Hey everyone,Quick update on something you might notice around the site: we've renamed the paid membership tier. What was previously called "TinkerAtlas Supporter" is now simply "TinkerAtlas+".Same features, same pricing, better name.Why the Change?A few reasons, actually.First, the old name was causing confusion. We have Founding Supporter (the early supporters badge for people who believed in TinkerAtlas from day one and supported in some way) and we had "Supporters" (the monthly subscription). People kept mixing them up. Understandable. The naming was my fault.Second, "TinkerAtlas+" is just cleaner. It's shorter to type, easier to say, and fits better in the UI. You know immediately what it means. The plus sign is universal at this point. Disney+, Apple TV+ etc. Everyone understands that "+" means "the version with more stuff."Third, and this is the one I didn't expect to matter as much as it does: "Supporter" sounds like charity. It sounds like you're giving money out of kindness rather than getting something back. That's not what this is. TinkerAtlas+ members get real features that make the platform better for them. Extended posts, more images, XP boosts, analytics, streak protection, custom banners. It's a product tier, not a donation box. And if someone still donates, I'll manually add them to TA+r so they get something back anywayThe word "plus" captures that better. You're not just supporting TinkerAtlas. You're getting TinkerAtlas, plus more.What TinkerAtlas+ Actually Gets YouSince I'm talking about it anyway, here's the full breakdown:Your posts can be up to 1,000 characters instead of 280. That's enough to actually explain what you're working on without cramming everything into a single run-on sentence or splitting your thought across multiple posts.You can share up to 10 images per post instead of 4. For a maker platform where half the value is showing your work, this one matters.There's a 25% XP boost for leveling up faster, streak protection for when life gets busy and you miss a day, and a 90-day analytics dashboard so you can see how your posts are actually performing.You also get a TinkerAtlas+ badge on your profile, the ability to add a custom banner, and a feed announcement when you join. Plus you can schedule up to 50 posts in advance if you're the planning type.All of this for $9.99 a month, or $99 for a full year (which saves you about 17%).The Other Ways to HelpTinkerAtlas+ isn't the only option if you want to support what we're building here.Ko-fi works for both recurring monthly contributions and one-time tips. Some people prefer it because it's familiar, and that's completely fine. The money ends up in the same place: keeping servers running and development moving forward. I'll add manually to TA+ from these payments.PayPal is there for one-time contributions when that works better for your situation. No account needed on our end, no recurring commitment. Just a direct way to help when you're able to.And if none of these work for you right now, that's genuinely okay. The free tier isn't going anywhere. Keep posting, keep making, keep being part of the community. That matters too.Where Things StandI'll be honest with you because that's kind of my thing at this point.TinkerAtlas costs roughly $335 a month to run. That covers servers, database, caching, email systems, and the development tools I need to actually build new features instead of just keeping existing ones alive. It's not a huge number in the grand scheme of things, but it's a real number that needs to be covered every month.We've grown to about 310 makers now. The community is active. People are posting projects, sharing prints, helping each other troubleshoot. The Print the Holidays contest is still running with over $1,300 in prizes from sponsors who believed in what we're doing, and TinkerAtlas itself. There's momentum here.But momentum needs fuel. And right now, I'm back to worrying about the funding side again. I'm pretty sure we'll get there before the bills are up, but when we haven't reached the goal for the next bills yet, I continually worry about it. This takes focus from the more productive areas I need to focus on, like development and content. I'm not saying this to guilt anyone. I chose to build this. I spend my days working on TinkerAtlas because I believe makers deserve a dedicated space that isn't controlled by algorithms or advertisers. That belief hasn't changed.What I am saying is: if you've been thinking about upgrading to TinkerAtlas+, or tossing a few dollars our way through Ko-fi or PayPal, now would be a good time. Every contribution helps close the gap between where we are and where we need to be.In addition, I'm trying to build up more gear, so I can start creating more and better content, and possibly to buy some stuff to review until I get the manufacturers to send me relevant and interesting stuff to review, so hopefully we'll get there eventually too. The Short VersionTinkerAtlas Supporter