Yet Another FA Thread (Funding problems and the new UI)

[Conan]

So since the AlertPay thing, FurAffinity has been having trouble with money.

"@2gryphon Heh. Right now I need the money. I'm not quite sure how to pay for FA."

"Oh, good. The new payment processor for FA (CCBill) wants $750 to setup the merchant agreement. I don't have that."

Ok, we get it, he doesn't have the money to pay for FA, nor does he have the money to pay the setup charge for the payment provider who has rules like

Violation of CCBill Policy
6. The posting or display of any image or wording depicting or related to extreme violence, incest, snuff, scat or the elimination of any bodily waste on another person, mutilation, or rape anywhere on the site, including the URL and meta tags.
7. The posting or display of any image or wording depicting or related to bestiality anywhere on the site. including the URL and meta tags.
9. Any attempt to display, sell, or transfer materials that violate or infringe any copyright, trademark, right of publicity, patent, statutory, common law or proprietary rights of others, or contain anything obscene, libelous or threatening. Display of the trade or service marks of any credit card company on any webpage is specifically prohibited without the express written permission of the credit card company.

. By looking at just these two tweets, it's not hard to figure out that FA has no money.

"We've decided to hire a professional UI artist to finish FA's design the -right- way."

Magically 8 hours later there's money in the coffers to hire a "professional" "UI artist" to finish the new UI (which, from what I've deduced, hasn't been worked on at all (surprise!)). Remember that there's no money for hiring developers. Just designers.

I can't wait to see how crappy the new UI turns out after Furry-who-took-High-School-webdesign-class-last-year is done with it.

[an hoopoe]

Seems that the money came from commissions, Dragoneer recently took 100 of them:

patience is required [...] If you pay, you will get art. I will have the entire list hammered out by May

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2018880/

@ $12 ea. paying in advance:

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2018880/#cid:16526448

And mentions that he's doing it to raise money for FA:

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2018880/#cid:16526896

He states in the journal that he is going to do 1 to 2 pictures a day, 5 days a week. Note that he hasn't even started work on a commission auction someone won from him more than 4 months ago:

I emailed your furaffinity address recently wondering when you're going to start the commission from the auction I won. If you have trouble raising what you need for the merchant aggreement, I can contribute

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2018880/#cid:16526626

And then they send him more money(!). It's a matter of when the journals about begging for more time to complete the commissions start I suspect. (On Kits5786's FA journals he mentions Dragoneer owing him a commission, in October 2010).

Some people are so desperate to parted from their money that they offered $100 to be number 101 on the commission list:

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2018880/#cid:16529250

[AshleyAshes]

Looking at the CCBill rules, assuming they actually follow them, yeah, FA is setting itself up for exactly what happened with AlertPay.

That said, it's also possible that they don't care shit about their own rules and that's just there so they sound professional.  Wouldn't be the first time.

[Conan]

And mentions that he's doing it to raise money for FA:

So with this he was able to raise $1200 in a very short period of time. Now what about next month? Another 100 commissions?

How many people will be without their precious Dragoneer commission come May? I highly doubt he'll be able to keep his promise of two a day when he can't even keep his word on, you know, anything else.

EDIT: lol apparently the signup form for the Iron Artist included "Dragoneer reserves the right to sell any artwork created as prints. "

This month he's accepting commissions.
Next month he'll just sell the prints. SIGNED LIMITED EDITION COLLECTOR'S PRINT!!! Only $25 +S&H.

[Jim Demintia]

Looking at the CCBill rules, assuming they actually follow them, yeah, FA is setting itself up for exactly what happened with AlertPay.

That said, it's also possible that they don't care shit about their own rules and that's just there so they sound professional.  Wouldn't be the first time.

And when CCBill wants to get rid of them for no reason at all, they can cite these rules. Not exactly a position you want to be in when it comes to income, especially considering if they do cut them off it's likely they'll lose a significant sum of money in the process.

[an hoopoe]

Someone on lulz sent an e-mail to CCbill enquiring  about whether or not their rules would apply across the board to FA and apparently they would:

http://i52.tinypic.com/15nrqfs.jpg

Dragoneer is looking into it:

Also, I want to thanks Lulz (seriously) for pointing out some potential issues with CCbill. We're definitely looking into them.

http://twitter.com/Dragoneer/status/25928687585075200

[threadshitter]

Is it me or does anyone else find it hilarious that these people who dump hundreds of dollars into jerk-off material and cons are the same ones living in poverty constantly and asking for money?

I made a suggestion a long time ago to dragoneer that FA should become a paid website where there was a membership fee to join, and that could be used to generate revenue for the site and pay for competent people to work on it.

*shrug*

[Ben]

Is it me or does anyone else find it hilarious that these people who dump hundreds of dollars into jerk-off material and cons are the same ones living in poverty constantly and asking for money?

I made a suggestion a long time ago to dragoneer that FA should become a paid website where there was a membership fee to join, and that could be used to generate revenue for the site and pay for competent people to work on it.

*shrug*

Honestly, that could go either way. While the obvious consequence of that would be people running to InkBunny and jumping ship, we have seen that there are some people who are absurdly desperate, and will do anything for their furry porn hub. But I guess at the end of it, FA would end up bottoming up, as they have nothing to offer that's worth paying money.

[Eevee]

I made a suggestion a long time ago to dragoneer that FA should become a paid website where there was a membership fee to join, and that could be used to generate revenue for the site and pay for competent people to work on it.

I'd think artists would have strong objections to this: FA would be making money off what is primarily their hard work.

[BaconQuicheWithSpinach]

And mentions that he's doing it to raise money for FA:

So with this he was able to raise $1200 in a very short period of time. Now what about next month? Another 100 commissions?

The last couple of things he's posted has been personal art.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5978230/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5935318

I highly doubt all the people who paid him for art are going to see any of it.

[Jim Demintia]

Has anyone even asked him about the art, preferably someone who paid him for a commission? Was there a deadline? I dunno, seems like if a furry collected $1200 in exchange for some work, and then did literally none of it, there'd be more noise. Yes, yes, I know, popufur and stuff, but I would think there'd be more noise than there is now, which is none.

[Fiz]

I highly doubt all the people who paid him for art are going to see any of it.

He's owed other commissions than these Iron Artist ones for years apparently, so I doubt it as well.

Has anyone even asked him about the art, preferably someone who paid him for a commission? Was there a deadline? I dunno, seems like if a furry collected $1200 in exchange for some work, and then did literally none of it, there'd be more noise. Yes, yes, I know, popufur and stuff, but I would think there'd be more noise than there is now, which is none.

He was supposed to be posting one every day except weekends I think. I don't think there was an actual deadline though.