New Donation Groups
January 19, 2013 at 5:21 pm
(This post was last modified: January 19, 2013 at 5:26 pm by Tiberius.)
Based on suggestions in this thread, the staff have created a new system for handling donations which rewards donators more, whilst creating an incentive to donate more.
The problem with the previous donation system was that any amount could get you a place in the "Donators" group forever. Whilst some people donated more than once, it wasn't a regular occurrence, so we would have donators who had donated a couple of dollars several years ago in the group, amongst members who had donated $30 every year or so (and sometimes more).
When changing the system, we obviously didn't want to leave out people who honestly cannot afford to donate more than a few dollars, as this would be unfair. Having said that, this is how the new donation system works:
Donation Groups
There are now three donation groups rather than one. These groups are "Gold Donator", "Silver Donator", and "Bronze Donator". All groups have the same color username, but different colored badges:
![[Image: gold.png]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=atheistforums.org%2Fimages%2Fgold.png)
![[Image: silver.png]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=atheistforums.org%2Fimages%2Fsilver.png)
![[Image: bronze.png]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=atheistforums.org%2Fimages%2Fbronze.png)
The badges will appear next to your username in a post.
To get into the Bronze group, you need to donate between $1 and $14. To get into the Silver group, you need to donate between $15 and $29. Finally, to get into the Gold group, you need to donate $30 or more.
Time Limits
Unlike the previous system, once you donate to get into a group, you are not in there forever. Your group is determined by the amount of money you have donated that year, as well as any rollover from previous years.
For example:
If a member donates $5, they are put into the Bronze group for one year. After the year has passed, they are removed from the group and become a regular member again.
If, however, they donate $10 during the same year, they are boosted into the Silver group for the remaining amount of time. So in effect, your position in a group depends on how much you have donated in that year cycle (starting from the point of your first donation).
However, if you donate more than the $30 minimum to gain access to the Gold group, the extra donation will carry on into another year's count. So, if a member donates $45, they will be in the Gold group for a year, and then the Silver group for a year (since they donated $15 extra). This is assuming they don't donate more during the course of those two years.
Large Donations
We are still mulling over the idea of having another "special" donators group for people who donate a one-off large amount of money, or for those who over the course of several donations, end up donating a large amount in total. It must be stressed that we have not come to a decision on whether to do this yet, or what amount would grant access to this group.
Current Group Members
I have (as of the writing of this announcement) removed everyone from the Donator's group who has not donated within the last year. If you have donated in the last year, you will have been moved to the appropriate new group.
As a bonus, members of these groups are now displayed as part of the forum team: http://atheistforums.org/showteam.php
They will be contacted via PM when their donations are about to expire, or they are due to change groups.
Donating
If you want to donate to gain access to a group, please read here: http://atheistforums.org/donate.php
If you have access to a PayPal account, it is actually more beneficial to send the money directly to me via PayPal than use the donation system, as PayPal takes a percentage of the amount for the service.
- Tiberius
P.S. We are open to discussions about the colors of usernames, etc. If people can come to a majority consensus on another color, and it doesn't clash with any other groups, we will change it.
The problem with the previous donation system was that any amount could get you a place in the "Donators" group forever. Whilst some people donated more than once, it wasn't a regular occurrence, so we would have donators who had donated a couple of dollars several years ago in the group, amongst members who had donated $30 every year or so (and sometimes more).
When changing the system, we obviously didn't want to leave out people who honestly cannot afford to donate more than a few dollars, as this would be unfair. Having said that, this is how the new donation system works:
Donation Groups
There are now three donation groups rather than one. These groups are "Gold Donator", "Silver Donator", and "Bronze Donator". All groups have the same color username, but different colored badges:
The badges will appear next to your username in a post.
To get into the Bronze group, you need to donate between $1 and $14. To get into the Silver group, you need to donate between $15 and $29. Finally, to get into the Gold group, you need to donate $30 or more.
Time Limits
Unlike the previous system, once you donate to get into a group, you are not in there forever. Your group is determined by the amount of money you have donated that year, as well as any rollover from previous years.
For example:
If a member donates $5, they are put into the Bronze group for one year. After the year has passed, they are removed from the group and become a regular member again.
If, however, they donate $10 during the same year, they are boosted into the Silver group for the remaining amount of time. So in effect, your position in a group depends on how much you have donated in that year cycle (starting from the point of your first donation).
However, if you donate more than the $30 minimum to gain access to the Gold group, the extra donation will carry on into another year's count. So, if a member donates $45, they will be in the Gold group for a year, and then the Silver group for a year (since they donated $15 extra). This is assuming they don't donate more during the course of those two years.
Large Donations
We are still mulling over the idea of having another "special" donators group for people who donate a one-off large amount of money, or for those who over the course of several donations, end up donating a large amount in total. It must be stressed that we have not come to a decision on whether to do this yet, or what amount would grant access to this group.
Current Group Members
I have (as of the writing of this announcement) removed everyone from the Donator's group who has not donated within the last year. If you have donated in the last year, you will have been moved to the appropriate new group.
As a bonus, members of these groups are now displayed as part of the forum team: http://atheistforums.org/showteam.php
They will be contacted via PM when their donations are about to expire, or they are due to change groups.
Donating
If you want to donate to gain access to a group, please read here: http://atheistforums.org/donate.php
If you have access to a PayPal account, it is actually more beneficial to send the money directly to me via PayPal than use the donation system, as PayPal takes a percentage of the amount for the service.
- Tiberius
P.S. We are open to discussions about the colors of usernames, etc. If people can come to a majority consensus on another color, and it doesn't clash with any other groups, we will change it.
