Charas possible troubles

[danilynnarthur]

....about possible troubles with Charas, and I wish I was in more of a position to do something about it.  

I agree with SMB, Charas cannot die!

Have you talked to Don Miguel?  

One sales suggestion someone had in the thread was a good idea -- the T-shirt.  However, since a lot of us live in different places would shipping be outrageous?

[X-F3R]

sell programs? i mean... we have lots of *talented* programmers... so if you can make a nice prgram.. like a "PhP Dreamweaver"... lol(is that possible?) and sell it through Charas or make a site about it in Ombra... so yeah... i just woke up... can't think of what else to say =P

Happy summer guys [Charas Will Live!!!]
Josh S Garcia JR A.K.A: X-F3R(i reveal my name in respect... =P)

[Alex]

First of all, thanks to everyone here for partecipating this discussion. I fell this as a true relief, belive me.

Now, my own thoughts about what is was proposed here.
I don't wanna to seem an "idea-destroyer", just objective.

SELL PROGRAMS: Well, it may be true, but before we have to.. create them! And with tons of free softwares out there, do you really think someone will buy our's?
Also consider that we should need a really high quality software: it needs lots of good developers and lot of time too...

ADS: the worster thing. I tryed it, in the forum you can still see them. Ads don't pay: you can have something if someone will BUY on their site after cliking on a banner placed here. I think this will almost never happen.
The other chance is pay per click (only need someone click on the banner, no need he also buy something): but this will gives you something as 0.3$ for 1000 Clicks! Impossible to count on this, i think...

SHIRTS: it should be fun, but unuseful. We should sell as many shirts as Benetton does to have a real help from them...
Shirts may be possible ifmerchantized by a third party. Something like "benetton sells Charas's shirts paying Charas for using it's name". A sort of royality.
But i don't know if this may be possible, it 's really out of my knowledge.
Also something similar may be done for other things: imagine for example a CocaCola edition with Charas on the cans!
If anyone knows if this is possible and how to perform it, feel free to say it.

At the end, one funny thing i noticed: as registered users, we are now 2752. Gosh, if we only could find a way to "donate" 1$ per user, we could cover one entire year with also an extra of 300$ for new hard disks!
But maybe this is too much to hope... or not?

[danilynnarthur]

Alex, in response to your last point, I didn't know Charas had that many registered users.  I only notice a few regular posters in the time I've been here.  I don't know.....perhaps you email the registered users and ask them to donate $1?  How would they pay this ... there are online payment services out there like Paypal ... but those require users to have a credit card or some kind of account.

[cosmo]

I think most of the registered users came here once and that's it, they aren't going to all pay 1$ for charas

[X-F3R]

well... if may have a tweak of success... but still.. nothing's not worth trying for... well.. i'd donate $10...wel i won't nowadays cuz of SARS... yeah... it's affected Hong Kong's ecomony... but still.. if i could, then i would (i'll go wherever you will go...lol)...=P anyways... sorry for the "Hyperness" nowadays... ahahahaha it's just because many unexpected things has happened... many GOOD unexpected things... welll anyways, don't want to get off topic so yeah... like i said, we have many talented programmers here in Charas. well... millions of free software right? well... we can combine the add thingy and the software... hehehe not thinking straight... lol... sorry guys... u know the reason.. hehehe

that's all i have to say for now
X-F3R

[Alex]

Originally posted by danilynnarthur
Alex, in response to your last point, I didn't know Charas had that many registered users.  I only notice a few regular posters in the time I've been here.  I don't know.....perhaps you email the registered users and ask them to donate $1?  How would they pay this ... there are online payment services out there like Paypal ... but those require users to have a credit card or some kind of account.

Well, it was more near to a joke than to reality, but i can say more on this "game"...
There was an old system for supporting first bbs's admins. There was no credit cards online (well, there wasn't "online" as we know today, too ), and sending few money wasn't convenient: more for transaction than donation itself!
So, what they did?
Simply, the Admin communicated his home address, and supporters sent him paper money (enclosed in a normal letter paper) into an envelope via normal mail.
So, only extra required was the postage stamp

[rpgggamer]

Hey, just a quick note, I just recently found your site, and I love it.  I read everybody's suggestions, and I think you are ignoring an important fact, people love to compete, why not allow the users of this site (come one, there's gotta at least be a couple hundred regulars a month) compete for a #1,2,3 place donator.  Their reward, I don't know, a hall of fame for the donators of the months, maybe a spiffy version of Charas, like one with their name in the credits or something.  I'd gladly create a new resource peice every month to reward people for donating, I'd also likely try winning once in while, when I finally start getting paid from my MX track.  Another reward might be something like Little prizes, say one of those T-shirts for the donator of the month.  Well, I hope my suggestions help, if not, I tried, and I'll keep thinking, one thing I'm good at.  And good luck to us all on solving this problem.  

oh ya, Alex, your the man  

[GaryCXJk]

About those shirts, it may not be a big help, but all the little bits help, right?

Ow, and I can create a CD for you! You could sell CD's on Caffeepress! And I can sing! I really do!







No, honnest! I can sing!

[cosmo]

I think we should try to get coca cola to sponsor us , and I'd love to hear you sing gary :p

[SMB]

I can sing too!
I was a singer in a rock band for many years and I'm not bad!

But really we need a sponsor, is'it possible that noone still love us so much?  

And we can also do the t-shirts, selling some shirts, some Gary's CD's, some SMB CD's, Alex can ask money in S.Marco's square...
All together we can do it!

"Let's do the thing!" (sorry, yesterday's evening I was to the cinema and seen 8mile"... )

[cosmo]

SMB, you should ask nintendo to sponsor us, you're already advertising for them so why not let them pay us :p

[Alex]

Mmh, i hear something interesting, i may say.
The idea of a "pro-support" area would be fine. A place where we can do wathever we want for Charas support.

Gary is right, about shirts: it may not be a big help, but all the little bits helps.
True. Absolutely true.

Also rpgggamer "donator contest" idea is good. A prize to show what you did may invite you to... do!

And CDs?
Maybe more complex, but why not?

The idea which is growing now in my mind is somethng like this:
Create an Area containing users's production made for Charas, asking a little offer for them. Something as asking some money while playing music on the street.
What i see in this Area is EVERYTHING: gifts, artworks, mp3s, shirts, gadgets... whatever we think we can REALLY handle.
I think that if someone see that page, knowing that all of that material was done to "ask a little help", he can only understand how much we belive in this project. And maybe, some helps may arrive!

The only thing to solve (not that easy) is: how may we receive offers?
If i'll set up something as an online payment (as paypal), we'll cut out whoever doesn't have a credit card.
A 12 yo user may wants to donate 1 little $, but he cannot via online payment systems.
Maybe the "post office" tip is really possible?

What do you think of all of this?

[danilynnarthur]

...Gary said something about CDs....why not make a CD of the Charas site itself?  I mean, all the resources.  I dunno how plausible that would be.  They can't go to waste that way.  I know GPI has the Charas offline program....dunno if he'd want to sell that...but I was thinking since there's more material on the Charas site like the facesets and stuff.... just a thought.

[Alex]

This can also be a good thing for the "support Area".
But it's really hard to do.
Charas is not only an online tool, it NEEDS to be online because it uses some feature which are part only of a web server.
But i may try to do a "static" version. Not that easy, but maybe also not impossible.

Anyhow, we've to solve two main problems, before doing all of this:
1) if the "object" is to be sent (as the shirt or a cd), how may we send it?
2) how and were to receive payments?

But i fell we're on the right way... Thank you all, i cannot say more.
REALLY thanks.