zlacker

> do you have any long-term plans to IPO this if it becomes successful? If not, some kind of guarantee that this platform is immune to enshittification would probably be very, very popular.

This is a solid call out. Part of me wants to keep things private in order to maintain the "user is the customer" alignment. One issue with going public is it then means shareholders become your primary customer, with your users becoming second tier. I'm not quite sure what the answer is.

This also brings me to the question of funding - on one hand, proper funding here would help drastically with launching, on the other hand it comes with expectations and requirements.

Part of the reason why I want paid users though is it means the site can be self-sustaining without that funding, if it can get past the network effect threshold.

Lots to think about.

>>jjcm+(OP)
The thing to keep in mind that alignment is often good initially but deviates over time. Funds have horizons that they want to respect lest they get in trouble with the LPs or end up with piles of money allocated but not turning a profit for them (because of the sunset clauses on management fees). Shareholders may see eye to eye - for a while - and then split up due to unforeseen development (that's when you'll find out how good that shareholder agreement really is). All in all this is a tricky thing and you will want to get yourself very well informed before pulling the trigger on any investment.

>>jjcm+(OP)
Please make it possible to pay without a credit card. I want to support the site but without sacrificing privacy or anonymity.

>>Lk7Of3+Ye1
Literally the only way to have those things and still give money is to support monero, which is a giant pita for a first draft. Creditcards and other major payment gateways are very easy. If you're serious about services offering such things, you should think about offering such an easy payment integration for folks that maintain services.