Neon Gold 2023

[Kong Wen]

Hey everyone! First and foremost, I want to thank everyone continuing to be a part of this community. It doesn't seem like it, but this site opened in 2014, which is almost ten years ago—for many if not most of us, that means this has been our internet home longer than any other joint. It's hard to believe another 3 years have gone by, but the time dilation effect of COVID and the equally interminable 2020 edition of the BGE Project has made them pass in the blink of an eye.

I also want to thank everyone who has kicked in a few bucks here and there over the years, particularly during these triennial poverty drives. It's important to recognize that this place is a community in the true sense of the word. Just because I have the keys to the code doesn't mean I've contributed any more than anyone else who has sunk some level of time or effort into this place, submitting writing, voting in the BGE, or sharing an encouraging message in the chat.

Like bernie_sanders.gif, I want to once again extend the entirely optional and judgement-free invitation to help with TONe finances, to whoever is willing, able, and comfortable. I know not everyone is in a financial position to be able to chip in every cycle, and that's perfectly cool. The hosting bills come in every 3 years in June, and the domain fees are annual. Our fees for this cycle are $650 CAD, which is around $470 USD (a bump of $50 since the last cycle in 2020—inflation, I guess.)

Everyone who contributed in 2017 got a fancy pink tone, and everyone who donated last time got a nice bright blue. I'm thinking an appropriate hue for Neon Gold 2023 will be an actual GOLD colour for our usernames! I'm also going to work on little avatar/profile badges that indicate previous Gold memberships so those past contributions don't feel lost.

[I acknowledge that during this past cycle, we pretty much lost our main page. Don't worry, the articles themselves aren't gone (they're archived). The guy who maintained our nice professional-looking custom theme disappeared and stopped making updates early in COVID (I hope he's OK...) and WordPress updates eventually broke many parts of it. I feel really bad and guilty about this almost every day, which makes me also feel bad and guilty about asking for money to help fund a version of this site with less functionality. Please know that I plan to find a way to get the main site fixed, even if it means installing a generic theme and porting the articles back in.]

If you're interested in helping out, PayPal or e-transfer are the best options. Reach out to me via PM!