Idea for voting page

[MdeSiberieux]

So given that the voting page does not actually determine whether or not a file gets made directly, and money seems to be the greatest determining factor (aka last time I got a custom file, there was practically no wait whatsoever), an idea came to me.

With all the people that vote for some files, its quite obvious that if every person that voted put down an amount even as small as $1, that they could afford to commission the file for just a fractional cost.

So why not have a special voting feature where you can choose to place a special vote that costs $1, and that dollar goes to the cost of commissioning the file itself. When the amount of "Money Votes" reaches the commission cost, EMG could make the file for distribution to everyone. So not only would EMG make more money, but at the same time we might be able to see some of these files made within a reasonable amount of time without having to pay much money at all.

What does everyone think about this?

[davelowe1977]

Genius!

[hypnostudent]

Nice idea.

Simple, but effective.

[dharden]

I'd think there would have to be a retroactive element, on the order of "You've voted for this, do you want to put down a buck toward getting it made?"

Also, would processing fees for such a small amount be an issue?

[Krysta]

If this is implemented, and I'm all for it if so, perhaps the donation amount could be variable. Donate whatever amount you desire.

[dharden]

If this is implemented, and I'm all for it if so, perhaps the donation amount could be variable. Donate whatever amount you desire.

Do it that way, and there'd be no reason to specify one person, one vote. If enough people like an idea enough to pitch in, oh, $1 every other week, it'd still add up pretty quickly.

[zapnosis]

It's a good idea. Custom files are, quite rightly, fairly expensive so it does seem reasonable that this cost could be shared by a number of people. However, I can see two little problems.

Most importantly, if the money is paid as soon as the file is suggested, that means that there is an obligation on the part of EMG to make the file. On the custom file page it clearly says "Please ask about any file you wish to have made BEFORE paying for it" and with good reason. Perhaps a list could be created, apart from the voting list, of files which have been agreed to "in principal" and are just awaiting payment, though this makes the suggestion a bit more complicated.

A more minor problem, but for someone who doesn't live in a dollar economy to charge $1 to their credit card is just not practical. Perhaps something could be done with a credits system where credits are bought in bulk, but again this makes things more complicated...

Still a good idea tho... :D