Hello,

This is my first post on this forum after having registered an account. I came to this server pretty much with the goal of helping out a friend of mine. I don't play all that much, except to do a few repetitive tasks for my friend. With that said, this seems to be a well-run server and I am happy to be playing on it. If no one minds, I've got a few suggestions which I think could make it better! In this thread, I'd like to talk about a couple of options to do with Donations.


§1. Pay to Toggle Server Messages
On my first entry to the server, I was genuinely appreciative of all the signs near the spawn area. In the forthcoming minutes and hours of playing, I took notice of the automatic server messages informing me of various game features and reminding me to vote. From an intellectual standpoint, I can appreciate them; in fact, they initially taught me how to set my home and travel to homes prior to my friend explaining it to me. But let us be frank: these messages are spam. With particular regard to the messages reminding one to vote, they are self-serving spam. Again from an intellectual standpoint I can appreciate and understand them. I realize that this server needs advertisement in order to continue to grow; and, I realize that growing the server is positively correlated with growing the number of total donations. If we are to assume as I have, then, that the automatic voting messages exist primarily as a means by which to increase Donation revenue then it is my personal suggestion that the server might benefit monetarily from a Donation option whose purchase disables those automatic server messages to the user. No in-game money; no special commands; nothing at all that affects, influences or even cosmetically changes game play: just a button that gets rid of yellow text showing up every few seconds. I can promise you that there would be at least one purchase, the day this change goes live.


§2. An Honest Donation Button
While we are speaking with forthright honesty, let's discuss the Donate page and its present absence. Yes, there is currently a page labeled Donate in which I am able to conduct micro-transactions with the server. That's not how donations work, and both myself and my esteemed audience are aware of this. What now occupies the Donate page is effectively and would be more accurately described as a Store. It's a place to make purchases: I, the customer, exchange to you, the purveyor, a sum between five and thirty USD, and in return you exchange to me in-game perks. I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with charging real money for in-game money, perks, and the like. Nothing about the micro-transaction model offends me, and that isn't the point. My point is that there is no actual place for me to just throw money at the server because I want to legitimately donate to its ongoing activity. If I want to give money to the server, I have to buy something. That's not charity; that's not a donation; that's a purchase, and something about labeling it something that it's not just makes me feel dirty. My request is simple: add to the home page, or to the Donate page, a button that just says "Donate". Make it a blind donation with no in-game or forum-related virtual commodity to be exchanged; in fact, make it possible to donate anonymously. I suppose that by making a post about it I've somewhat betrayed my hand in the matter, but there do exist people whose satisfaction from donating comes from the feeling of doing so anonymously, because that anonymity precludes them from feeling as though they're donating only in name—that they are instead actually purchasing the good will of whatever organisation towards whom they have diverted their funds.


I'd like to thank any of you whom have read to the end of this post, and I would like to emphasize that I do not mean any disrespect towards any reader or his way of thinking.