You're Welcome.

[Comix Junky]

As you've probably noticed, I have added several PayPal "donation" buttons throughout the Comercial District. We got 2 donations so far (about a week).

As you know, I'm a social cripple, so i need some advice on my response.
Should i respond?
My request for donations is a little pushy, to begin with.
I was notified automaticly by PayPal, not the doners. And i'm lazy.
So my instinct is to let it slide.
But would the impersonal approach be considered rude?
Should i send a form letter? Or personal "You're Welcome" emails?
I see the donations as "thank you for providing the space",
So my response would be "you're welcome". Right?
Should i add a "Donars Page"?
Or would a list of donars be private or personal info?

Am i overthinking this?

[bdcues]

A simple thanks would suffice. And your welcome, Bob

[Rick Bradford]

I figured you'd be looking at it more as a donation to the site. Isn't it just a good excuse to bring in a few bucks for site costs? Otherwise, well, paying for space on a public messageboard...?

[over40artist]

I've never tried to sell anything on this site but I sent $10 yesterday just because I support the idea of the site. It was just a "good will" contribution to defray costs. Not like it hurt my wallet much to make a token donation.

Besides, I figure someday I will be trying to sell stuff here, and I won't mind making another contribution then, either.

I'd send you $10 for your site, too, Rick, but I've already, um, dented my wallet quite a bit with, uh, "contributions" to your enterprise. And I'm very happy I did, too!

[Comix Junky]

It's not denting my wallet either.
This is actually one of the cheapest hobbies i've had.
The annual cost of this site is about the same as i usted to spend,
every week, at my Local Comics Shop.(adjusting for inflation).

But I, and at least one other, are slightly annoyed that some
may be proffiteering from our efforts.
I don't want to ban all comercial activity from the site.
Cus it does help collectors find stuff and promote the hobby.
And i'm not gonna waste my time trying to figure out, where to draw the line,
or who is or isn't profeteering.

So i'm holding out my hand, saying "don't forget to tip yer waitress"
("pay your taxes" is closer to what i mean)
( I prefer policys that are self-enforcing. (where i don't have to do any work))
Hopefully it will have a "chilling effect" on profiteers. And remind everyone that
the real point of this site is to build a comix database. (remember the wiki?)

In other words: If you're not helping build the wiki,
just spongeing off those who are, Pay Me.
Offseting costs is beside the point.


( This post is not pointing a finger at anyone, Just explaining my position.)

[Rick Bradford]

Another way to look at is that each person selling things is making the site more and more keyword-rich. Anybody Googling those keywords is going to find the forums, and then the wiki.

So if I do end up posting eBay announcements or whatever I'll be hitting you up for a PayPal donation. Afterwards I'll send a nice note that says "You're welcome for the extra traffic!"

[Rick Bradford]

On a slightly more serious note it's just a messageboard. Buying, selling and trading is just a part of the comix community and it's great to have sites like this to participate in.

If there have to be requirements then it seems like the best (and still easy) way is to make sure those posting "for sale" listings are also contributing to the rest of the forums. Or maybe make it impossible to start new posts in that area until you've reached a certain level/number of posts elsewhere (I think SMF can do that but I forget and haven't actually tried it myself).

Or not worry about requirements at all. You can always take action later on if you think it's becoming a problem.