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Rob Zacny

3MA has a Patreon

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I do get the emails but as a rule I don't read them. I support a couple of other fine folks via Patreon, which means I get a few emails a week from Patreon. Apparently this is too much for me, as I rarely read any of them. I don't mind them either.

 

I have no idea if it would make sense, but personally I kind of wish the Q&A episode was available for all. I understand you want to do something special for all the folks chipping in, but I suspect more questions would result in better Q&A sessions, and exclusive content certainly isn't what I'm looking for.

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I have no idea if it would make sense, but personally I kind of wish the Q&A episode was available for all. I understand you want to do something special for all the folks chipping in, but I suspect more questions would result in better Q&A sessions, and exclusive content certainly isn't what I'm looking for.

 

This perfectly mirrors my feelings as well, for what it's worth.

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I support the idea of the Q&A session being available to all. I'm paying the $5 'premium' (compared to the $5 base support) more to support 3MA than any reward. And from a practical perspective my phone automatically notifies/downloads episodes for me - and I don't know how the Q&A will be distributed as limiting it that tier of subscribers means it will have to be behind some sort of wall? Easier just to make it a free for all.

 

In terms of the number of emails coming from Patreon/3MA - I am happy with the current level. I find them useful for the polls etc, although not so much for the release of new episodes as my phone does that anyway. I wouldnt mind the occasional general update, as necessary.

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I get the emails about polls from patreon but that's about it. Personally I don't mind patreon emails direct from my backers, it's when they spam me with 'other people you might like to back' emails I get annoyed (although I think I've stopped that now)

Email is fine with me to be honest. I didn't know there was a patreon bulletin board either.

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Hey, the backer Q&A is up right now, and I think Patreon should have sent you folks a message about it. It's about 90 minutes, and you can download it directly or listen to it on Soundcloud.

 

Regarding making the Q&A episode free and available to all... (and prefacing all of this with the caveat that I only have a vague understanding of the psychology of a Patreon campaign)

 

To an extent, I know that the exclusivity angle here is kind of absurd, because the majority of people who back a Patreon like ours really don't care about getting anything in return. It's a measure of support and appreciation. And I also know that having one episode of 3MA not pushed to podcast managers is probably annoying. I absolutely have thought a few times about just saying, "hell with it, it's free".

 

But not everyone is going to think that way. I can't blame anyone who is motivated to pay that extra premium because they want something extra, and I couldn't blame anyone who felt miffed if suddenly I said that perk is now free to all. So we're not going to rock that boat, not for a while at any rate. But we'll pay attention to what people say about this backer tier and take that feedback onboard for the future. Nothing is set in stone.

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Thanks Rob.

 

I'm listening to the Q&A now (loving it), but on the technical side have had a couple of technical issues.

 

On an Android phone I have downloaded Soundcloud fine and have an account, but it doesnt accept the URL when I click on it in the email (and then the "Open in SoundCloud Android" link). No major issue as it sounds/works fine in the in browser player.. except for the massive lag between clicking play and hearing anything (20-30 seconds over local wifi on top of fibre optic). I am in New Zealand so expect some lag for random international things - but damn! 20-30 seconds is more than enough time for connecting and caching a decent amount. It would be almost enough time to download the entire thing!

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Just finished the Q&A and loved it, but did you answer all questions received? I missed mine (sent 23 Nov) - but I was also juggling a baby and things at the same time, so I had to stop/start a few times.

 

Sorry. I feel like I'm becoming a trouble maker as I keep having minor issues. On the up side, the 20-30 seconds issue seemed to resolve itself.

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To an extent, I know that the exclusivity angle here is kind of absurd, because the majority of people who back a Patreon like ours really don't care about getting anything in return. It's a measure of support and appreciation. And I also know that having one episode of 3MA not pushed to podcast managers is probably annoying. I absolutely have thought a few times about just saying, "hell with it, it's free".

 

Those who support you on Patreon have the privilege of asking questions. Perhaps you can release quarterly Q&A a quarter later, many Patreons seem to work on this model. And in any case it's not like you put some sort of DRM paywall, I suspect those who really want to ask questions and hear Q&A but can't spend ten bucks for some reason will find the way.

 

And by the way I'm happy I got to hear this episode and can expect similar in-depth talks relatively soon. It seemed like knowing people payed for this episode had turned off some of your defensive mechanisms. Previously you went easy on people, now you know they've asked for it so you can go all the way using obscure hardcore board games in your discussion.

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Those who support you on Patreon have the privilege of asking questions. Perhaps you can release quarterly Q&A a quarter later, many Patreons seem to work on this model. And in any case it's not like you put some sort of DRM paywall, I suspect those who really want to ask questions and hear Q&A but can't spend ten bucks for some reason will find the way.

 

I'm in the same place here; being able to ask questions is enough of a perk, and I'm fine with everyone being able to hear the results.

 

I subscribe to Linux Weekly News.  Their model is, subscribers get exclusive access to this week's articles, and everything goes free after a week.  So, if you don't mind your news being a week old, it's free.  If you want stuff when it's new, you subscribe.  It seems to work pretty well, and a week is actually plenty of time.  Especially if you have forums where people are talking about it...

 

I'd be perfectly content if patreon-exclusives were timed release for non-subscribers, and that would also fix the podcast manager problem without having to resort to extra work like setting up a password-locked patreon rss feed or something similar.

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Just finished the Q&A and loved it, but did you answer all questions received? I missed mine (sent 23 Nov) - but I was also juggling a baby and things at the same time, so I had to stop/start a few times.

 

The show was recorded the 27th, so we should have gotten to your questions. Could you re-send? Sometimes the email forwarding is a bit wonky.

 

 

And by the way I'm happy I got to hear this episode and can expect similar in-depth talks relatively soon. It seemed like knowing people payed for this episode had turned off some of your defensive mechanisms. Previously you went easy on people, now you know they've asked for it so you can go all the way using obscure hardcore board games in your discussion.

 

There was definitely a relaxed, "nobody here but us" vibe when we were recording this episode. Also, our questions didn't leave us a lot of choice! People were throwing tough questions at us, so we kind of engaged with them on those terms. Knowing people had signed up for this, and asked these kinds of questions, made it easy to just roll with it.

 

Had it been a regular episode, I definitely would have been watching the time a little more closely and also trying to keep things a little more approachable overall. For better or worse.

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Episodes like this let us see you actually usually have to think what you're saying on the episodes, not just saying whatever comes to mind in a company of friends. I think it's safe bet that those who signed up for the Patreon are dedicated strategy games players and would not mind to be overwhelmed once in a while. I understand you may have doubts - you probably can't compare those episodes listener stats to other episodes - but I'm sure this is the best time to go full hardcore.

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I'm listening to the episode now, and it's really good.  Thanks for answering my (admittedly kind of obnoxious) question!

 

As a marketing thing, I have to think that being able to ask the questions is more enticing than being able to listen to the show, and if you make the show free for all it will advertise that perk to potential backers.  

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As a marketing thing, I have to think that being able to ask the questions is more enticing than being able to listen to the show, and if you make the show free for all it will advertise that perk to potential backers.

That's a great point - thanks for articulating that. Maybe being able to ask questions is sufficient for Patreon purposes? And everyone could listen? Other backers have thoughts?

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Sounds good to me but then I'm not giving you enough to ask questions

One other point I feel I should point out - because patreon is taking money in dollars, and I am paying pounds sterling (seeing as I'm British living in the UK!) I'm effectively paying over the odds as I have to pay a currency conversion rate above what I've pledged.

Do any of you know if Patreon has a facility for paying in different currencies? You are after all an international show

 

That's very true! One of the neat things about our new polling service is that we get a nifty map of where our voting patrons are from. Very interesting information.

 

Regarding international payments, I found the following two pages:

Do you support international payments?

How do you calculate fees?

 

The short answer is that we appear to be stuck with USD and the conversion charges that apply. That's a Patreon thing, and unfortunately out of our hands.

 

Regarding our backers, though, the latest poll concluded earlier this week and you a voted for Thea: The Awakening by a hefty margin.

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Regarding international payments, I found the following two pages:

Do you support international payments?

How do you calculate fees?

The short answer is that we appear to be stuck with USD and the conversion charges that apply. That's a Patreon thing, and unfortunately out of our hands.

Hmmm reading that I might be better off paying via PayPal. I'll have to break out s calculator though, and seeing as I've just moved house that's going to have to wait until I'm not living out of cardboard boxes.....

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