Hey guys. I sent this info out in an email, though it is hard for me to know if most people are getting my new emails or if they are going straight into spam boxes. Surprisingly, sending "healthy" newsletters is an extremely difficult thing to do. There were already a few complaints against the last two that I sent and if I get too many more my email credentials will probably get suspended.
On that note, if you have seen these emails, what do you think? Do they look nice? Are they worth reading? Should I continue to do at least one per month?
As for the topic of this thread, I would like to double tap on a few parts of the last email:
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We finally joined the dark side. (Update: All colors usable!)
I am absolutely stoked to announce that you can now use the dark style in your color of choice. At the moment, switch colors can be a little confusing. I'm working on figuring out a more intuitive system for this.
See that lightbulb icon to the right of the notification bell? It will turn your style dark if you're using light, or light if you're using dark. If you want to switch the color, first click the box next to "T3G VINYLS:" that you would like to use. This will give you that color, but in the light style. Once there, click the lightbulb and it will make it dark, keeping your color selection. I'm working on getting special logos for each color that will have their border in the color of your selection (you can see this with the Quicksand version).
If you are on mobile, the lightbulb can be found in a slightly different area. In the top left of the website, next to the logo, there are three horizontal lines. Click them, and you will see the lightbulb at the bottom of that list.
I hope you guys dig these dark variations as much as I do!
Rig of the Month (Voting is open!)
FYI, the RotM submission phase has ended and the first voting phase has started. Vote for all of your favorite photos in the voting thread here!
Tacoma3G is still getting an overhaul, but I have enabled donations...
I mentioned some extensive plans I have for the future of our website in the last email. Those are still happening. I'm working on stuff everyday; it's essentially a full-time job and I really enjoy doing it.
In light of what I would consider to be T3G 2.0, I have decided to finally enable a standard donation system alongside the sticker and patches donations.
Why?
Well, I want to preface by saying it's not so I can benefit from it by buying myself truck parts, or because I'm now unable to run T3G out of pocket. As I always mentioned with the sticker and patch sales, money from those sit in an account dedicated to T3G upkeep and development.
Upkeep entails: the monthly server cost, the yearly domain renewal, and the yearly license renewal for the software that powers the forum behind the scenes. Development, by my own definition, includes things like: paying professionals to accomplish some things that I can't on my own (such as setting up this new emailing system, the initial styling of what the website looks like, etc), future logo designs, future merch designs, licenses for some of the special features and functions of the forum, Google advertising to bring in new Tacoma owners, and most important to me, the ability to create respectable giveaways for certain milestones, as well as the Rig of the Month prizes during the months that they aren't sponsored.
Phew. That sounds like a lot, and maybe it is, but I really don't mind it. And I never want to stop molding T3G into something better than it is. I don't want it to become stagnate.
With that all being said, I have decided to set the "monthly goal" to about half of the monthly cost of keeping the forum online, which is $40. Whether we make the goal, don't make the goal, or make more than the goal, it is what it is, and everything I have planned for T3G will still happen. You account name will turn blue if it isn't already, and you will have my utmost appreciation for supporting our community.
You should see the donation bar on the side of the forum in desktop view or near the bottom of the forum if you are on your phone. It will open a pop-up window and allow you to send whatever you'd like via PayPal.
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I would love to hear your feedback on these things. How are the dark themes looking? Was anyone already using a dark theme that isn't the Quicksand one? (By the way, the Army Green version has some Quicksand accents in it; I still need to fix that.) What do you think about the emails? And especially this: How do you feel about me enabling a donation drive like this? Is it justifiable due to the fact that I intend to use it to continue to improve the forum and our future giveaways? Should I take the donations down?
Thanks guys!
On that note, if you have seen these emails, what do you think? Do they look nice? Are they worth reading? Should I continue to do at least one per month?
As for the topic of this thread, I would like to double tap on a few parts of the last email:
-----
We finally joined the dark side. (Update: All colors usable!)
I am absolutely stoked to announce that you can now use the dark style in your color of choice. At the moment, switch colors can be a little confusing. I'm working on figuring out a more intuitive system for this.
If you are on mobile, the lightbulb can be found in a slightly different area. In the top left of the website, next to the logo, there are three horizontal lines. Click them, and you will see the lightbulb at the bottom of that list.
I hope you guys dig these dark variations as much as I do!
Rig of the Month (Voting is open!)
FYI, the RotM submission phase has ended and the first voting phase has started. Vote for all of your favorite photos in the voting thread here!
Tacoma3G is still getting an overhaul, but I have enabled donations...
I mentioned some extensive plans I have for the future of our website in the last email. Those are still happening. I'm working on stuff everyday; it's essentially a full-time job and I really enjoy doing it.
In light of what I would consider to be T3G 2.0, I have decided to finally enable a standard donation system alongside the sticker and patches donations.
Why?
Well, I want to preface by saying it's not so I can benefit from it by buying myself truck parts, or because I'm now unable to run T3G out of pocket. As I always mentioned with the sticker and patch sales, money from those sit in an account dedicated to T3G upkeep and development.
Upkeep entails: the monthly server cost, the yearly domain renewal, and the yearly license renewal for the software that powers the forum behind the scenes. Development, by my own definition, includes things like: paying professionals to accomplish some things that I can't on my own (such as setting up this new emailing system, the initial styling of what the website looks like, etc), future logo designs, future merch designs, licenses for some of the special features and functions of the forum, Google advertising to bring in new Tacoma owners, and most important to me, the ability to create respectable giveaways for certain milestones, as well as the Rig of the Month prizes during the months that they aren't sponsored.
Phew. That sounds like a lot, and maybe it is, but I really don't mind it. And I never want to stop molding T3G into something better than it is. I don't want it to become stagnate.
With that all being said, I have decided to set the "monthly goal" to about half of the monthly cost of keeping the forum online, which is $40. Whether we make the goal, don't make the goal, or make more than the goal, it is what it is, and everything I have planned for T3G will still happen. You account name will turn blue if it isn't already, and you will have my utmost appreciation for supporting our community.
You should see the donation bar on the side of the forum in desktop view or near the bottom of the forum if you are on your phone. It will open a pop-up window and allow you to send whatever you'd like via PayPal.
I would love to hear your feedback on these things. How are the dark themes looking? Was anyone already using a dark theme that isn't the Quicksand one? (By the way, the Army Green version has some Quicksand accents in it; I still need to fix that.) What do you think about the emails? And especially this: How do you feel about me enabling a donation drive like this? Is it justifiable due to the fact that I intend to use it to continue to improve the forum and our future giveaways? Should I take the donations down?
Thanks guys!
