Here are some of the common questions that have been asked about the process.
We used an old version of the Google Translate Website API that was intended to be decommissioned prior to 2010. Google has now shut this down, as such, we are now required to use the Google Cloud Translate API which comes with costs.
Due to the impending shutdown of all V11 and V12 API, the self-hosting option has reached end-of-life. Once the support goes down, the self-hosting bots will immediately cease to function and there will be nothing we can do.
There are a few reason why self hosting support is ending.
Currently the self hosting version operates an older version of the RITA Code, as such it constantly needs to be managed, updated and maintained.
This means we need to update the code and ensure it works. This takes time. At the moment we want to dedicate this time to ensuring the paid version is working and online. When we split our attention it has an impact on our ability to help everyone.
This does not mean a member of the community, if they want to, cant offer support to another member of the community. There won't be official Dev/Admin/helper support for self hosting issues.
In the future this may change, but at the moment we can not dedicate our time to supporting self hosting users.
At this time, we cannot offer that option as the self-hosting option will require a full rewrite to be V13 compatible. As such, ALL self-hosting will be unavailable and unsupported. This may change in the future but not till 2023 at the earliest.
No Lifetime subscriptions are not offered as the API that we have to pay for requires monthly payments. The likelihood of running into financial instability if everyone had a lifetime sub would be very high. Continuing with a monthly plan has the greatest chance for operational longevity.
The subscription will be a mix of per-user/per-server. Each server you wish to have RITA active in will require you to be the owner of the server (Yes owner not admin) to purchase the subscription. This owner could theoretically use this single license in any server they are the owner of, however, it will only work on 1 server at a time.
Currently, users are limited to 1 server at this time. More servers will be allowed in the future. Criteria: User must be the SERVER_OWNER, User must pay for the subscription themselves as the sub is mapped to their USER ID.
RITA as it stands is using the Google Cloud API, and is charged, as such we are charged for usage, thus the need for a subscription fee. However, there are other APIs available for use.
The long term goal is to have a paid-for, all features version. All our changes, new features and work will continue on this version.
Like a lot of other discord bots, we want to try and introduce a free limited version, and we are looking at how this can be done, with some of the other APIs that are free, with limited languages and support, reduced accuracy and higher delaying in responses. This is not saying we will reduce the accuracy or reliablilty of these API, its just the nature of API data we will have access too.
We are looking at ways we can implement these into a free version. It will be limited and would have limits such as 10 tasks, flags only, etc etc.
This means we can continue to draw in users, while offering all our support and time to paid users, ensuring that we continue development and can keep RITA running for years to come.
The level of support you get at the moment will inevitably change, And we will not turn into a “you don’t pay so you don't matter” support server. All our users are important. Without all of you, we would not be where we are today.
There will be things however that will be managed by a single or maybe two members of staff, such as payment-related issues. This will not be able to be managed by general support staff and will require an Admin. This means there may be an SLA of 24 hours to allow for time zones and real life. More details will be provided on responsibilities and roles close to launch.
Currently we offer subscriptions though Patreon. Patreon utilizes PayPal and card payments.
Currently, we are offering 3 levels.
Reaction = 0 Tasks - Translation by Reaction only Casual = 100 Tasks Tinkerer = 200 Tasks Pro= 350 Tasks Ultima = 550 Tasks All levels come with Discord access and roles, with bot support for the lifetime of your subscription. To hold your subscription you must be in our support server.
Again this is simple, if every server had 1000 task limit, and we have 10k servers, that's 10,000,000 (Million) Tasks. Not only is this too many for us to think about but, it would also have a massive impact on reliability and speed.
100 is a fair starting limit, and since 98% of our current user base has less than 100 it is easy to launch with most of the work done.
We recognise that some server may need more tasks, thats why we have other plans to pick from.
If you had RITA in your server before, any configuration you had previously will continue to operate without additional setup. Please note, however, that if your task count exceeds 250, then the basic plan will not be enough for you, and RITA may not start translating immediately until upgraded.