There are many ways to accept anonymous donations these days, so it’s hard not to see the lack of that option as a deliberate choice by @canbol -though the exact reason remains unclear. It’s easy to speculate that it may be about maintaining control over the documents. -Holding them hostage.
If that’s the case, it’s unfortunate, because it risks undermining the very purpose of the project. People will naturally seek alternatives. In my view, none match what hifiengine offers, but at the end of the day, the documents will still be downloaded.
My account was banned a couple of years ago from "inactivity", and after a few unsuccessful attempts to contact anyone from the site, I eventually gave up and started relying on Google instead. So far, there hasn’t been anything I needed that I wasn’t able to find elsewhere.
The only real way forward for hifiengine is through transparency and genuine engagement with the community that helped build the library in the first place. There’s a strong willingness among users to help preserve the site, but that requires openness and a collaborative mindset -not vague statements about it “just being a hobby” or suggestions that donations aren’t possible when, realistically, they are.
If that’s not feasible, then maybe it’s time to hand the project over to someone who has the resources and motivation to keep it alive.
Or, maybe the plan is to keep playing hard to get and hold the manuals hostage -in that case we should start a GoFundMe for a hostage negotiator?
If that’s the case, it’s unfortunate, because it risks undermining the very purpose of the project. People will naturally seek alternatives. In my view, none match what hifiengine offers, but at the end of the day, the documents will still be downloaded.
My account was banned a couple of years ago from "inactivity", and after a few unsuccessful attempts to contact anyone from the site, I eventually gave up and started relying on Google instead. So far, there hasn’t been anything I needed that I wasn’t able to find elsewhere.
The only real way forward for hifiengine is through transparency and genuine engagement with the community that helped build the library in the first place. There’s a strong willingness among users to help preserve the site, but that requires openness and a collaborative mindset -not vague statements about it “just being a hobby” or suggestions that donations aren’t possible when, realistically, they are.
If that’s not feasible, then maybe it’s time to hand the project over to someone who has the resources and motivation to keep it alive.
Or, maybe the plan is to keep playing hard to get and hold the manuals hostage -in that case we should start a GoFundMe for a hostage negotiator?
