[Ragnarok]

You're not creating new content for "the community" anymore. You're creating new content only for your customers.

Actually, I'm always creating new content for the community. If you'd read my post, you'd understand the model I'm moving towards still offers mostly free content. Only the latest content will require a donation once the new site is up and running - and even that is only to pay for the cost of hosting and storage - which will grow exponentially (as we release more and more content) with this new venture.

You can't say there's something wrong with peeps point of view because he didn't know your plan.

Here's what I said in my post...

I wholly disagree that this is not what is best for the community, but I can't fault you for your point of view because frankly - you didn't know what the plan was.

I didn't say there was anything wrong with his point of view. In fact, you just repeated what I said, so I'm not sure what the problem is here.

There's nothing wrong charging for a product, but don't say that stuff will be 100% free in the very fist post, only to link a site that charges for any download.

You're right about that. I rarely look at the first post in these threads anymore. I update the website instead. Thanks for the heads up. I've taken that blurb out of the first post. I didn't edit the post after I changed the website.

Again, these are also downloads that are based on stuff you got from the community.

All of my sets were created using templates that I designed and built from the ground up. The only thing the same (in some cases) is the data. Yes, the templates are similar, but the originals were not sized for Full HD, and needed some work to get them ready for prime time.

I love XBMC and the community, and I've donated to the cause a few times over the last few years, but would I have bought it if that were the only way to get it? I'm not so sure.

Again, this is a temporary measure to pay for the new project. Those who donate $15 now get a lifetime membership that gives them access to all current and future sets. Those who don't will have to wait to download new content, or donate to get it.

Nobody wants to go into debt to provide content to the community. I get that. It just seems like there were other ways to get there.

I left donations open and not required for 6 months. While I was getting an average of 40 hits (and about triple that in downloads) each day, I had a total of 9 donations over those 6 months. Two of them from the same person. I'd love to hear some ideas on how I can pay for this without forcing people to donate, without taking money out of pocket. I'm all ears.

Reading through 20 pages of this thread shows a lot of people offering to help you for free, then you turn around and sell their help.

There are two people who have helped develop my sets. Both of those people are involved in the new project. The new website will allow me to give them (and Team XBMC) a percentage of every single donation made - which having the content on a Google Site will not allow me to do.

I'm just glad I read peeps post before clicking that donate button on your site. (Also, you can't call it a donation if that's what unlocks download. It's a purchase or a paid subscription.) I have no problem with people charging for their work or whatever, but this particular case just seems... off.

Something tells me you read peebs post, but neglected to read mine. Given the selfish nature of your post - I'd bet you're one of those people who don't want to donate anything, and just want content for free because you feel that you're entitled to have it. If you truly wanted to further the development of the content you would have donated, at all, and I never got a donation from you when I was offering all of the content for free - or when I warned that I would have to start charging - or after I locked the content down to contributors only.

Before starting this venture, I was running low on storage on my Google Drive, and getting bandwidth warnings from the Google Site. The natural evolution is to move the website and content to a hosted server, which are not free. Unless you feel like being generous and buying me (read: the community) a year of hosting and storage for this content - I'm not really interested in your whining. The content we create is not created just for the XBMC community. We do this for any Home Theater enthusiast. The bottom line is - none of us have to do this. At all. Ever. We do it because we like doing it. I don't like charging for this content, but I have to in order to pay for the things that we absolutely have to have.