Work is continuing well, there was a little set back as I decided to move development from Vite to NextJS.
I feel NextJS will give greater flexibility to allow additional features in the future, as well as speed up development time due to how projects are structured with it. Luckily it's easy enough to migrate from Vite to NextJS as they are both based on React.
To give a little context, Owned is currently built and running on VERY old programming patterns and systems, namely a templating system and PHP.
Everything is hosted on one server (all code, content etc) and backed up off site. This has a huge cost involved as the server and storage needs to be pretty beefy.
Submit will be written entirely in Typescript with the aforementioned NextJS system. Submit will also make use of cloud storage, cloud databases and a CDN (content delivery network). In short, this means that I can make HUGE cost savings and YOU will get a speedier and better performing site.
In the not too distant future I will likely open up a development version of the site to a select few users for bug reporting. Once Submit is launched I may also make the GitHub repository public to further help with bug fixing and also for transparency on how the site works.
All in all this is very exciting. Submit will be using cutting edge technology to give you the best possible experience now and in the future.
Obviously though rebuilding a site from scratch takes time and I do appreciate your patience. Work is continuing at a steady pace, and I know Submit was supposed to be launched by now, but making these changes now means quicker changes in the future.
It's been a huge learning curve for me, but luckily this old dog can learn new tricks 😂
MoA
It’s been a while since I communicated on the status of Submit, so I wanted to take some time to explain what’s happening.
Submit is still very much in development, and it is still the intention that Owned will retire and everything will move over to the new site.
Submit is being built on completely new technology to Owned and as such it took a bit to plan and get started, but that is out of the way and actual development has been in full swing for a while now.
It’s become evident in the development though that getting Submit ready within 6 months is simply unachievable. I was a bit naive to think that I could rebuild something completely in that time when it took 10 years of active development to get where it is now.
Since starting the building of Submit there have also been other things pop up that have halted development, the main one being having to find a new card processor. That took up a lot of my time, and if im honest put my head in a bad place and I just couldn’t face working on the site.
I have also had personal issues going on taking up my time, as well as social commitments.
Going back to the card processor issue, if it taught me anything it’s not to have all my eggs in one basket, so I have also been splitting my time more onto other projects and diversifying my work.
As I said, Submit is still being developed, it’s just not being worked on full time like it was before.
So, what does this mean?
Well, I’ve now taken the view that Submit will be “ready when it’s ready”.
I will continue to work on it, and it will be launched, I just won’t be putting a date on when; it should still be sometime this year though. I’m not going to be putting myself under any pressure or imposing self-inflicted time limits. Owned is still operational and works fine, so there is no rush to get Submit finished.
In the coming months I will start to provide limited access to a few users so that I can gather feedback and help with bug testing.
Thank you,
MoA
From today Masters can now instantly withdraw their Tips to a bank account without having to wait for the monthly pay-out date.
The minimum amount of Tips needed to make a withdrawal has been lowered to 500 Tips (£50) from 800 (£80).
From November Tips will also be withdrawable after 2 weeks instead of the current 4!
If you have any problems with the new system please email support@ownedfags.com
Do not use the comments or message MOA for support.
Thank you!
As the new system gets closer to release I wanted to update you on how this new system will work.
- Doms will still only be able to cash out Tips that they have had for 4 weeks
- The minimum amount of Tips you can withdraw will be lowered to 500 (£50), this is down from 800 (£80)
- When you have completed the withdrawal the payment will be sent instantly, there will no longer be a monthly pay-out date
- Depending on what kind of account you're withdrawing to determines how long the payment may take to reach you:
Revolut account - instant
UK bank account - within 2 hours (usually instant)
An account outside the UK - up to 5 days
Although payments to accounts outside of the UK will take longer than with WISE, I think we can all agree this is still quicker and more convenient than one monthly pay-out.
In addition to the withdraw fee that the site takes, there will also be an additional transfer fee to cover my banking costs, as I get charged per transaction, however these fees are minimal:
Revolut account - no fee
UK bank account - 2 Tips (20p)
An account outside the UK - 30 Tips (£3)
Because of this I recommend that if you're using a UK or International account to build up Tips and put in one pay-out rather than many smaller ones to save on fees.
To help you understand better when your Tips will be available to withdraw and plan when to put in a request a new section will be added showing the dates that Tips will be available to withdraw.
In the coming weeks a select number of users will be asked to participate in testing of the new system, when the testing has completed the new system will be rolled out to all users.
Thank you for your patience.
MoA
I really didn’t want to write this, but I need to get something off my chest, and be warned, I am not going to sugar coat anything and I will tell it how it is.
Next year it will be 10 years since I set up Owned Fags.
I built this place from the ground up, on my own and to a lot of negativity and a***e from other sites and people that were around at the time thinking that they ‘owned’ the findom scene.
It took me a lot of work to get the site to where it is now, and I have spent thousands of my own money and fuck knows how much time and stress making sure that this place was a success and continues to be. Thankfully now the site pays for itself and all I need to do is keep building and innovating.
I literally never get away from this site, if I am not sat at my desk working on it then I’m looking at it on my phone while I’m out, answering emails on the go etc. I go to bed thinking to myself ‘will I wake up to any drama’, I have to plan my holidays and breaks around pay-out dates etc, it’s a lot for one person to handle.
That is why I have some mods and they help with the day-to-day tasks of moderating content which really would be a full-time job on its own if I didn’t have them, so let me please thank the mods for the great job they do because without them I really couldn’t cope.
Now, the problem I have is users that join and think they can say and do whatever the fuck they want. I’m sorry but no you can’t and no it does not suppress your ‘free speech’, you do not have free speech on a private platform. If you want to invoke your right to free speech go shout outside.
Like I said before I have invested an awful lot into this site, still do, and it is a huge part of my life. Imagine if you had to constantly read others trash talking your hard work, yourself, or other people, it would be absolutely exhausting and it would start to take a toll on you.
If you’re on a site like Facebook or Twitter, heck even Owned Fags, you can simply block someone and move on – I do not have that luxury. If someone is constantly bringing a negative vibe to my day, then I see that and I can’t escape it. So, yes, I will remove people that fuck me off and I am not sorry for that.
Think to yourself what it would be like if every day you went into work dreading how it was going to be because of a few people. You’d probably try to look for another job or move teams, right? Again, I don’t have that luxury.
Owned is only a small site with less than 4 thousand members, a small number of people can make a big difference, and if it’s a negative one then sorry you’ll be gone. I don’t care if you feel it’s unfair, that’s how it is. I am not going to spend my time having lies spread about me or having me and my site trash talked.
If we were as big as Twitter and I wasn’t the only one running the place and having to see it all the time then I probably wouldn’t take it as personally, but that’s not the case. We are a small site with a big focus on community, and if you’re acting in a way that damages that vibe then you’ll be told to go.
I’m 36 now, my tolerance for bullshit and petty games is very low, so if you’re not enjoying the site then just fucking leave, it will absolutely continue on without you. I used to be very tolerant and put up with more than I should, but that time has ended.
Now I’ve had my rant, enjoy the rest of your day 😁
Hi everyone,
As mentioned before (https://www.ownedfags.com/blogs/1575) there are going to be a few rather large updates to the site over the next few months, this blog will detail when you can expect them to happen.
1st April - Removal of explicit content
No this isn't an April fools.
As stated in a previous blog we will be moving away from having explicit content on the site.
I would ask all users to please go through their images and videos and to delete any sexually explicit material before this date and change profile pictures/cover photos if needed. If you don't want to go through your own content that's fine, explicit content will automatically be removed on this date anyway.
From this date no explicit content can be uploaded to the site, unless it is via DM.
Users will also not have to submit ID documents to upload content, only to withdraw Tips.
April - New card processor/word filter changes
From early to the mid-April, I expect to launch the new card payment system with REVOLUT.
This will mean cheaper card processing fees for the site, as a result the withdraw fee for Dom’s will be lowered.
We will also be able to remove most words from the word filter, however mentioning other payment systems will still not be allowed.
We have a Tip system here to protect both Dom’s and Sub’s, if you want to discuss anything else then please take the conversation off site where you acknowledge the risks.
May – Site name change and re-brand
The rebranding of the site is expected to be around May time. The new name will be announced sometime before this, however expect the new logo and website URL to go live around this time.
Thank you,
MoA
Hi everyone,
This blog is a bit of an update on what you can expect for the last part of Q1 and going into Q2 of 2022.
There is quite a lot here so please come back to the blog if you do not have time to read it all now.
1) Adult material
I recently ran a poll on the site asking for your views on if adult material is essential to the site, and how people would feel if it was removed. The results were that about two thirds of people wouldn’t be bothered and one third of people felt it would damage their experience.
I have taken some time to think about these results and have also looked more into what the new UK laws coming into effect (Online Safety Bill 2022) would mean for the site.
Taking everything into account, I have decided that for the good of the site adult material WILL be removed in the coming months. Adult material WILL still be allowed to be shared via PM; we cannot have anything public though.
Removing adult material will mean we will not have to comply with the new age verification procedures, but also it will also mean other benefits outlined below.
2) Identity verification only for withdrawing Tips
Removal of adult material will mean users will not have to verify their identity to upload content as they currently do. Users will still need to complete these steps to withdraw Tips though in order to comply with money laundering laws.
3) New payment methods
Removal of adult material will open the site up to other payment method possibilities. One of the reasons we have so few at the moment is that a lot of payment providers will not work with adult sites, and those that do will take a huge cut and also put other restrictions on the site such as filtering certain words.
We will be partnering with REVOLUT in order to add further payment processing abilities to the site, these will include card payments, payments via REVOLUT pay, payments via Apple Pay and Google Pay.
REVOLUT will become our preferred payment provider for card payments as they only charge a 1% fee + 20p to process; as opposed to the almost 14% that Verotel currently charge us.
Having these MUCH cheaper processing fees means we can then lower other fees such as the Tip withdrawal fee. More on that in the coming months.
4) Less aggressive word filter
As stated before, not having adult material will release us from certain obligations, this will mean a less aggressive word filter, making for a better, more natural experience for all.
5) Site name change
The world has changed a lot since 2013 when the site was first set up, and honestly, not much thought was given to the name when it was. I understand (from people telling me) that ‘fag’ is not really a word that some people are comfortable with, and it has put some people off of joining.
We will be undergoing a name change and a soft re-launch of the site going into Q2. All user data and accounts will remain as they are, it is just the name that will be changing along with some new visual enhancements.
More information will be given closer to the rebrand.
These are the biggest changes to come and I feel they are a positive step for the site. More options, cheaper fees and a site more focused on Findom and Ownership than before.
Please provide your thoughts in the comments, I understand some people may not be happy with these changes, and that’s fine, but please be respectful and try to see the bigger picture before commenting.
I really believe that these changes will allow the site to grow bigger and faster than before and I am actually quite excited to see what possibilities are opened up by them.
MoA
As Doms will be able to send Tips to subs, the subs could then send these Tips back to the Dom.
Under the current way of calculating points this would increase the number of points the Dom has, this cycle of swapping Tips could then be repeated to artificially inflate a Doms points.
The system will be changed so that instead of calculating how many Tips a Dom has received within a period it will calculate points based on the number of Tips actually withdrawn from the site. This will prevent artificial inflating.
It also keeps the calculations for subs and Doms simple - subs get points for purchasing Tips, Doms get points for withdrawing them.
The ability to send Tips to any user and the change to points calculation should go live tomorrow, I will make an announcement on the site when it is live.
MoA
Since the start of the year we have updated our backend server and software bringing around a 5% performance increase, not much but every little helps, right?
We have also launched polls which will hopefully bring new game and interaction opportunity. The polls will be tweaked over the next week or so to bring a couple new additions and fixes.
Next we will be bringing an overhauled messaging experience, adding new features such as group chats.
After that has launched we will be going back over all the current site functionality to bring improvements and updates to these, providing additional features and fixes that have been asked for.
From around June we plan to start developing and adding Web3 features.
Owned Fags has always been at the front of innovation when it comes to findom and we have no intention of slipping behind.
Web3 and DeFi is no doubt the next technological revolution and we plan to fully embrace it. More on that coming later in the year.
As always, thank you for your support.
✌️
MoA
Yep that's right, over a quarter of a million quid has been processed by this site within 365 days and I'm buzzing.
Thank you to all who have supported and used this site, especially those of you who have been there from the beginning.
I will never stop innovating and trying to create the best findom site that there is and have a place where we can all have fun and explore findom in a safe environment.
I just wanted to mark this special occasion with a little blog post, thank you for reading!
🥳🎉🍾🤑💶
Owned Fags is a male only site which deals with adult themes
You should only view this site if you are over the age of 18, male and are not easily offended.
