it has taken a back-seat to our ongoing responsive redesign, which is still being completed. Also, since I do not have firm ideas about what sort of payments would seem appropriate, experimentation before things take a final form makes sense. Patreon suggests three supporter tiers starting at a minimum of $3.00/month. So I'll start things off by asking for feedback on what everyone thinks about that, what would be appropriate for higher tiers, and what you might eventually expect in return. It may be farfetched to imagine paying more than that basic starting price. Especially for now, since to begin, aside from supporter designations in the forums, self-satisfaction will be the main reward for every tier. But if some of you are in a position to comfortably go above and beyond, it will probably be a big factor in how successful this will be towards a self-sustaining Blue's News. So please feel free to express thoughts on Patreon, pricing tiers, and rewards in the forums or by email. And a big thank you to everyone who has expressed interest in helping in this way.

Patronizing Links: Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.
Play: Minesweeper Classic Online.
Link: Westminster Dog Show 2020: Breed results, winners, standard poodle wins Best in Show. Somewhere Gunnar-man is smiling.
Stories: Con men scam $1 million from isolated Mennonite craftsman by claiming to be Illuminati. Waiting for my cut. Thanks Yiddish.
Angela Hewitt's rare Fazioli piano dropped by movers.
Disneyland raises ticket prices, breaking the $200-a-day mark.
Science: NASA Prepares for Moon and Mars With New Addition to Its Deep Space Network.
Media: THE FRENCH DISPATCH - Official Trailer. New Wes Anderson.
Doctor Reacts to Reckless Medical Memes.
LAURA DERN.
Auctions: Hockney painting makes splash, sells at auction for $30M. More of a footnball man myself. Thanks Max.
Follow-up: Covid-19: The new coronavirus disease now officially has a name. Thanks RedEye9.
How novel coronavirus spread across the world – visual explainer. Thanks RedEye9.
Got A Cold? A Body Of Research Shows Zinc Supplements Can Help. Thanks RedEye9.