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Introducing a way to support NoFap's expenses (basically a plea for help)

Discussion in 'Rebooting - Porn Addiction Recovery' started by Administrator Account, May 9, 2015.

  1. tl;dr - NoFap, as it is right now, is not sustainable. NoFap needs financial help to survive. If you have extra money, please click here to access the account upgrades page.
    Short Story
    Welcome to the soft-launch of "NoFap Premium", a way to give back to NoFap. NoFap needs to bring in some money to be self-sustainable because I cannot afford to run NoFap 40+ hours per week while also paying all of its expenses out of pocket. If you find NoFap helpful and want to see it improve, please consider pledging either 10 or 20 dollars once per month - you can cancel easily at any time. Every dollar raised will go towards paying our hosting costs and other recurring expenses. If we meet our expenses, money will be reinvested back into improving the website (design, addons, new features).

    Long Story
    Every week, since 2011, I have put dozens of hours per week into NoFap, doing my best to help people quit porn on a non-commercialized platform (reddit, then nofap.com). In the past two years, I have significantly increased this time commitment to well over 40 hours per week. I live and breathe NoFap because I know that it is the best thing that I could do for humanity right now.

    Until very recently, I refused to seriously listen to any reasoning on why I should monetize it or take any money in exchange for my work. I wouldn't do ads, I wouldn't sell merchandise, I wouldn't do anything. I was flat out against it, and had many offers coming in which I refused every one of.

    But then everything started getting a bit too crazy. My responsibilities running the site (both our subreddit and homepage here at NoFap.com) increased as it got more popular. Currently, I am paying for the entire show out of pocket. Because I am super passionate about porn-recovery and know that it positively impacts the world, I am completely happy and willing to lay down over $1000 per month (often more) to improve NoFap.

    I strongly value life experience and helping people over cash. Let me emphasize this more, I really, really, really do not care much about money. I am a very frugal person. If I buy any new clothing at all, you'll find me at a thrift store (or if I am feeling very fancy, getting a 6 dollar shirt at Target). I do not own a car and bike or walk everywhere. I have no real financial aspirations outside of being able to afford food, health care, and frugal comforts. Any extra cash that I come across I always immediately dump into maintaining, growing, and improving NoFap.

    So yeah, things are getting crazy. My workload was nuts with a 40 hour a week job (plus commuting, meal break, etc - so more like 50+ hours per week) and NoFap. I have more recently probably been working on NoFap over 40-50 hours a week, although it is hard to gauge. It isn't just a forum - there is a website, a subreddit, a phone app, day counter system, press, writing, etc. The point is ... my NoFap responsibilities were preventing me from living a fulfilling and healthy life. It is surprising the number of fires I have to put out on a daily basis, all while getting bombarded with all sorts of inquiries and requests (user upgrades, help finding participants for studies, etc). I hardly sleep and have been feeling quite zombieish lately.

    NoFap wasn't being improved, rather I was spending all of my time putting out fires on the website instead of improving it. I brought on many volunteers, but it is definitely hard to find good volunteers that stick around for a long time and are reliable. Managing a team of over 20 volunteers is a job itself :) Thank you so much to @giggleshmack who has been around for a long time and I am just so thankful for his work here. Thank you to our newer moderators (@mumchance, @Anne-Dauphine, @NoBrainer) as well - the operations of this website wouldn't be possible without their hard work. Also thank you to the many other volunteers who help keep our subreddit and other facets afloat.

    So at this point I realize that something had to give. I still never made a dime off of it but was spending ALL of my time working on NoFap (weekends and nights), along with a ton of money. Either I would work myself to death, or NoFap would just never grow because I wouldn't have the time and/or money to improve the website. This was the point where I figured out that I couldn't do it completely out of pocket forever, otherwise it just wouldn't be sustainable. If I died today, this website would likely die or at least come close to it. If the porn industry decided it was time to launch a massive DDOS attack against us, we wouldn't be able to afford the tools and services required to fend it off. And that is no way to operate.

    It needs to be financially self-sustaining. More than anything, it needs to be able to improve and grow. People out there need NoFap. And the community needs NoFap to improve and provide better tools to give Fapstronauts the best chance possible at successfully rebooting. If we can make this happen, we'll level up humanity. But I need your money to make that happen.

    So with this I invite you to help me bear the load of the significant ongoing expenses associated with running NoFap.

    NoFap Premium

    You can pledge 10 or 20 dollars per month for NoFap expenses on your user upgrades page. At this time, there are no additional perks for contributing 20 instead of 10 dollars - it is up to you and your financial situation.

    Although we need "only" 0.037% of the community to sign up to break even on expenses, YOUR single subscription means a lot - you can't rely on the community pulling your weight because believe me, most people reading this will not make the choice and sacrifice to sign up. I don't blame them for it, 10 dollars a month is a lot to ask for, especially in the beginning stages where we don't have much we can offer in exchange. I understand that. Every sign-up counts and I urge you to make the leap if you are financially secure enough to consider it.

    Three hours after posting this we've gotten only one sign-up so far, so I can't emphasize this enough. This isn't like voting in an election: in this case, your support truly counts and you can't rely on other Fapstronauts to pick up the tab on this. If you can afford it, we need YOUR support.

    Perks of NoFap Premium


    The reason I am calling this a "soft-launch" is because we can't really offer you very much in exchange for your money right now, but will be systematically increasing perks in the future. This will be an ongoing project and I want to provide you as much value for your money as possible.

    Right now, this is for the most dedicated of Fapstronauts who want to see this website improve. At this time the only thing I can offer you in exchange for your money is an awesome banner under your username (like mine has now, I subscribed myself). However, I will be introducing further perks (private forum and/or accountability groups, colored usernames, animated avatars?) in the near future and am open for suggestions (seriously, please tell me what you want!).

    Once this initial period of begging is over, the first group of supporters, the founders, will be getting a special flair that signifies they were the first group to support NoFap financially. You'll be immortalized on NoFap's website forever for helping us make this first step toward sustainability.

    Full List of Current Perks

    • Option to have special "Founder" flair for lifetime of your forum account
    • Option to display flair underneath your username when you post
    • Option to display your username in a distinctive color
    • Unlimited private conversations (these cost server space to host!)
    • Guaranteed no-advertising (we'll likely need to introduce some sort of forum adverts to help offset some of the costs)
    • Early access to our live chat room (once you sign up, you'll immediately have access to the live chat box). We're currently rolling this out only to moderators and Premium supporters to test server load and viability to roll out on a wide-scale basis

    Concluding Thoughts


    Please feel free to provide any feedback about this. I really am operating out of the best interest of humanity, and I hope you'll understand me making this difficult decision. I almost feel bad about asking for money (and old me would have been mortified), but it needed to happen. NoFap NEEDS money - it simply cannot go on without any income, and we need over 150 people to sign up for Premium to break even on how much I put into the site every month. If this doesn't work out, we'll need to explore other monetization methods such as heavy advertising, some of which might hurt the user experience of the website, which I would strongly prefer to avoid.

    Right now setting the first goal to 100 sign-ups, which will then be increased to 150 sign-ups to offset all of NoFap's current costs.

    However, if this campaign is wildly successful, the sky is the limit. Imagine a live chat room, a much better user interface, fast servers, and the ability to develop software tools to better equip you to fight PMO. Remember, every cent of these subscriptions will be going right back into the website. Every time a Fapstronaut signs up, the better that NoFap will become.

    Thank You

    Thank you for your time reading this. Thank you for your consideration. Regardless of the success of this new initiative, I couldn't thank all of you enough for being the most supportive community on the internet. You are the reason I work so hard every day. Without you, NoFap would be nothing. So thank you so much. We're changing the world together. Regardless of anything at all I will find a way to keep the train going (hosting banner ads and stuff, I suppose) and will not stop working my butt off to improve NoFap and spread the message that PMO is harmful.

    We're currently 14 / 50 subscriptions towards our current goal. Please sign-up now - at this point, every 10 dollars counts and goes a long way.
    Last updated 1:41 PM EDT on June 12



    If you would like to make a one-time payment, we have a PayPal button on our donation page. However, I do prefer the security of knowing money will be there the following month because many of our expenses are recurring.

    As per request, we can now accept money / checks / money orders / etc via traditional mail at the new NoFap P.O. box:

    NoFap LLC
    P. O. Box 81015
    Pittsburgh, PA 15217
     
    Last edited: Jun 12, 2015
    JPandSam, zeke1st, Jaguar and 13 others like this.
  2. Thank you to @Sun Bro for creating this thread that really got me thinking about this. I hope that this is successful - we only need about 0.037% of the community behind this to make it successful. But really every premium sign-up counts!
     
    Last edited: May 9, 2015
  3. IGY

    IGY Guest

    You are an extraordinarily generous guy in so many ways and this is a good opportunity for us to pitch in. However, could we have an option to decline being identified as a contributor - I would much rather do it anonymously? Also, my contribution would be in UK £s - so how would that work?
     
  4. Thank you, @IGY. That means a lot. Anonymous contributions can be made on this page. Sometimes the button doesn't work but refreshing the page has fixed it for me. PayPal handles any currency conversions. Same criteria goes there - it all goes towards upkeep and improvement if we can make the ends meet. Thanks again not just for the interest in supporting NoFap, but your tremendous contributions to the porn-recovery movement.
     
  5. Knight Solaire

    Knight Solaire Fapstronaut

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    I am very happy to have helped Alexander. I never thought it would actually play out like this. This is so much more than I expected.
     
    Deleted Account and Dizzy Lotus like this.
  6. SBoy49

    SBoy49 Fapstronaut

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    Hi Alexander,
    Great work! At the moment I don't feel comfortable with a monthly subscription, but I would be more than happy to make a one time payment! Is there a button to do that?
     
    Deleted Account likes this.
  7. shiweist

    shiweist Fapstronaut

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    The donate page [http://nofap.com/donate] doesn't seem to work. I chose the amount of money and filled in a few fields, then click Donate but it keeps running. I'm from Australia if that makes any difference.
     
  8. Thanks for the consideration! The monthly commitment is cancelable at any time, once you upgrade there's an "unsubscribe button" that appears in your user upgrades area. See my screenshot.

    Screen Shot 2015-05-09 at 8.46.52 PM.png

    But one-time payments can be made at nofap.com/donate or directly to [email protected]. I'll likely add a one-time account upgrade option soon that upgrades you for a particular period of time - and really appreciate that feedback. The reason I introduced the subscription model is to make NoFap's capital more slightly predictable and keep up-front costs as low as possible for users.

    I'd rather have 10 a month over 10 months than a lump sum of 100 now. It sounds weird but if NoFap got 2000 in donations one month, then I upgraded the servers, then NoFap only brought in 600 the next month, I would have trouble figuring out what NoFap can afford to spend. Also I just prefer subscriptions myself for causes that I support, for budgeting purposes.

    If the nofap.com/donate page doesn't work, try refreshing. Trying to figure out the problem now. Thanks again!
     
    Last edited: May 9, 2015
  9. Can you try refreshing? Looking into it now, and that worked for me. If "$200" appears as the first option, it will work that time. If "$500" appears as an option at all, that means it won't work. Trying to fix now. Thank you!
     
    Chris4fresh and Dizzy Lotus like this.
  10. Thank you to @cpf, our first subscriber! Thank you so much, honestly I was feeling a bit discouraged and you gave me a lot of hope. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You are a total NoFap-Baller.
     
    Chris4fresh and Dizzy Lotus like this.
  11. Thank you Alexander. We can see your passion in how much work your put into this site. We all know how important this site is.. We've all read how it changes lives. For some of us, we know directly how it has the power to change lives. This community is special. It is giving back power over sexuality to men and women all over the world. It is changing what it means to be a man in this new world poisoned with pornography. If I had money, I would sign up right away. Sadly I must find another way to support this great cause. But do not think for a second that I am any less dedicated to this cause and willing to put my money where my mouth is. I can't think of a better cause to give money to.
     
  12. Thank you so much!

    Only a little bit into the campaign and we're 1/30th of the way to our goal! I'm off to bed for tonight. Sorry for the spam, but it is completely necessary. I feel like Jimmy Wales right now.

    Stay strong, Fapstronauts.
     
    Chris4fresh likes this.
  13. Jirka

    Jirka Fapstronaut

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    I feel this website is a safe place for me to write openly about my struggle without being ashamed. Time is more than money. I've decided to support this effort. Hope my tiny little help will be meaningful and you can get more sleep and more time away from the computer. Thank you for your hard work.
    Peace,
    Jirka
     
  14. Knight Solaire

    Knight Solaire Fapstronaut

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    I owe this forum my life and relationship. I will never let it fall! Porn arrows may blot out the Sun, but we can easily fight in the shade!
     
    Nithin Adarsh likes this.
  15. Dizzy Lotus

    Dizzy Lotus Fapstronaut

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    Great! I'm proud of you, for making this thread.
    It may feel bad, but it's really important, to keep this running.
    Unfortunately I can't afford this, but I hope lots of helpers will sign up.
     
  16. jatar

    jatar Fapstronaut

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    I agree that you shouldn't feel bad about posting the request for aid, Alexander. Running a site requires resources, and you shouldn't have to pay out of your own pocket for that. I'm sure that enough people will subscribe/donate to cover the costs of running the site.

    I have one question. You wrote:

    Could you please confirm that no personal data (first, last name etc.) will be shared on such site? Sorry if this is a stupid question with and obvious answer, but I saw a gaming site post, in good faith, seemingly innocent information such as usernames, and it caused a number of small annoyances to the users whose data was disclosed. The consequences would be more serious here where we deal with more sensitive issues. Once again, sorry if the answer is obvious, but I hope you understand why I would like to be extra sure that the personal information will remain confidential.
     
    Dizzy Lotus likes this.
  17. DannyCool

    DannyCool Fapstronaut

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    I am going to cancel a stupid movie subscription and instead put the money towards this. This will save me more time for good activities. :)

    The only thing is I'm not use to doing these good activities and am going through a process of change.

    May No Fab continue to flourish.
     
    Dailydoer, headedup, Aexander and 2 others like this.
  18. Thanks. Definitely won't be publishing any list that users don't have control over. I understand the nature of this website and wouldn't do that :) Think more along the lines of "special trophy that appears next to your username every time you post" that goes away should you decide to delete your NoFap account. Good question!
     
    Chris4fresh likes this.
  19. Thank you for making a sacrifice to make NoFap a better place. That means so much to me reading that.

    Thanks for the kind words. It was very difficult to post this but I've been struggling for a while and debating this internally for a while. I think it was a big step for my own personal growth to get comfortable with the idea of asking for money. I think that the passing of my friend Jarod Coonce and begging reddit to pay for his funeral ultimately prepared me for this. We all raised over $13,000 dollars and I saw what money could do to help a family first hand.

    Thank you for sparking this entire thing in the first place. Without your post, I'd probably be headed towards maxed out credit cards.

    Thank you so much. It will go a long way.

    @mumchance your initiative so far has been amazing, and I don't even feel comfortable asking you of anybody on Team NoFap / moderators for any money! You do more than enough! You are the vanguard holding the porn at bay. To your own detriment, you are exposing yourself to pornography so that other Fapstronauts don't have to, and that is already too much to ask for. Thank you for your work.
     

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