Response to Russ' Front Page Letter.

[jgbrowning]

Morrus,

Congratulations on your decision. Enjoy the stability of a 9-5 and enjoy your hobby again.

Thanks for making this site what it is.

joe b.

 

[EricNoah]

Looks like my other post never made it through.

I have a question Morrus.

Since you're no longer gonna be taking profit from Enworld to help pay for IRL expenses, will this money be redirected into ENworld itself?

Or will you simply shut down the things that make that money?

You had every right, in my not so humble opinion, to use profits from this site to pay for your living expenses. Since you'll no longer be doing that i'm hoping to see that money used on a new server or ISP....or perhaps a more streamlined hosting service for RPG sites or something like that.

eek, i guess i'm starting to go into ways that enworld could be more of a buisness when you want to step away from that. sorry.

but with that in mind. Since YOU wont be running the buisness parts. Who will. Jason is your partner for EN Publishing. Will it be him? Or will he remain doing only ENP work.

Im just curious is all. You dont owe me any kind of answer or explination i'd just like to be informed if thats possible.

Edit: i do plan to get a community supporter account eventually i'm just short on money now :-D

I think there may be a misperception about some things. Russ, please correct me if I'm incorrect here, but...

EN World is a huge, recurring expense. So Russ did things to generate funds to pay for that expense. And then if there was anything left over, it went to him as a salary to pay for his life. What I think his announcement ultimately means is that he's going to get a "real world" job so that he no longer has to worry about scrambling to make EN World generate enough money to pay for his life. If it pays for itself, that's enough. The upside is that Russ gets to enjoy his hobby as a hobby and not as a business; the downside may be that we see him around less and perhaps he will have to make some decisions about the scope of the site.

So, now to your question about the "business side" of EN World. I don't want to speak for Russ, but as I understand it: other than handling banner ads (processing payments, getting them in the rotation, and that money going toward paying for the server), and handling community supporter donations (processing payments, providing the "thank you for donating" benefits, and that money going to pay for the server), there won't BE a buisness side to EN World any more. If such a time would come that the banners and community supporter accounts could not cover the cost of the server, then Russ will have to get inventive.

Your questions about EN Publishing, and what exactly Russ' role is in that business I cannot comment on as I have no knowledge.

Now, as a point of comparison ... The only way I could "afford" to run Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D News was that a) it was someone else's server and I was required to run their banners and b) I had a job and the site was just my hobby, so I could literally take it or leave it. The fact that Gamespy wanted more and more from me (they wanted 3 new kinds of ads besides banners -- popups, "boxillas" and "skyscraper" type ads) while providing less and less (remember how they'd just turn off my forums every couple of days during the busy times?) was one thing that led to my exit from running the site. I could never have done it on my own like Russ did, taking a gamble like that. I've seen how expensive running this site can be, and frankly I'm surprised Russ was able to make any money at all. It certainly can't have been hugely profitable.

 

[BSF]

Morrus,
I appreciate all the work you have put in. I can understand that running it day in and day out starts to take all the fun out of it.

Get back into a routine that allows you to have fun and enjoy things again. I mean, two years without playing in a game? Ouch!

 

[BrooklynKnight]

I think there may be a misperception about some things. Russ, please correct me if I'm incorrect here, but...

EN World is a huge, recurring expense. So Russ did things to generate funds to pay for that expense. And then if there was anything left over, it went to him as a salary to pay for his life. What I think his announcement ultimately means is that he's going to get a "real world" job so that he no longer has to worry about scrambling to make EN World generate enough money to pay for his life. If it pays for itself, that's enough. The upside is that Russ gets to enjoy his hobby as a hobby and not as a business; the downside may be that we see him around less and perhaps he will have to make some decisions about the scope of the site.

So, now to your question about the "business side" of EN World. I don't want to speak for Russ, but as I understand it: other than handling banner ads (processing payments, getting them in the rotation, and that money going toward paying for the server), and handling community supporter donations (processing payments, providing the "thank you for donating" benefits, and that money going to pay for the server), there won't BE a buisness side to EN World any more. If such a time would come that the banners and community supporter accounts could not cover the cost of the server, then Russ will have to get inventive.

Your questions about EN Publishing, and what exactly Russ' role is in that business I cannot comment on as I have no knowledge.

Now, as a point of comparison ... The only way I could "afford" to run Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D News was that a) it was someone else's server and I was required to run their banners and b) I had a job and the site was just my hobby, so I could literally take it or leave it. The fact that Gamespy wanted more and more from me (they wanted 3 new kinds of ads besides banners -- popups, "boxillas" and "skyscraper" type ads) while providing less and less (remember how they'd just turn off my forums every couple of days during the busy times?) was one thing that led to my exit from running the site. I could never have done it on my own like Russ did, taking a gamble like that. I've seen how expensive running this site can be, and frankly I'm surprised Russ was able to make any money at all. It certainly can't have been hugely profitable.

So what exactly will he shut down. There are 3 things that come to mind when it comes to money flowing into ENworld. The Bookstore (which i dont think takes much management at all, its automated), ads, supporter accounts.

I support rus in anything he feels he needs to do. I'm just curious and wanting of a better defention of what part of ENworld is buisness, and in what capacity will it be lessened.

Its not that Rus is obligated to tell us, he's not. It would be nice to get some light on that though.

 

[Morrus]

To be honest, I haven't yet figured it all out. But I'll certainly be favouring "automated" stuff (like the shop) over manual stuff. For example, I'm talking to SV Games about the possibility of an affiliate PDF store, which could just run in the background (like the current shop). If that works out, and if that and the current shop together can cover server costs, I may well remove the ads.

Not so sure about removing CS accounts. They are a manual thing, and with luck they won't be needed if other things work out, but it seems unfair to those who have already got one. I'll have to think hard about that.

 

[BrooklynKnight]

To be honest, I haven't yet figured it all out. But I'll certainly be favouring "automated" stuff (like the shop) over manual stuff. For example, I'm talking to SV Games about the possibility of an affiliate PDF store, which could just run in the background (like the current shop). If that works out, and if that and the current shop together can cover server costs, I may well remove the ads.

Not so sure about removing CS accounts. They are a manual thing, and with luck they won't be needed if other things work out, but it seems unfair to those who have already got one. I'll have to think hard about that.

I'm sure someone else would be willing to help do the manual community contributor account thing for free.
(I know i would). Then you wouldnt have to worry about it.

 

[jgbrowning]

Not so sure about removing CS accounts. They are a manual thing, and with luck they won't be needed if other things work out, but it seems unfair to those who have already got one. I'll have to think hard about that.

I for one, would like the CS accounts to say the way they are. As I like to supporty my local gaming stores, I like having one way to support EN World that doesn't lessen my support of my local community.

joe b.

 

[Macbeth]

While I'm not a supporter, I think that Community supporters are a good idea. It provides a simple way for people to "donate," while still getting something in return. So, essentially Morus/the site/whoever gets some money, with the only cost being POSSIBLE some higher server usage. This is not only a good buisness model, but I think many of the "community" people would be much happier to pay a fee for an improved account then they are to buy stuff online. If manpower to handle community supporter accounts is a problem, I will humbly offer my time and energy to manage these accounts.

 

[RangerWickett]

Wow, a lot of business questions for a friendly congratulatory thread. Really, I have no problem with banner ads. Pop-ups I hate, but banner ads are perfectly fine, especially the ones here, which are always things appropriate to the site.

The main thing I'm worried about is that Russ might think this gives him permission to stop presenting the ENnies. I doubt we could have a more charming and proper spokesperson for the awards, so I hope, if nothing else, Russ will consider the ENnies a willing sacrifice for this hobby.

Oh, and hey Russ, since I haven't actually caught you online in person, I'll have to settle for posting in this thread like everyone else. I was hoping to congratulate you and wish you good luck privately, but I don't want to wait too long and seem like an insensitive bastard.

Russ, just know you've done a phenomenal job, and you've always been an encouragement to me to keep busy in the industry (even if I have been a bit quiet lately, I am indeed working). Really, no one has a right to criticize you; you've helped thousands of people have more successful and fulfilling games, and helped bring and keep us together as a community. God bless you, and feel proud about what you're doing.

Oh, and I realize you're not, like, leaving for good. But a few people have been a little down on you, and I think you need to know how good you actually have been for all of us.

(Though I still don't like the message icons. :Þ)