Author
Message
BMod Admin
Joined: Jan 25, 2003
Mods Posted: 55
Forum Posts: 2,873
Hello and Happy New Year to all of you!
This year is going to be a major milestone in the life of BodyMod.org and myself. After a lot a soul-searching and conversing with friends (both in and out of the Body Modification community) I have decided to make a major change in our community for the better of everyone in the long run.
In the beginning of November, I resigned from my full-time career and started my own company (Psyance). It has nothing to do with body modification or creativity whatsoever. It's a very corporate, suit and tie kind of thing (Network Identity Management to be exact). I've been doing it for years, and finally decided to get out on my own.
Over the last couple months, I have done and seen a lot. Enough to really start to think about my life and what direction I want to go. I have spoken with a lot of very talented and intelligent people that I am envious of for different reasons.
I will be 29 in February and for the longest time I've been stuck with the ominous question of, "What do I want to do with my life". Through some excellent, and some terrifying experiences, I have been awaken to what my calling is. I now know what it is, and it's up to me to pursue it head-on and not hold back. Not to let anything get in my way.
I am writing this to all of you as kind of my surrogate brothers and sisters. This community has never been an obligation or hinderance in my life, and am extremely thankful to all of you for making it happen. I can honestly say that my life would be completely different if it wasn't for all of you.
With that, I would like to announce to you that I will no longer be running this site as a part-time hobby anymore. This community, and you, mean too much to not put my full attention into it, and I don't think it can grow to it's fullest capabilities, or to the level of awesome that I see so clearly in my head.
So, I have decided to devote my life, full-time, 24x7 to this community and to you, the people that deserve to have only the best possible resource, and I know that I can do it. With all the passion I have for this industry, I can't sit on the side anymore and just let this fall to mediocrity, when I know it can be so much more, and so much better. I think that's just the perfectionist and self-drive that I have. I can't ignore it anymore.
So now you know about me, so what about the site...
As of today, in the beginning of this new year, BodyMod.org will have three main types of users, Guests, Body Mod Members, and Body Mod Supporters. The ranks will stay stay intact, but the greatest differences will be in these categories.
For Guests, it'll be pretty much the same. They'll have just enough access to check out the gist of the site. If they feel like they are one of us, then they can freely join the site to access more and further their research or other interests. They will then be considered a Body Mod Member.
Body Mod Members will have access to a lot of the site, and have unrestricted access (except for a couple areas as it is now) to the forums for help, research, and communication with other like-minded body modification individuals. Here is where the differences will start to happen. Regular Body Mod Members will only have access to posted mods that have no mature content in them and that are seven days old (or newer). Other restrictions that have been placed onto regular Body Mod Members have been put in place. They are there to keep our Body Mod Supporters safe from the scrutiny and harassment of those that sign up just to lurk or ruin the integrity of the site. Therefore, they will not be able to post private comments on others profile pages, or send private messages to other members / supporters. They can reply to any messages that have been sent to them though. They will be forced into the open with everything they do so that they will be held responsible for their actions. Should someone sign up and wish to have complete access to everything this community has to offer, they will have to become a Body Mod Supporter.
Body Mod Supporters are people that really believe in the community and want to help maintain it as a solid foundation in the world of body modification. These are the people that are considered "one of us". They are the ones that you would drive half way across a country just to shake their hand, or fly around the world to sit in a pub and have a beer together. There is a tight knit between all of us true Body Modification Supporters. We are very open with each other, we are supportive of each other, and we respect each other. If you decide to become a Body Mod Supporter in this community, you will have full access to all of the body mods posted throughout the site (even ones with mature content), unrestricted access to post comments and messages to whom-ever you want. You will have the fastest possible connection and response from the server with no ads being served whatsoever. Because you want to keep the community clean and to be something you can be proud of, you will be able to vote out mods that should be removed and vote to have mods or blogs posted to the Body Mod Showcase. Body Mod Supporters are also able to restrict their mods, blogs, and their entire profile with privacy settings to keep away lurkers, and voyeurs. You will also be able to stylize your own personal profile page to look and feel however you want. And as some of you may already know, all Body Mod Supporters will have a badge that will be shown next to their name or photo that shows their status. I want this badge to mean something. It doesn't just say that this person donated to the site. It says that this person is "one of us". They are someone I would stick up for. They are someone I would help if they needed it and I could. The buzz-words "Internet Community" have destroyed it's true meaning. We, Body Mod Supporters, are a true community of like-minded people and together we can change our lives for the better. This badge is a declaration.
To become a Body Mod Supporter, it is pretty much the same as it was with the donations. The only difference is that I have made the $5 / month one a recurring payment so that you don't have to keep paying manually or forget and then have to freak out when you've come back without the status.
I know there will be people that will not agree with what I am doing, but I feel that they aren't truly that supportive of the community or they just wanted to look at a bunch of crotch shots for free. Of course I don't want anyone to leave, but I would rather run the best body mod website out there with a smaller concentrated community of those that are really into body modification, than a larger completely open community that just gets weighed down and saturated with people that shouldn't be here in the first place. I know you can feel where I coming from on this one.
There are other reasons in which I have moved in this direction. By doing this, it will allow for me to organize larger and more elaborate meetups and Body Mod parties. All of the funds that come from the site will inherently return right back to you in the form of available merch (who here wants a hoodie?) and even more Body Mod community innovations (webisodes, iPhone applications, etc). I have all these ideas in my head, and I know I'm totally capable of doing them, but I need the help from all of you so that I can give them to you.
I will also be able to actually promote the site to a larger, but specific audience. Maybe even joint ventures with other sites and / or magazines. I've been in talks with them for years, but I never had the time to formally accept. If I can't do it to the level I feel it should be done, I'd rather not do it. Now I will be able to move this community to even greater places. Other things that will be possible are things that I've wanted to do with the site, but require a major commitment of time and effort that I just never had. Things like revamping the navigation, rewriting the forums to integrate with the new(er) version of the site, redo the Wiki (finally =), better profile pages, and mobile browsing capabilities.
I'm not a a large, evil corporation with millions of dollars and a full staff of people that have nothing to do with the scene. I'm just one guy that has devoted a ton of time and close to $15K in my own money for all the costs just to keep it alive over the last 5 years. I don't feel like I'm selling out, or changing for the worse at all. I also want to further my own path in body modification, and by working in a corporate job, I will not be able to. Doing all of this will allow me to really be me. Kind of in a Kafka-esque way if you will. I know this is something that everyone here fully understands and can get behind.
Right now, there is a lack of a face that represents the Body Modification Community as a whole. I want to do my damnedest to fill that void for the benefit of everyone. You all know how hard I work to bring you what has been. That was part-time, when I feel like it Adam. Imagine, Adam that's always here, always making the community better, and knowing that you have a large part in how awesome things are going to be from now moving forward into this new year!
I want to thank you for the 5 years of support and encouragement, now let's get crazy and show the world who we are! We are a community of brothers and sisters that are there for each other. I wouldn't be writing this if I didn't feel we were at the cusp of creating something phenomenal.
Happy 2009 Everyone!
.: Adam
This year is going to be a major milestone in the life of BodyMod.org and myself. After a lot a soul-searching and conversing with friends (both in and out of the Body Modification community) I have decided to make a major change in our community for the better of everyone in the long run.
In the beginning of November, I resigned from my full-time career and started my own company (Psyance). It has nothing to do with body modification or creativity whatsoever. It's a very corporate, suit and tie kind of thing (Network Identity Management to be exact). I've been doing it for years, and finally decided to get out on my own.
Over the last couple months, I have done and seen a lot. Enough to really start to think about my life and what direction I want to go. I have spoken with a lot of very talented and intelligent people that I am envious of for different reasons.
I will be 29 in February and for the longest time I've been stuck with the ominous question of, "What do I want to do with my life". Through some excellent, and some terrifying experiences, I have been awaken to what my calling is. I now know what it is, and it's up to me to pursue it head-on and not hold back. Not to let anything get in my way.
I am writing this to all of you as kind of my surrogate brothers and sisters. This community has never been an obligation or hinderance in my life, and am extremely thankful to all of you for making it happen. I can honestly say that my life would be completely different if it wasn't for all of you.
With that, I would like to announce to you that I will no longer be running this site as a part-time hobby anymore. This community, and you, mean too much to not put my full attention into it, and I don't think it can grow to it's fullest capabilities, or to the level of awesome that I see so clearly in my head.
So, I have decided to devote my life, full-time, 24x7 to this community and to you, the people that deserve to have only the best possible resource, and I know that I can do it. With all the passion I have for this industry, I can't sit on the side anymore and just let this fall to mediocrity, when I know it can be so much more, and so much better. I think that's just the perfectionist and self-drive that I have. I can't ignore it anymore.
So now you know about me, so what about the site...
As of today, in the beginning of this new year, BodyMod.org will have three main types of users, Guests, Body Mod Members, and Body Mod Supporters. The ranks will stay stay intact, but the greatest differences will be in these categories.
For Guests, it'll be pretty much the same. They'll have just enough access to check out the gist of the site. If they feel like they are one of us, then they can freely join the site to access more and further their research or other interests. They will then be considered a Body Mod Member.
Body Mod Members will have access to a lot of the site, and have unrestricted access (except for a couple areas as it is now) to the forums for help, research, and communication with other like-minded body modification individuals. Here is where the differences will start to happen. Regular Body Mod Members will only have access to posted mods that have no mature content in them and that are seven days old (or newer). Other restrictions that have been placed onto regular Body Mod Members have been put in place. They are there to keep our Body Mod Supporters safe from the scrutiny and harassment of those that sign up just to lurk or ruin the integrity of the site. Therefore, they will not be able to post private comments on others profile pages, or send private messages to other members / supporters. They can reply to any messages that have been sent to them though. They will be forced into the open with everything they do so that they will be held responsible for their actions. Should someone sign up and wish to have complete access to everything this community has to offer, they will have to become a Body Mod Supporter.
Body Mod Supporters are people that really believe in the community and want to help maintain it as a solid foundation in the world of body modification. These are the people that are considered "one of us". They are the ones that you would drive half way across a country just to shake their hand, or fly around the world to sit in a pub and have a beer together. There is a tight knit between all of us true Body Modification Supporters. We are very open with each other, we are supportive of each other, and we respect each other. If you decide to become a Body Mod Supporter in this community, you will have full access to all of the body mods posted throughout the site (even ones with mature content), unrestricted access to post comments and messages to whom-ever you want. You will have the fastest possible connection and response from the server with no ads being served whatsoever. Because you want to keep the community clean and to be something you can be proud of, you will be able to vote out mods that should be removed and vote to have mods or blogs posted to the Body Mod Showcase. Body Mod Supporters are also able to restrict their mods, blogs, and their entire profile with privacy settings to keep away lurkers, and voyeurs. You will also be able to stylize your own personal profile page to look and feel however you want. And as some of you may already know, all Body Mod Supporters will have a badge that will be shown next to their name or photo that shows their status. I want this badge to mean something. It doesn't just say that this person donated to the site. It says that this person is "one of us". They are someone I would stick up for. They are someone I would help if they needed it and I could. The buzz-words "Internet Community" have destroyed it's true meaning. We, Body Mod Supporters, are a true community of like-minded people and together we can change our lives for the better. This badge is a declaration.
To become a Body Mod Supporter, it is pretty much the same as it was with the donations. The only difference is that I have made the $5 / month one a recurring payment so that you don't have to keep paying manually or forget and then have to freak out when you've come back without the status.
I know there will be people that will not agree with what I am doing, but I feel that they aren't truly that supportive of the community or they just wanted to look at a bunch of crotch shots for free. Of course I don't want anyone to leave, but I would rather run the best body mod website out there with a smaller concentrated community of those that are really into body modification, than a larger completely open community that just gets weighed down and saturated with people that shouldn't be here in the first place. I know you can feel where I coming from on this one.
There are other reasons in which I have moved in this direction. By doing this, it will allow for me to organize larger and more elaborate meetups and Body Mod parties. All of the funds that come from the site will inherently return right back to you in the form of available merch (who here wants a hoodie?) and even more Body Mod community innovations (webisodes, iPhone applications, etc). I have all these ideas in my head, and I know I'm totally capable of doing them, but I need the help from all of you so that I can give them to you.
I will also be able to actually promote the site to a larger, but specific audience. Maybe even joint ventures with other sites and / or magazines. I've been in talks with them for years, but I never had the time to formally accept. If I can't do it to the level I feel it should be done, I'd rather not do it. Now I will be able to move this community to even greater places. Other things that will be possible are things that I've wanted to do with the site, but require a major commitment of time and effort that I just never had. Things like revamping the navigation, rewriting the forums to integrate with the new(er) version of the site, redo the Wiki (finally =), better profile pages, and mobile browsing capabilities.
I'm not a a large, evil corporation with millions of dollars and a full staff of people that have nothing to do with the scene. I'm just one guy that has devoted a ton of time and close to $15K in my own money for all the costs just to keep it alive over the last 5 years. I don't feel like I'm selling out, or changing for the worse at all. I also want to further my own path in body modification, and by working in a corporate job, I will not be able to. Doing all of this will allow me to really be me. Kind of in a Kafka-esque way if you will. I know this is something that everyone here fully understands and can get behind.
Right now, there is a lack of a face that represents the Body Modification Community as a whole. I want to do my damnedest to fill that void for the benefit of everyone. You all know how hard I work to bring you what has been. That was part-time, when I feel like it Adam. Imagine, Adam that's always here, always making the community better, and knowing that you have a large part in how awesome things are going to be from now moving forward into this new year!
I want to thank you for the 5 years of support and encouragement, now let's get crazy and show the world who we are! We are a community of brothers and sisters that are there for each other. I wouldn't be writing this if I didn't feel we were at the cusp of creating something phenomenal.
Happy 2009 Everyone!
.: Adam
Edited by Adam on January 4, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Mod Zentity
Joined: May 18, 2008
Mods Posted: 99
Forum Posts: 1,895
Posted: January 2, 2009 at 3:31 am
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happy new years adam and thaks for all the hard work, dedication, and money you put into this for us :)
Heavy Modder
Joined: Dec 13, 2008
Mods Posted: 17
Forum Posts: 196
Posted: January 2, 2009 at 3:40 am
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thank you Adam...i have not been on this site for very long but i appreciate all your hard work. i will definitely be contributing as soon as i get some money into my account.
Heavy Modder
Joined: May 19, 2007
Mods Posted: 0
Forum Posts: 2,996
Posted: January 2, 2009 at 3:41 am
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I came home and read this and honestly... I have never smiled so much.
Thank you Adam.
Your quite amazing :D
Thank you Adam.
Your quite amazing :D
Heavy Modder
Joined: Jan 3, 2006
Mods Posted: 12
Forum Posts: 270
Posted: January 2, 2009 at 3:42 am
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Thank you!! Happy new years!!
one thing i noticed on the supporter section is you get three free days if you add a new mod photo. Won't this cause people to have a million alternate photos of every mod?
one thing i noticed on the supporter section is you get three free days if you add a new mod photo. Won't this cause people to have a million alternate photos of every mod?
Heavy Modder
Joined: Dec 6, 2007
Mods Posted: 14
Forum Posts: 2,216
Posted: January 2, 2009 at 4:06 am
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This is great! Thank you so much for every thing you have done for all of us Adam! I love your new idea, and support you fully! Congratulations on your new venture, and wish you all the best in the new year! =)
BMod Admin
Joined: Jan 25, 2003
Mods Posted: 55
Forum Posts: 2,873
Posted: January 2, 2009 at 4:17 am
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iamstrangepants wrote:
Thank you!! Happy new years!!
one thing i noticed on the supporter section is you get three free days if you add a new mod photo. Won't this cause people to have a million alternate photos of every mod?
Duplicates and / or photos that are pretty much the same thing will be deleted just as they have been for now. The time will be removed if a photo is deleted, so it all evens out in the end =)
.: Adam
Heavy Modder
Joined: Dec 29, 2007
Mods Posted: 30
Forum Posts: 790
Posted: January 2, 2009 at 4:39 am
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Adam wrote:
Here is where the differences will start to happen. Regular Body Mod Members will only have access to posted mods that have no mature content in them and that are seven days old (or newer). Other restrictions that have been placed onto regular Body Mod Members have been put in place. They are there to keep our Body Mod Supporters safe from the scrutiny and harassment of those that sign up just to lurk or ruin the integrity of the site. Therefore, they will not be able to post comments to mods, post private comments on others profile pages, or send private messages to other members / supporters. They will be forced into the open with everything they do so that they will be held responsible for their actions.
.: Adam
so do i have to be a supporter to send a PM to someone on my buddy list? because i dont really have a way of contributing besides pics and my knowledge. i would love to contribute more but i dont have the funds
Mod-let
Joined: Oct 16, 2006
Mods Posted: 0
Forum Posts: 1,059
Posted: January 2, 2009 at 4:47 am
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I should read this again when its not almost 2am, but when you say regular members will not have access to parts of the site that has mature content...may I assume you mean male/female gen mods? I have some of those posted, so would I not be able to view them?
And I will have to get back to you on the supporter status...I'm a full time student with no income (all scholarship) so I might not be able to pay that...
Mod-let
Joined: Jul 21, 2008
Mods Posted: 6
Forum Posts: 166
Posted: January 2, 2009 at 5:15 am
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Happy new year Adam! :D
Who else is still going? huh!? Huh? erhhhh.
Who else is still going? huh!? Huh? erhhhh.