Some…housekeeping (I guess) information for everyone…
I’ll be putting together some sort of “Getting Started” guide for new Creators, but in the meantime, I just wanted to put some stuff out there.
Obviously, I’m really just getting started with this whole venture, so a lot of it is new to me, and I’m learning as I go. I’ll also be looking to you for feedback and guidance. Let me know what you need, what works for you, and what doesn’t.
The site is built on the WordPress foundation, and any real customization of it comes as the result of using plug-ins. Everything is pretty basic, and there’s a lot of room for development, but until I have the resources to invest in some development work, the move from being basic to heavily-customized (but customized in a way that won’t lead to performance issues) will be pretty slow-going.
As Creators, you have admin rights over your own sites, but there are some limitations, specifically in terms of the WordPress themes available – right now there’s only one – and the plug-ins. If there’s a strong desire to have more theme options, I can be persuaded to install them. I haven’t made more available so far as I’m more interested in laying the foundation and getting the basics right.

Categories:
I want to create a nice, easy-to-use, categorized index of comic sites, but for right now, all we have is the very basic Directory. The first step towards building that more full-featured index is deciding on the categories that will be available. I’m leaning towards obvious, straightforward ones, like “Humor,” or “Horror,” etc., but I’m definitely open to suggestions, and would look to you to provide that feedback. Once the categories are in place, then we’ll move to the technical aspects of making the available to Creators and creating a system for curating them into the index. One final note on categories: while I think it’s necessary to have some indication of things like adult content, I’m not terribly inclined to create any sort of segregated LGBTIA sub-category. My use of the word “segregated” probably indicates why I’m not inclined to do so, but I can and will change my mind on that based on feedback.

Ads and Ad Revenue:
As mentioned in other places, ads are the primary (mostly-theoretical at this point) means of generating revenue for me and, more importantly, for you. ODC has very little content and very little traffic – for now! – so it’s not plugged into the best ad network right now. The plus side of that is that the ads that do appear here are pretty minimal and unobstrusive. Eventually, with the custom development, the insertion of ad code will be automated, but for right now, it’s a manual process. I can add the code (via a widget) to the framework of your site, but I will also provide you with the code that you can insert yourself into your posts and other pages. I would encourage you to use it whenever you feel it’s appropriate, but don’t overdo it. Also, as you’re kind of falling under the terms and conditions I agreed to with Google, DO NOT click on your own ads. Any hint of anything that even remotely resembles any sort of fraud and Google will IMMEDIATELY shut down my AdSense account and withold all payment. Go here to learn more: https://www.google.com/adsense/localized-terms

With that out of the way, once some revenue does start coming in, I will begin divvying the money up based on revenue sources – that is, based on the percentages that each site contributes to the total in terms of clicks and impressions. At some point, I will need to know how you want to receive your money, and when, though I will need feedback to determine what the potential thresholds are (i.e., after hitting a certain dollar amount, on a quarterly basis, etc.).

ETA:

Publicity:
By default, I will configure your sites to automatically push any new posts to the assorted OpenDoor Comics social media accounts.  You can elect to NOT have posts be publicized on a case-by-case basis using the post editor settings.  You can also elect to opt out of the automated social media publishing entirely.

And finally…

Feedback:
You are always free to reach out to me directly – either via PM using the internal system here or by e-mailing comics@opendoor-comics.com – or by posting in this Group. However, I’m willing to look into providing some other, more formal feedback mechanism if there’s an interest.

So that’s that, for now. Thanks for taking a chance on OpenDoor Comics, and I look forward to working with everyone.