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Signal users can give a recurring monthly contribution

support.signal.org

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Re: Signal users can give a recurring monthly contribution

#151

Post by LordAtlas »

w-m wrote: post #50

I'm happy to give my 5$/month, as I'm using Signal daily. When moving away from WhatsApp it seemed like the best option for me and my circle of friends. I can only hope that some of the money would be used to hire a developer to fix some of the issues I'm experiencing, some of which are quite annoying: - Signal killing the whole iPad and iPhone battery in a matter of hours while running in the background, on some day…

> - terribly slow synchronization between phone and Desktop, catching up on a few hundred messages takes minutes

I agree with everything you wrote. In principle, I'd like to support Signal but their UX is terrible for such things. Tried using it for a group and it was so painful. My phone was constantly warning me about it chewing up battery, and message sync between the desktop app was like it was using a 14.4K modem from 1994. I simply could not use it meaningfully for group messaging. Ultimately we went back to Whatsapp. But hey, at least they fixed the Fisher Price background colours for group messages.

Here in India, everyone uses Whatsapp. There was a brief time during the Whatsapp terms of service brouhaha that a bunch of people I know said they'd move to Signal, and they've all slowly moved back to Whatsapp because that's what everyone in the country uses. Seriously, it's practically infrastructure here.

Re: Signal users can give a recurring monthly contribution

#152

Post by gefhfffh »

nanna wrote: post #103

Important to remember that Brian Acton recently took over from Moxie as CEO of Signal, and he was pushing for a user-funded financial model back at WhatsApp. Signal has had a donation system for a while, but it wasnt exactly explicit and I imagine had a very low conversion rate. I think it's fair enough that Acton would want some return to his $100 million(?) Loan to Signal. But I think more than that this is about c…

Imo WhatsApp also should have been interoperable and without phone number obligation.

WhatsApp basically killed interoperable chat by jumping on phones and building a near-monopoly.

Re: Signal users can give a recurring monthly contribution

#153

Post by gefhfffh »

manwe150 wrote: post #80
w-m wrote: post #50

I'm happy to give my 5$/month, as I'm using Signal daily. When moving away from WhatsApp it seemed like the best option for me and my circle of friends. I can only hope that some of the money would be used to hire a developer to fix some of the issues I'm experiencing, some of which are quite annoying: - Signal killing the whole iPad and iPhone battery in a matter of hours while running in the background, on some day…

Making the colors of buttons consistent seems like something that could be done as a pull request. I think all of their code is open source?

No, not all their code is open source; they're claiming it is for spam protection

Re: Signal users can give a recurring monthly contribution

#154

Post by Fnoord »

jakub_g wrote: post #148
Tepix wrote: post #5

I'd argue that $5/month is quite high. Not because Signal isn't useful, but because the actual incurred cost per user is much, much lower. Of course, not everyone is going to pay. But if Signal were to ask users to pay, say $10 per year , i'm sure there'd be a lot more payers.

Kinda hack, but if you choose a different currency, the tiers are lower. (With Revolut you can use almost any currency and FX fees are 0-0.5%). For example with PLN min tier is 12 PLN = 2.64€

This month I donated in Indian Rupees (just like I do with YouTube Premium family), every month I will pick a different currency (tbd). With YT I had to figure out an existing address in India, with Signal it seems I can pick any (even tho my number starts with +31).

Re: Signal users can give a recurring monthly contribution

#155

Post by pliu »

jigarjain wrote: post #62

The first line says > Signal is a nonprofit with no advertisers or investors, sustained only by the people who use and value it. Wasn't the case that Brian Acton had invested $50 million in Signal?

Signal Foundation is a non-profit. It is my understanding this is a 0% interest loan, not an investment. I'm no expert, but after examining their 2019 balance sheet, it seems to me like they are well on their way to paying it back.

I guess the salaries are competitive in San Francisco. Spicy!

https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/824...

Re: Signal users can give a recurring monthly contribution

#156

Post by CodeGlitch »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #119
CodeGlitch wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just don't get all the hate for cryptocurrencies around here. I benefit from using both Brave and Signal without being subjected to (scammy) adverts, and I just ignore the cryptocurrencies (you can too!!).. For people who are willing to take the risks with MobileCoin and the like, why not give them that choice?

> why not give them that choice? That’s fine. But don’t ask me for donations on top. Sending donation dollars to fund developers pumping a coin is a strange use of resources.

> Sending donation dollars to fund developers pumping a coin is a strange use of resources.

Is it? Perhaps those developers will come up with a coin that isn't so scummy? Or come at it from a different direction which satisfies your worries.

Re: Signal users can give a recurring monthly contribution

#158

Post by windexh8er »

2Gkashmiri wrote: post #113
windexh8er wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For what it is and how it contributes to me daily I don't believe it's high. $5/month for the peace of mind Signal provides is something I can make a case for. I subscribe to the $10/month level - because everyone in my circle uses it, and I pushed many of them in that direction. I want it to succeed, I want it to continue to improve, I want it to be available. I know I spend more than $10/month on other things that…

I get your argument but remember a lot of users aren't in the united states. In India, Amazon prime is around $1.5/ month. Same $2.5 for Netflix mobile only basic plan. My point is, $5/month might sound reasonable for most folk in the us but outside that, with purchasing power greatly reduced to a factor of 1:80 for example with India and USA conversion rate, these sound very expensive. So my question is, should I pa…

Completely understand where you're coming from and the cost implications. I'm curious about your position on Amazon Prime. It's a loss leader so you're compelled to spend more at Amazon. Are you spending more with Amazon to rationalize the Prime subscription? That's the goal and why they offer it.

You also state...

> I would rather set up a matrix server at a lowendbox vps

...and my guess here is that you're going to spend roughly $2-5/month doing this anyway. Plus your hours invested. This is squarely why I'm willing to donate to Signal via my contribution. There's value in someone making sure that this works for me and those I communicate with on Signal. I manage and control far too many other things - so I'm also with you on having that control, knowing about alternatives and controlling my data when and where it makes sense. But I don't want to be in the business of owning a messaging platform for friends and family and Signal fills that gap in a great way.

My post was purely a positional statement and not meant to be construed as any sort of guilt trip of those who don't contribute.

Re: Signal users can give a recurring monthly contribution

#159

Post by rvz »

CodeGlitch wrote: post #73
elektor wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s partly why I donate. If they get direct funds they’re hopefully less likely to turn to these scammy cryptocoins to keep the lights on

I just don't get all the hate for cryptocurrencies around here. I benefit from using both Brave and Signal without being subjected to (scammy) adverts, and I just ignore the cryptocurrencies (you can too!!).. For people who are willing to take the risks with MobileCoin and the like, why not give them that choice?

What is wrong with using a regulated stablecoin for donations, instead of a unregulated volatile cryptocurrency like MobileCoin that with Signal can be used to privately finance lots of terrorists, extremists and conspiracy theorists chatting amongst themselves in a group chat?

Is that why Signal has not been banned for these uses yet?

Re: Signal users can give a recurring monthly contribution

#160

Post by zepto »

CodeGlitch wrote: post #156
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> why not give them that choice? That’s fine. But don’t ask me for donations on top. Sending donation dollars to fund developers pumping a coin is a strange use of resources.

> Sending donation dollars to fund developers pumping a coin is a strange use of resources. Is it? Perhaps those developers will come up with a coin that isn't so scummy? Or come at it from a different direction which satisfies your worries.

If they want investment for that, then they can declare those plans. Otherwise it’s literally just wishful thinking.
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