Question Out of curiosity...

I would not be interested.

I'd be interested in doing this in a month or two.

I can't say that I'd be particularly interested, but if it would help support the site I'd be willing to give it a go depending on the cost. Although, like for Dom, that would have to wait a month or two.

Sorry Kristin, but given how little I need to use e-mail it just wouldn't make any sense for me to pay out for a second address. No matter how attractive it sounds.

Thanks for the offer though.

John.

Hmm. Tough question. Currently I have a whole bunch of different e-mail addresses. In my RL identity I have my own domain, but I didn't want to associate my "Sir Lee" identity with that. So my current "official" Sir Lee mailbox is housed at gmail.

I also have mailboxes in both identities in Hotmail/Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo and mail.com -- partly as a sort of cybersquatting, to keep a presence, partly for legacy reasons from before I bought my domain.

Would I be willing to pay for a mailbox? Well, I'm *already* paying for my own domain, so yes, in principle. And I would be willing to push a few bucks towards the Whateley project to help offset the hosting costs at the very least.

But taking the desirability of a This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by itself... I don't see much of a point. Nowadays I look at e-mails as a sort of long-term thing. The best long-term solutions are:
1. Some big, free e-mail provider like Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and maybe three or four others. "Free" is relevant because you will want to keep the address even if the service becomes lousy, so you can redirect it to your new service. "Big" is relevant because it becomes unlikely to fold overnight.
2. Having your own domain, so you can move it to a new host if service becomes lousy.

Paying for a whateleyacademy.net vanity email... well, I might do it to help, but I probably wouldn't actually use the thing, other than to redirect it to my main mailbox. But it took me about one year to wean myself off my old e-mail at my old ISP. I'm not eager to put myself in that position again.

Kristin Darken wrote:
I came up with

1. Recognition via site 'ranking' tags that you are a donor.
2. Ad-free access to the site (ads would still be there for non-contributors, but you wouldn't see them)
3. A Whateley author to custom design 'you' as a character for inclusion in the timeline as an official WU character, paranormal or otherwise.
4. A behind the scenes / advance readership of the stories before they are 'done'
5. Your own email address at the whateleyacademy.net domain?
6. A Whateley author to write a custom vignette for you based on character and plot ideas you have.
7. Sponsor status on a story arc of your choosing (really want a Jade story arc, 'sponsor' / commission it done).

Another income source would be to sell merchandise. Would you wear a Whateley Universe hat? A hoodie with a collegiate looking logo on it that says Whateley Academy instead? Coffee mugs?

Suggestions?

OK, I said the email would be alright, simply to support the site. But it really doesn't interest me at all.
Out of your list I'd go with 1, 2, 3, and 4. They're pretty commonly used by other sites, and wouldn't cause too much trouble.

6 sounds interesting, but believe me when I say that some peoples ideas about plots and characters can get pretty strange and hard to write. It should be done pretty carefully. (I say this from experience having been offered ghost writing jobs by people when they saw some of my ads. I never took any of them up on the deal for a bunch of different reasons mostly involving money and their insanity.)

I do like 7, but I'm curious how that would work out with copyrights regarding the authors of abandoned characters. It probably wouldn't come up, but that could be a hornets nest if the stars aligned just so.

Would I use an email? No. Do I want to support the site and authors? Yes.

I agree that 1-4 are reasonable. But 6 and 7 I'd have concerns about obligations regarding stories and how it would impact on authors and the quality/nature of the stories themselves. Just as long as it's made clear that creative control remains with the authors and that the donor is merely incorporating ideas into the mix, then I don't see why not.

As for merchandise, I have enough shirts right now - so please something else if you do it.
Otherwise, it depends entirely on how much I like the design itself, so I can't personally say for or against it.

In the same camp as Sir Lee in that I'm willing to support the WU, but uninterested in a whateley email. (Although my support requires patience, since I've now worked a grand total of two days since graduating.)


What are your thoughts on Patreon? Or just a big, fat "Donate" button?

Kristin Darken wrote: Ya, don't get me wrong... I don't think anyone wants to pay for an email address when you can just get one from gmail. It'd be more about the novelty of being able to send and receive email from 'WhateleyAcademy.net' .... and to generate funds for the site/authors.

I say this because, while the advertisements pay for the server costs and the domain renewals, extensions, etc... and give me a little extra to play with for some marketing/publicity here and there; it would be great if we could get to the point where we could award a little money for each author who has a scheduled release in a given month. Which led to me thinking about Patreon and what sort of tier rewards we could offer.

I came up with

1. Recognition via site 'ranking' tags that you are a donor.
2. Ad-free access to the site (ads would still be there for non-contributors, but you wouldn't see them)
3. A Whateley author to custom design 'you' as a character for inclusion in the timeline as an official WU character, paranormal or otherwise.
4. A behind the scenes / advance readership of the stories before they are 'done'
5. Your own email address at the whateleyacademy.net domain?
6. A Whateley author to write a custom vignette for you based on character and plot ideas you have.
7. Sponsor status on a story arc of your choosing (really want a Jade story arc, 'sponsor' / commission it done).

Another income source would be to sell merchandise. Would you wear a Whateley Universe hat? A hoodie with a collegiate looking logo on it that says Whateley Academy instead? Coffee mugs?

Suggestions?

The Game Convention I run, sells t-shirts, mugs, etc. on Zazzle. We don't sell many but since they are available that way, we don't have to worry having stock or having a 100 shirts dated for our 2015 convention left over.

Doing it that way, you can make club shirts, Whateley Academy Underdogs, Alphas, Gearheads, The Nations, whatever. Your cost is zero, or whatever you pay for artwork. If you go this way you might want to consider getting a trademark or whatever for Whateley Academy and anything else you would deem necessary.

I like the idea of a "no adds" subscription offer, i.e. I'll pay the site directly, and I get rid of the adds, if people don't want to pay they keep the adds, no change in content.

Also, how about instead of "paying to have a character" instead "auctioning a character"?
Difference? The Authors already decide they need a character for something, and they write a little blurb, explain what the winner will get to do (basically "fill in the empty blanks" in the character sheet, like looks, names, parents / sibling names, etc.) and we see if anyone is interested in sponsoring the character. That way, author control, but selling a real-going-to-be-used-we-are-writing-the-story-already character.

I know what I'd love, a group of artists and a "donate to make character's portrait" button.

Kristin Darken wrote:

Valentine wrote: If you go this way you might want to consider getting a trademark or whatever for Whateley Academy and anything else you would deem necessary.

Ya, I've looked into it. I've avoided doing it personally but IF we file as a business/organization, then ya... we'd probably want to get the trademark for WA and WAU. It's several hundred dollars just to file and that assumes you do it yourself.

If you do go that path I wouldn't mind chipping into a "pay for the rights" fund to legally buy the rights for the characters from the original authors.

Not in a creepy "we own you now" way, but to track down all the no longer publishing authors and get agreements from them for the Whateley "entity" to own the characters and continue using them (I.e. be able to complete arcs that have been left hanging). Also, sort out royalties if we ever wanted to do things like re-write the original stories into Ebooks and sell them on Amazon or something, we'd give the original writers x-amount of royalties, that sort of thing.

I have to say, I am more worried about the Whateley Academy and Whateley Academy Universe names, than all the characters. If you start selling merchandise, then you want to be able to stomp on unlicensed copies.

Kristin Darken wrote: Well... one of my thoughts is that I need to business-ize the WU ... as it is now, the Google ads pay out directly to me and I pay out for server costs, domain renewals or purchases, and advertising. And I don't track the earnings and costs separately really, though if someone demanded an accounting where all the riches have gone, I can probably pull the numbers together. And then I can work out how many hours I spent building the new site and compare that to the money that didn't get paid out to someone else and we can all agree that that number is pretty low.

And that ad revenue comes in as a non employee pay stub, and the 1099 counts on my taxes... so... I'm not overly eager to significantly boost the money coming in without also making it clear what is coming in, that it is coming in to the 'organization' and not me, and tracking it all separately.

I would want to do all of that before adding a Patreon campaign or even just a Donate button.

Of the two options, I 'like' a donate button better... why pay someone else 5% just to handle the processing? But then, let's be realistic... our readership is international. We have two dozen different currencies represented just in the most active visitors. Many people will want to donate using paypal or something similar anyway, in which case they'd be paying out on processing anyway. So maybe it makes more sense to give Patreon its cut.

And, Patreon does give us visibility in a largeish community... so could do as much to advertise us as to bring in funds.

It's funny you mention this Patreon option; I literally just started (restarted) my own personal page; it didn't get any traction a year ago because I had no idea what I was doing. And assuming I had any money (I don't) I'd certainly donate. If you do manage to get to the point of starting a Patreon for WU, I'd certainly do any of the things suggested above in order to see it work.

Business-ize - good idea.
Patreon - not sure; it might be worth a try. I'm sure we'd get donations via PayPal
Rewards - 1-4 are cake. I really, really don't like 6 and 7. I've written 'spec' stories before and they're HARD. At least for me. I visualize things to write, and someone else's idea is hard to visualize.

As to the 'rights' to 'orphaned' characters, using them as ancillary characters is okay (bit parts), but doing a feature? kind of tough, especially trying to match the original author's feel for the character. If I wrote a Jade story, it wouldn't 'feel' right. On the other hand, sponsorship of an arc?

"And now, for your reading pleasure, Kayda 9 - The Case of the Missing Buffalo Chips, brought to you tonight by Dan's Authentic Pemmican Jerky"

It doesn't do anything for me.

elrodw wrote: Business-ize - good idea.
Patreon - not sure; it might be worth a try. I'm sure we'd get donations via PayPal
Rewards - 1-4 are cake. I really, really don't like 6 and 7. I've written 'spec' stories before and they're HARD. At least for me. I visualize things to write, and someone else's idea is hard to visualize.

As to the 'rights' to 'orphaned' characters, using them as ancillary characters is okay (bit parts), but doing a feature? kind of tough, especially trying to match the original author's feel for the character. If I wrote a Jade story, it wouldn't 'feel' right. On the other hand, sponsorship of an arc?

"And now, for your reading pleasure, Kayda 9 - The Case of the Missing Buffalo Chips, brought to you tonight by Dan's Authentic Pemmican Jerky"

It doesn't do anything for me.

Heh. Let the idea of missing buffalo chips flow through you, and it might.

I haven't actually written a story to someone else's specifications before, but I can try it. At least once.

Heh. Depending on how much said tier would be, I'd be tempted to donate to it so I wouldn't feel bad about picking Elrod's brain for how a certain Nordic character and relation is coming along.

Having 'you' appear as a character is quite a common auction/prize in SF cons and charities.

Easy to do, we just change the name of the character.If you want something specific, we can do that too, charging more.

Pay even more, and we dont let them near Elrod...

Astrodragon wrote: Having 'you' appear as a character is quite a common auction/prize in SF cons and charities.

Easy to do, we just change the name of the character.If you want something specific, we can do that too, charging more.

Pay even more, and we dont let them near Elrod...

Pfft. Some would no doubt pay handsomely to get the 'Elrod treatment'; masochists and the like.

Nagrij wrote:

Astrodragon wrote: Having 'you' appear as a character is quite a common auction/prize in SF cons and charities.

Easy to do, we just change the name of the character.If you want something specific, we can do that too, charging more.

Pay even more, and we dont let them near Elrod...

Pfft. Some would no doubt pay handsomely to get the 'Elrod treatment'; masochists and the like.

I have a litle list, and they never will be missed...

Regarding business-izing Whateley... I like the idea in principle, but the minute it LOOKS like you are making profits, you open yourselves to trademark infringement lawsuits. So a lot of work would have to be done to "file off the serial numbers" of stuff. Much of it is minor and could be taken as "fair use", but some... really isn't.
I might point out three big headaches:
1. Tennyo. Her appearance would have to be tweaked and hundreds of mentions to "Tenchi Muyo" would have to be changed.
2. Marvel Comics in general, but especially concerning Phase's acquisition of it, and the usage of the word "mutant" in the superhero genre, which Marvel has trademarked.
3. Playboy, in the recent Gen2 stories.

Sir Lee wrote: Regarding business-izing Whateley... I like the idea in principle, but the minute it LOOKS like you are making profits, you open yourselves to trademark infringement lawsuits. So a lot of work would have to be done to "file off the serial numbers" of stuff. Much of it is minor and could be taken as "fair use", but some... really isn't.
I might point out three big headaches:
1. Tennyo. Her appearance would have to be tweaked and hundreds of mentions to "Tenchi Muyo" would have to be changed.
2. Marvel Comics in general, but especially concerning Phase's acquisition of it, and the usage of the word "mutant" in the superhero genre, which Marvel has trademarked.
3. Playboy, in the recent Gen2 stories.

Not sure about the others, but from my perspective, it would be pretty easy to bring what's there under fair use. After all, as a sort of cultural icon as well as a company, mentioning it and any fictional business dealings isn't an issue. Hugh would actually be the sticking point there, as would actually displaying the logo.

But I can mention companies like Playboy, Revlon, or Victoria Secret and any deals they make all I want, legally.

Come to think of it, as for Marvel owning the word mutant, regardless of the genre, I don't see how they could enforce that at all.

IP lawyers don't care if they are in the right. They just sue you. It takes big bucks to defend against this sort of thing -- money Whateley doesn't have.
It would be way easier to avoid the issue by turning the Playboy mentions into a trademark-safe equivalent -- say, another "lad" magazine with a different animal mascot.

Its been a while since I chceked this, but iirc you can (with the standard disclaimer clause) use real people and companies as part of the stories 'environment' - ie you could buy a copy of playboy magazine (as long as you dont define whats in it), shop at Victorias Secrets, and so on. But you cant use them to do things they havent done in RL, which is why people in books and tv nveer work for a 'real' company, for example.

Unfortunately what Tia's done so far tramples all over this principle.

I would also suggest you look into what is happening with the Star Trek incident. A group that had made a movie is now being sued.

They are currently going to court over the matter. Paramount suit

Oh and can I sue for someone using my name?

Ibi

There's pretty much no US IP, that'd we'd lose in court. You _are_ allowed to do a lot (US publication) with 'real' people or businesses, and while Marvel has IP lawyers, they're also not going to fight a case inttinally, they'd just throw a letter, and if they get back a "Show cause" response for a lawsuit, they'll fold their tent, because they don't want to be COUTNERSUED for damages. That is a valid stragety (restraint of speech, as well as request for fees). Same with Playboy and Hugh Hefner (real people). You're allowed to do things in fiction that normally you wouldn't. Yes, even if they take actions they'd not do in RL, as long as it's NOT to completely demean, though even THAT is fairly 'narrow' in scope on what you can't do. Hugh/Playboy does NOT trip that. "If a mutant showed up, as a bunny girl, would Hugh try hard to lock her up?" Pretty sure Hugh would say "Hell YES."

Same with Marvel/Et al. THis is clearly a fictional universe.

Mutant == no, can't be sued over, too 'generic'

The ONLY (side note, I haven't sent this to my mentor, and while I actually studied law in intent to become a international contracts/IP type, I never practiced this, and it's now nearly 18 years out of date, more or less since lass classes), sticking point is Tennyo. And that's JAPANESE Law. Which is a whole other kettle of fish, and allows homage/profitable use of other's work.

One additional note: Marvel is owned by Disney, which takes a very loose defense of it's IP, in large measure. Their lawyers would weigh "Fan work or corporate work" and generally (one exception for most Disney IP, mind you) try hard to lean on the "fan" work end, and _leave it alone_ even if the creators are making decent money.

(That one exception is pornographic stuff of their DIRECT Disney IP, I don't know their policy per say of Marvel prop. That will get you very angry Mouse Lawyers after your hide.)

Sir Lee wrote: IP lawyers don't care if they are in the right. They just sue you. It takes big bucks to defend against this sort of thing -- money Whateley doesn't have.
It would be way easier to avoid the issue by turning the Playboy mentions into a trademark-safe equivalent -- say, another "lad" magazine with a different animal mascot.

The problem is such a move costs the company they work for, too. And it costs them quite a bit. All that said, however, it would be pretty easy to change all the references made in DTRH and IDTWIKA... probably less than twenty minutes.

The real issue would be the older references.

And Ibi, that suit is pretty clear. The fans ARE in the wrong unless they got written permission somewhere; for the Klingon language if nothing else. Probably for the use of the ships, too. The uniforms and pointy eared people might slide.

I think Paramount a pretty much in a corner with that suit.

If they don't defend the copyright, it could be argued they let the Copyright lapse, and then not just amateur fans, but rival studios will be in on the act of making "Star Trek" movies, so they need to strongly protect it. This isn't just some fans writing stories that fw people will ever read in the outer corners of the World Wide Web, this is actual "movies" that are going to be "widely released", and they are not just paying homage to Star Trek, they are openly stating it is a "Star Trek movie" and using Star Trek lore to write it.

My advice, keep it simple and work up.
Paying for advance peeks, no ads, etc, won't set off any warning bells, and can be put in place without a lot of fuss and bother.
As Kristin gets an idea of how things are going, she and anyone who helps her can start discussing merchandise and other things, doing the necessary research to find out just how far they can go before attracting attention.

Edit: I know with one webcomic that parodied Sonic the Hedgehog and Warhammer (a very litigious company) they waited years before eventually selling merchandise to avoid getting sued until they were certain they had everything lined up in their favour if the lawyers came knocking. And they haven't had any trouble as far as I know. So it's possible, just have to be careful.

I see your point Nagrij and as with any IP they ignored it at first also even with the first production. It may have been brought more to the forefront with the advent of looking into reviving their TV franchise.

To make claim on Klingon would in my opinion be very hard as with any other form of language that is not real. This is just cumulative speaking as they can, if they wished, to sue fans for showing up in costumes for Cosplay.

Its a test of the waters in my opinion of how far they can get away with intellectual property. The writers of the movie have even claimed that they were not making a profit from creating the movie just a love of the show.

As they say its muddied water with no clear answer.

Ibi: On the case you're referring to, Paramount WAS very close to being legal. It's clearly a derived work, from a IP they owned. Would they have gotten a lot of damages? Not sure the current law's limits, and Paramount retracted the suit, because not only would they be unlikey to gain much money, the backlash from fans would cost them more.

Fair use _does not protect you if you create fanworks_ in the US. Fair use is pretty explicit on what it is, and that movie is NOT protected de jure with it. Now, if Paramount turned around and used THEIR work, Paramount (and this is why several companies and writers/IP owners are very active in defending their IP) could be sued FOR it. (It HAS Happened!) (Would the creators win? Dammed if I know for sure)

Ib12us wrote: I see your point Nagrij and as with any IP they ignored it at first also even with the first production. It may have been brought more to the forefront with the advent of looking into reviving their TV franchise.

To make claim on Klingon would in my opinion be very hard as with any other form of language that is not real. This is just cumulative speaking as they can, if they wished, to sue fans for showing up in costumes for Cosplay.

Its a test of the waters in my opinion of how far they can get away with intellectual property. The writers of the movie have even claimed that they were not making a profit from creating the movie just a love of the show.

As they say its muddied water with no clear answer.

Well the reason I brought up the language is, it was invented for the series/movies/universe, and exists nowhere else. it IS owned by whoever owns the rights to ST. If I invented a language for a book, it would be mine, and I could take action against anyone else using it if I were so inclined. It really doesn't get much more clear cut than that.

Totally understand. But with each new iteration of works, many companies dig their claws in trying to ward off others from using their properties.

There are numerous lawsuits not just on Star Trek (it was the newest that I know of). Many authors send out notices to fans when they find out about their creations (I use this purposely) have been used in some fanfic or such.

Some ignore where others try the legal actions.

My wayward discussion is just that. Discussion. Many times when such discussions are brought up it digresses very quickly into a 1st or 2nd grade name calling. We then lose interest as it nolonger becomes about what was started to just name calling where people lose interest and let it fade away.

Overall I would say that if many of the stories can be changed to decrease the aspect of where IP can be used I would say do so.

For authors who gave permission, raid copies from the other sites, clean them up and repost them here. Fans may be confused at first when they 'think' they read one thing but if marked with a revised exerpt it may make things progress smoothly.

I just think of how the record industry as with the movie ones try to stifle how fans listen to their music. It seems that we no longer own the music, movies and what not even with having a copy. We are now being told we are just users with no legal rights. I'm just waiting for when I'm told my car is a loan even after I've paid it off because of all he fancy gadgets that have been placed inside by third parties with their IP rights.

I know of lawsuits of where owners had changed the software inside told they can not 'tinker' with the automobile. Soon I expect to sign an affidavit releasing mechanics from fault for working on it if it fails once worked on.

Sorry these are the things I see our world turn towards as we become 'technologically' advanced. And just what will we do when a robot can take our place sometime in the future. The raising of minimum wages has now caused fastfood franchises in looking at putting up a kiosk to take your order instead of someone behind the counter.

Ibi

Star Trek has some strange laws revolving around it. Anyone can make a Star Trek movie, as long as they don't charge to see it. That is why there are so many Star Trek things on Youtube, BTW ST: Of Gods and Men is pretty good, although the effects have gotten a bit dated.

On that custom vignette idea... Could you do a by idea pay model or something?

Edit: Also, have clauses for internal consistency is the story, with penalties for not being so. To prevent troll fics. ... And proper spelling and grammar clauses? ... I don't think I'm missing anything now?

Like, let's say I want a story with X, Y, and Z, and I'll pay $A if you just have X, $B for just Y... $A + $B * 1.1 for both X and Y... And some multiplier based on length, like if it goes over 100, 000 words, you get 200% of normal price.

I give away rights to the idea, and you can sue me if I don't pay, etc, and possibly some upfront cost, and possibly less money than the base if the word count is less than I asked, etc.

Note that I thought of this at night, so this isn't that well thought out?

Also, I'd be responsible to the court of public opinion, as I give you the right to slander me if I don't pay by posting your work, and the contract, and saying I'm a rotten liar and stuff.

I've no idea if any of that's even possible to put as a penalty in a contract...

As they say so as not to take away from the storyline would be to have it where a person who makes a contribution of sorts can be given a name, ability or such as there are way more students then there are writers.

And example would have been at the trial of Kayda where several students could be seen filing in and then hearing what was happening.

A guest appearance of sorts maybe once or twice, I would think, but does not take away from the story itself. Or if one is more ambitious then to have it in the Zero Gen category to where it doesn't really effect the story at all but has an element of where the person is a part of the universe itself.

This I know can take away the writers who are working diligently on future stories. The other problem would be what the contributor feels is their due which does put pressure on the writer or writers.

Each has its benefits and drawbacks for both the contributors and writers as well as plot. This could also cause animosity amongst the readers and such who have also contributed if it were to get out of hand.

For some of us, giving is just that, and it sounds hard to accept in some cases in that for those that want to give and receive nothing except to show a way in thanking those who have and will contribute here.

I also understand the reluctance to single out a single writer in that many may chose in wanting that certain one to do it whereas others can feel slighted. A 'tip' jar of sorts where the distribution is anonymous and a way to help the site.

Kristin Darken wrote: How many people would pay / sub for an email address on the whateley.net domain?

I tend to use ad-blockers on all of my machines, but i would like to help keep Whateley afloat.

It's the least i could do for all of the enjoyment i have received from reading and re-reading all of the stories, both fanfic and canon.

Please book me in for one.

1 and 2 - hell yes!

Perhaps something in the land between 3 and 6 - the donor provides a character idea (probably as close to 'the full works' as possible: appearance, personality, powers, outline of life before manifestation / origin idea; working with an author to tweak to something more workable if necessary), then have them inserted into the universe - almost certainly initially as a non-speaking cameo (nice and easy for the authors to handle!), but if the donor's willing, "hand over" control of the character to the authors to use (and abuse) as they see fit (as long as the donor doesn't mind the possibility that their character turns into a serial killer or their one big scene ends in a fatal burnout - either of which could be distinct possibilities if Elrod has anything to do with it ), with no guarantee that the donor would be consulted on anything relating to their character's development or use.

Even if their character only appeared as the occasional non-speaking cameo (spotted coming out of the showers, in the food line at Crystal Hall, emerging bruised and battered from the previous BMA class) many would be chuffed that their character "lived", even though no details of what their life was like would be known. And if the authors (even several years down the line) felt they could 'promote' the character to bit-part (occasional speaking role) or higher (although almost certainly not to main character status), so much the better. The only credit the donor would likely get would be a mention in the first post on the story arc thread (something to the effect of "X based on a character design by Y")

4 - given it's currently taking me over a week to get around to reading new tales, writing my 2p worth of commentary and updating the Wiki List, if I had this access I probably wouldn't take advantage of it.

5 - maybe...

7 - I wouldn't be interested, but possibly one for a limited number of top tier backers. Handling the credit could be an interesting challenge, as I don't like the idea of "X Sponsored by Y" either as a title or "Sponsored by Y" as a subtitle, and it would have to be made abuntandly clear the donor couldn't expect any creative input into the story.

As for merchandise, WU stationary / mugs / T-shirts / caps would be the obvious choice, and maybe if we can coax some of the fan artists back (we used to have several back in the Crystal Hall days, e.g. dpragan, Elaborate, Drunkfu, Trusting) they may be willing to sell high-res versions of their drawings with proceeds either split between them and the site or going entirely to the site.

mittfh wrote: As for merchandise, WU stationary / mugs / T-shirts / caps would be the obvious choice, and maybe if we can coax some of the fan artists back (we used to have several back in the Crystal Hall days, e.g. dpragan, Elaborate, Drunkfu, Trusting) they may be willing to sell high-res versions of their drawings with proceeds either split between them and the site or going entirely to the site.

I just want a Whateley Academy hoodie. You know, the kind of thing you could reasonably expect the school to make available to the kids who want it. School pride, that kind of thing.

A lot of these ideas sound great and really workable. I really love the merch idea. As long as Jericho stays away from the clothing lines. =)

Yolandria wrote: ...As long as Jericho stays away from the clothing lines...

Yes. This. Definitely.

NeoMagus wrote:

mittfh wrote: As for merchandise, WU stationary / mugs / T-shirts / caps would be the obvious choice, and maybe if we can coax some of the fan artists back (we used to have several back in the Crystal Hall days, e.g. dpragan, Elaborate, Drunkfu, Trusting) they may be willing to sell high-res versions of their drawings with proceeds either split between them and the site or going entirely to the site.

I just want a Whateley Academy hoodie. You know, the kind of thing you could reasonably expect the school to make available to the kids who want it. School pride, that kind of thing.

Or to cover up a minor case of GSD. After all, you never know when you'll be stuck in the middle of a brick fight and have your hoodie get ripped. ('I survived the breakfast brawl, and all I got was this lousy hoodie')

cprime wrote: Or to cover up a minor case of GSD. After all, you never know when you'll be stuck in the middle of a brick fight and have your hoodie get ripped. ('I survived the breakfast brawl, and all I got was this lousy hoodie')

LOL. Yes, that too.

cprime wrote: 'I survived the breakfast brawl, and all I got was this lousy hoodie')

And on the back:

'And your life!
(A sanity message from your teachers)'

Phoenix Spiritus wrote:

cprime wrote: 'I survived the breakfast brawl, and all I got was this lousy hoodie')

And on the back:

'And your life!
(A sanity message from your teachers)'

I survived First grade 9 times then they pushed me to Second because I was taking up to much space.

Actually, instead of the Breakfast Brawl... a t-shirt design saying "I survived the Halloween Invasion, and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt" might go well in a merch store.

Sir Lee wrote: Actually, instead of the Breakfast Brawl... a t-shirt design saying "I survived the Halloween Invasion, and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt" might go well in a merch store.

Or a Tee-Shirt with several bullet holes in it and the legend: 'EX/ lvl: 7'

Sir Lee wrote: Actually, instead of the Breakfast Brawl... a t-shirt design saying "I survived the Halloween Invasion, and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt" might go well in a merch store.

Those exist in-universe... : whateleyacademy.net/index.php/original-t...-prerequisite-part-4

“Sweatshirts! T-shirts! Hoodies! Boxer briefs! Come and get ‘em!”

“Louder, Greasy, you mindless minion!” insisted Peeper.

Greasy turned up the volume on his sound system. “You got through last night! So show everyone else how tough you really are!”

...

I would pay for a whateley.net email adress, if I had a job to pay for it. I'd definitely pay for a whateley hoodie, especially if it had something like EX/7 or some similar rating, or maybe a hoodie designed by Jericho for if you expect to get beaten up or a rager armband (I need one IRL).

Kristin Darken wrote: Heh... ya, that's definitely going on the merch to-do list. Ultra-violent / rager armbands.

Don't forget the pacifist/non-combatant ones... you know, so you can switch.

Nagrij wrote:

Kristin Darken wrote: Heh... ya, that's definitely going on the merch to-do list. Ultra-violent / rager armbands.

Don't forget the pacifist/non-combatant ones... you know, so you can switch.

Reversible armbands?

Now that i've read the rest of the thread, and got a better picture of what's going on, Wow!

Yes!

Kristin Darken wrote:
1. Recognition via site 'ranking' tags that you are a donor.
2. Ad-free access to the site (ads would still be there for non-contributors, but you wouldn't see them)
3. A Whateley author to custom design 'you' as a character for inclusion in the timeline as an official WU character, paranormal or otherwise.
4. A behind the scenes / advance readership of the stories before they are 'done'
5. Your own email address at the whateleyacademy.net domain?
6. A Whateley author to write a custom vignette for you based on character and plot ideas you have.
7. Sponsor status on a story arc of your choosing (really want a Jade story arc, 'sponsor' / commission it done).

Another income source would be to sell merchandise. Would you wear a Whateley Universe hat? A hoodie with a collegiate looking logo on it that says Whateley Academy instead? Coffee mugs?

Suggestions?

!, and 2, yes. So far, so normal for any creative endeavor. I'd pay for 2 as minimum, as i use adblocking software anyway. I'd like to be able to not use it, but until ad companies accept liability for any and all malware that gets served up by their ad-servers, then i'll keep blocking ads.

That complaint aside, if there's an option to support the Whateley website, then i'd be happy to help chip in.

3, yes, but i'd shudder to think of what any of the writers would make of my current charcter sheet... I'd also want to avoid any Mary-Sue-ishness. I've got enough wyrdness in my life, without adding in any more.

4, no. I'm patient enough to wait for the final results, when the writer/editor thinks that they are ready for final release. Yes, i want to see how some of the storylines are completed, and i've been waiting years for some of them, but i'd rather the stories were released when they're done, rather than half-baked.

5, yes, as stated before. Please include some form of internal spam-blocker, and for {DIETYNAME}'s sake, have the mail-server kept on a separate machine to the main web-server, and the forum server. I saw one forum back in 1999/2000 that was destroyed by that mistake. Yes, i kmow that using instancing can help avoid this, but it's still a matter of good practise.

6, No. It's an interesting idea, but unless it could become part of the canon, then there's not that much point. I'd prefer to create my own character and write things for the fanfic section, and get some useful critique from the other people here. But i could do this anyway, i just need to find some more hours in the day.

7, YES! There are some story-lines that still haven't been finished, where i would like to know how it all turns out... Though add in the above caveat from 4.

---

Another thought occurs to me.

If the site admin's could give a transparent explicit breakdown of the server costs, including the costs of their time ( charged at a civilised hourly rate), and then did a pledge drive for this amount each year, then you would be able to avoid a lot of the legal hassles, as you would be explicitly running as a non-profit.

It's how we run our workshop in London.