Haha! Aww, thanks. :D Well, don't get the wrong idea; I just mean the current content curation is pretty much just me. Botanic still does the hard stuff like fixing the site when it breaks, and of course, maintaining the server. Redshrike does some curation and moderation as well, but both he and Botanic are pursuing a cutthroat career in law and the like; very busy. Sharm also drops in occasionally, but her work keeps her busy enough that she hasn't had much time to work on her craft, much less moderate the art of others. Bart has hit some pretty rough things in his life and is juggling those. Botanic and I talk with him sometimes, but he has to delegate the site stuff to us so he doesn't drop any of the chainsaws he's got in the air. Basically, we all lack time, money, or both; A site of free content doesn't really pay the bills. :( Fortunately, my situation is uniquely suited to be "present" more often than the others. :)
I hear you about the dormant Patreon. Definitely working toward either taking over the current Patreon page or creating a new Patreon page so we can have regular updates.
I will have to get back to you on the other points you've made; I have to do some errands right now. I'm very interested to see what others think of those ideas as well. :)
UPDATE: I think I can get the patreon link to work, add a one-time-donate link to it, and (maybe) create a more up-to-date patreon page as well; The current goals listed on the patreon don't make much sense anymore:
$200 - Basic Maintenance. This only covers up to 1 terabyte of bandwidth, which we exceed fairly regularly. Rather, bart/sysadmins may already paying some out-of-pocket, but $200 supplements that to make the out-of-pocket amounts affordable. I'll try to get better information on this.
$500 - No More Ads. We already don't have ads. We did for a short period back in the day, but that hasn't been a thing in a while.
$1000 - Better Content Curation. Yeah, this would be nice. Right now it's a one-gal-show. I can barely keep up with all the misspelled tags and licensing misunderstandings. There's a concept of a site module that would allow trusted community members to help with curation (make the submissions easier to search/find, more latitude than just 'flag as spam', etc.) but coding takes time/effort/funds.
$1500 - Open Source OGA. This goal was met at one point, and we've made the current code available on GitHub. No point in withdrawing access now that the funding has fallen below this goal.
$2000 - Major features and bugfixes. This is essentially what I talk about above. The site framework is based on aging infrastructure that has no simple upgrade path. The interface is outdated and slow, and it would be awesome to have a really decent search function that didn't barf on the admins when we try to reindex it; There's some amazing content here, but most people have a really hard time finding it.
$5000 - (Eventually) Full Time Work on OGA. This probably wouldn't be me working full time, but anyone working full time would have profound impact.
So yeah, what are some new goals we should strive for?
...What happened to the Patreon link on the front page?
It was removed because there was no access to maintain/update it with current data. The Patreon funding fell below several prior-reached goals, which is normal... but still disappointing.
...Is there a link anywhere on OGA to the Patreon anymore?
...How would newcomers to the site even know about the patreon today?
They probably wouldn't...YET. Thus the call to brainstorm ways to clean up existing donation features and create new ones.
...is there anyway for OGA to accept/receive one-time donations?
Yes. This page has the paypal link for single donations. Again, it could be improved.
...Might be a way for people to give to the cause without going to the trouble of setting up a Patreon account and/or committing to making a monthly contribution.
I very much agree that a more obvious option to make one-time donations would be helpful. That doesn't mean avoid or eliminate the recurring donation features like patreon, but personally, I can rarely commit to making monthly contributions even though I still have some extra cash every now and then. A clear and easy way to give either one-time or recurring contributions certainly would add appeal.
We're working on an update. The broken thumbnails happen sometimes when the preview file is huge and the cache gives up on it. The site has not been abandoned.
A bit of a delayed response, but I'm working on reinvigorating this effort. The 'next step' is, unfortunately, a slog. It is both a chicken-and-egg problem, and a resources problem. Any thoughts on how to approach fundrasing for a site revamp? The primary purpose is site usability. That means making the site more efficient, faster loading, and easier to search being the primary goal. However, considering this will effectively require a total overhaul, it is a good opportunity to make layout and UX improvements at the same time without much additional barrier.
@LuckyModify: True, the current layout is not bad and serves the functions the site seeks to provide. The question is, could it be better? The look and feel is undeniably outdated. Not really a problem, but it's been described as 'early 1990s childhood on dial-up'. It would be nice if it looked sleek and modern along with improved performance to match. :)
My statement is speculative. I'm not sure it's commercial, but it certainly looks that way. I don't think it's worth your time, but I could be wrong.
Who wrote to you about it?
As far as I can tell, these are from the game DarkOrbit, and should not be used since they are commercial IP.
Looks kind of like commander's stuff. https://opengameart.org/users/commander
Haha! Aww, thanks. :D Well, don't get the wrong idea; I just mean the current content curation is pretty much just me. Botanic still does the hard stuff like fixing the site when it breaks, and of course, maintaining the server. Redshrike does some curation and moderation as well, but both he and Botanic are pursuing a cutthroat career in law and the like; very busy. Sharm also drops in occasionally, but her work keeps her busy enough that she hasn't had much time to work on her craft, much less moderate the art of others. Bart has hit some pretty rough things in his life and is juggling those. Botanic and I talk with him sometimes, but he has to delegate the site stuff to us so he doesn't drop any of the chainsaws he's got in the air. Basically, we all lack time, money, or both; A site of free content doesn't really pay the bills. :( Fortunately, my situation is uniquely suited to be "present" more often than the others. :)
I hear you about the dormant Patreon. Definitely working toward either taking over the current Patreon page or creating a new Patreon page so we can have regular updates.
I will have to get back to you on the other points you've made; I have to do some errands right now. I'm very interested to see what others think of those ideas as well. :)
UPDATE: I think I can get the patreon link to work, add a one-time-donate link to it, and (maybe) create a more up-to-date patreon page as well; The current goals listed on the patreon don't make much sense anymore:
So yeah, what are some new goals we should strive for?
It was removed because there was no access to maintain/update it with current data. The Patreon funding fell below several prior-reached goals, which is normal... but still disappointing.
Nowhere obvious. Something I hope to fix. Bart's profile and submissions all have the patreon link https://www.patreon.com/opengameart Also, there is a donate page linked to in the FAQ https://opengameart.org/content/donate-opengameartorg but it also seems quite outdated.
They probably wouldn't...YET. Thus the call to brainstorm ways to clean up existing donation features and create new ones.
Yes. This page has the paypal link for single donations. Again, it could be improved.
I very much agree that a more obvious option to make one-time donations would be helpful. That doesn't mean avoid or eliminate the recurring donation features like patreon, but personally, I can rarely commit to making monthly contributions even though I still have some extra cash every now and then. A clear and easy way to give either one-time or recurring contributions certainly would add appeal.
We're working on an update. The broken thumbnails happen sometimes when the preview file is huge and the cache gives up on it. The site has not been abandoned.
Nice.
Related: https://opengameart.org/content/animated-opengameart-splash-screen
A bit of a delayed response, but I'm working on reinvigorating this effort. The 'next step' is, unfortunately, a slog. It is both a chicken-and-egg problem, and a resources problem. Any thoughts on how to approach fundrasing for a site revamp? The primary purpose is site usability. That means making the site more efficient, faster loading, and easier to search being the primary goal. However, considering this will effectively require a total overhaul, it is a good opportunity to make layout and UX improvements at the same time without much additional barrier.
@LuckyModify: True, the current layout is not bad and serves the functions the site seeks to provide. The question is, could it be better? The look and feel is undeniably outdated. Not really a problem, but it's been described as 'early 1990s childhood on dial-up'. It would be nice if it looked sleek and modern along with improved performance to match. :)
Yay! thanks
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