[Android Apps and Games] bengtan:
> 1. www (dot) patreon (dot) com=> I will donate (there are

> more websites like this)

I didn't even think of this option (although I am aware of things like Kickstarter).

Umm ... firstly, I'd admit that this way of "funding" development is new to me and, naturally, my (initial) reaction is something along the lines of "Uh, does that even work? It's unknown to me, therefore I will shy away from it".

Hence, barring any dramatic changes in opinion, or a very long time-lapse, this would remain as an "option of last (or second-last) resort".

I do, however, see a problem or two with this ...

1. I imagine success would be largely predicated on locating one (or a few) wealthy backers or "patrons" ... which would make it very dependent on chance.

2. The majority of consumers (and 8sms users) don't understand what it's like to develop software.

They won't understand why a seemingly minor feature takes 8 hours to do, just like they won't understand why sometimes a seemingly major feature takes 30 minutes to do.

And ...

3. Who's going to pay for bugfixes?

A very large proportion of my time on 8sms is spent debugging (and then work-around-ing) bugs introduced by manufacturer roms (or network carriers). For the majority of bugs, there is no "deliverable outcome" that is easily visible.

I imagine people will only pay for things they care about ... so who's going to fund a feature that they won't use, or fund a fix for a network-specific bug that only happens in some other country?

I'm not saying Patreon is not suitable. I'm just saying ... there's a bit too much uncertainty for me to try it (at this point).

> 2. Where can we donate? (I wan't to get rid of the ads) -

> found it... should be in settings too ;)

Yes, you found it. I need to improve that.

I guess I'm not very good at monetising 8sms (which is what leads to the current situation in the first place).

> 3. Why don't u make a pro version for no ads?

Isn't an "upgrade-able" application (ie. 8sms with in-app purchases) pretty much the same thing? If users choose not to pay, they have the "basic" version. If they choose to pay, they have the "pro" version.

With the current 8sms approach, I think the options available to the user are effectively the same ... but it is much easier for me to manage just one application (with an in-app "upgrade") than two distinct packages.

Thanks for your suggestions.

I'm not entirely happy with the ad placement either, but I'm just trying to follow Google's Admob guidelines as best as I can ... which don't leave a lot of options (it's either "top" or "bottom"). I think, in the long term, ad placement is an issue that Admob needs to solve.

(If mobile advertising had a vertical "skyscaper-like" format, I'd place it on the right of the screen immediately.)

Initially I tried the ad placement at the top (under the action bar), but Admob says not to place ads near any menus. I also didn't really like ads appearing inside the "content area" of the app.

Hence, for those two reasons, I decided on placing at the bottom, but below all of the "content area".

I'm open to changing the ad placement location, but I'm not sure what the best way to proceed is. If only I could talk to someone at Admob to verify I'm in compliance with them :)

> Some features I would love to see in a donation package;

As for the other suggested features ... I've always wanted to do them, but I kept getting distracted by other things, and then, more recently, by monetisation attempts (which burned several months).

If monetisation works (and the numbers are encouraging though too early to tell), I can finally focus fully on improving the rest of 8sms.

Can you email me please, at the registered developer email address of 8sms? I'd be happy to help.