Quotation

He who learns must suffer, and, even in our sleep, pain that we cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God. - Aeschylus

Ad-Free Policy

I want to explain my policy about advertisements on this site because I like to be transparent about how I produce content.  This allows both those who enjoy that content to understand how it is made and also allows those who do not enjoy it to appreciate that it is nonetheless a gift to them.

I pay Google for hosting services/domain names.  I only have 4 domain names to keep costs low (it would be better to have a lot more).  I record and edit my podcasts myself with a smartphone microphone and open-source audio editing software, which keeps my costs low.

Most sites use advertising revenue to cover the costs of hosting/domain names, staffing, and other overhead costs for maintaining the site, which vary based on the size, purpose, and business model of the site.

I see my work here as a gift to others, not as an opportunity to increase my income.  I have full-time employment that compensates me well enough to live on and pay my student loan debt.  I do not need extra money.

That said, if you feel compelled to donate, that is an option here: paypal.me/NousApeiron

Any donations will first be used for costs related to hosting/domains or purchasing more domain names (primarily to reduce the risk of porn sites or scammers setting up shop at a similar domain and causing harm to people who visit this site or anyone else).

If the amount of donations received exceeds the costs of hosting/domains, then I will use the funds to add new features to the site or purchase equipment/software for improving the podcasts (better microphone and audio editing software).  You are welcome to add a note to a donation requesting that it be used for one of those specific items.

It's very unlikely that the amount of donations received would ever exceed these kind of costs, so I'm not sure what I would do if that were to happen.  But what I am committed to is basically 2 principles:

  1. I will not profit from this blog unless and until I no longer have a day job to cover the costs of living.
  2. I will do everything in my power to keep it free of advertisements.

I do not think that advertisements accomplish much on a blog of this type, even if I can ethically recommend the products being advertised (which I wouldn't be able to in all cases with Google AdSense).  They seem to me to be primarily a distraction from what you visit to receive.

In light of that, I want to emphasize again that at this time I am not desperately in need of funds.  Any donations should be purely an expression of your good will or at the very least a practical help in improving the content production and reducing harm to others.

Thank you for reading and listening.  Pax et bonum!

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