So once again, the subject of VGC's horrible ads has arised. And the general consensus about the site as a whole is that it sucks, is horribly optimized and barely usable on mobile. Basically, the site is a complete mess. Yet we all keep coming back for more because we are like heroin addicts that know it's bad for us but we need to get our fix either way, so we keep coming back for more.

Anyway, a stray thought that I've thought about some times (and even mentioned on the forum, but mostly as throwaway comments) is the thought of having a kickstarter to purchase the site from ioi, and putting some effort into making the site function properly. I mean, ioi can't be making too much money from the site anyway, and I can't say it seems like he cares about the site on a personal level either, so it really shouldn't cost all too much. Then we could improve the user experience to the level it should be, make the ads less intrusive, get a mobile version. Heck, we could have a patreon for the site, provided it reached the quality level it should be at. I don't think the site should be led with the goal of generating as much profit as possible (in fact I think it should be run to break even, providing the best service possible).

Unfortunately, I'm too young to take responsibility for such a project, but I at least wanted to air the idea. What do people think? Would you donate to a kickstarter with the goal of buying the site from ioi and improving the site?

Would everyone who funds this theoretical Kickstarter then own a piece of the site, or would we all agree to leave it in one person's hand, or a consortium of users?

Board Member approach

It would be more ideal to profit off a sustainable business model than to just break even, would it not? Rhetorical question, of course.

How much would VGChartz cost? well the website isn't maintained well I am willing to join a kickstarter but I won't invest more then say, $10 so all-in all even if all people who post here do that it won't end up being a gigantic amount and there is also things like the website will need to keep running so there will be yearly costs.

And the horrible adds to give revenue so the person selling will want more upfront cash then the add revenue gives for at least the next 4 years, thats how buyouts work

I think it could be done with a sort of representative democratic comittee leading it.

Who should that profit be paid out to? What I meant by break even is that all surplus money should be reinvested in the site to further improve quality

Well, if 1000 users pay $10, that's $10 000, which ain't bad. Considering the amount of users here using adblock while browsing, and the relatively low userbase, I can't imagine the site being that costly to buy.

What do you mean?

I'm very interested, count me in! I'll be tagging this for later when I have ideas.

Well an ad blocker makes this website much better on a PC.

But on a phone, this website sucks even with an ad blocker.

On PC I use this website a lot and I love it on phone I never visit this website because its basically the worst website possible. Add blocker is a must man and thats sad I wouldn't mind 1 or 2 small adds, support the website but right now its showing more adds then game sales chartz and that is something that should never happen lol

Throw away the front page, keep the forum. It's cheaper.