For those who may not have noticed, there is now a “Donate” option on the top right of the website.

It’s clear that WCG needs more servers and/or bandwidth to handle the current and future demand, given the work-unit download problems. WCG is also no longer backed financially by IBM, so if you can send them a few bucks, please consider doing so, and being part of the solution.

@WCG I strongly recommend you post on the “Donate” page your projected needs for the current and following year, and include a bar graph showing the donations received to date, along with the target. A minimal amount of transparency will go a long way here, and you may just find you receive the funding you need from this group of volunteers. Other projects that rely on volunteer funding do the same.

Badges – I would add a special badge for those who have made a donation within the current calendar year. I.E. the badge is not permanent. A “sustaining” contributor membership could also be an option, which auto-renews for “n” amount every month. This will require adding a forum name or ID field to the Donate section. On badges, I have been in the casino industry for a long time now. You need to be very careful when making changes to the incentive system. The current badges/color schemes are a large step backwards in effectiveness in that regard. Although a low priority right now, I would at a minimum, revert to the prior color scheme for badges.

(Please consider making this thread or a similar post a sticky.)