Welcome to the long‑awaited site update october! After a six‑year hiatus, a mountain of changes has piled up, and we’re finally ready to spill the beans. From a fresh competition with a $3,000 prize pool to updates on payments, ads, social channels, and much more, this is the first of many bulletins we’ll be sharing.
10 Competition
To celebrate my comeback and to give the writing crew a new spark, I’ve launched a competition. Throughout October, November and December, the author whose list garners the highest total page‑views will walk away with a $1,000 US cash prize. If you’ve never contributed before, now’s a perfect moment to give it a go. Aside from the contest, we still pay $100 US for every list we publish. Below is the exact email I sent to all past contributors announcing the challenge:
“I am excited to announce that for the remainder of this year we will be giving a monthly $1,000 US bonus payment to the writer who achieves the highest number of pageviews in that month.
All you need to do to qualify is submit a list as usual, and if it is published you will be in the draw. You will, of course, receive the standard payment per list accepted.
To increase your chances of being published we strongly recommend sending in content that is unique and fascinating. Please do a web search on to ensure that your lists contain new items only (we don’t want to publish lists with one or two replicated entries from older lists) and also make sure that you are not sending us content that is similar to lists published on other websites.
The Author’s Guide has been updated recently to simplify and clarify a few points. You can view it here.”
9 Difficult Life Events
Long‑time readers will recall that I founded the site in 2007 and ran it solo for the first six years. I also penned the majority of the early articles until 2012, after which my output slowed considerably. In those early days I struggled with heavy drinking, and in 2014 I entered rehab—a decision that turned out to be one of the best I ever made. During that period I handed the reins over to Micah Duke.
Then, in 2015, my father, Adam Frater (pictured above with my mother), was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer linked to asbestos exposure from his work as a fibrous plasterer. The disease spread to his brain and claimed his life within months. Over the next three years, the family endured further losses: two aunts (Liz and June), two cousins (Cherelyne and Kevin), and two uncles (John and Roddy). All of this made it extremely hard to keep the site moving forward.
Just as I began to settle into a new normal that allowed me to contemplate a 2017 return, my brother Stewart Frater (aka kiwiboi) was diagnosed with Non‑Hodgkin lymphoma and passed away a year later. That blow delayed my comeback again. Most recently, in March of this year, my mother Lois—who had contributed a few lists and was a frequent commenter—was diagnosed with the same asbestos‑related cancer that took my father. Doctors believe she was exposed while doing my father’s laundry years earlier. She passed away three weeks after diagnosis.
These cumulative tragedies have been a heavy burden, but in early September I finally resumed full editorial and managerial duties. Rebuilding the site to its former glory will take time, but I’m fully committed to making it happen.
8 Payments And Other Admin
Now that I am once again the sole administrator, the workload is massive. As a result, I have been inconsistent in the interval between accepting lists and issuing payments. I want to assure everyone that payments are my top priority, and I expect to be back on a regular schedule within the next two weeks. No payments have been missed—only delayed. Likewise, response times to emails and social‑media messages have suffered, but I am actively working to fix both issues.
7 Problematic Adverts
It has come to my attention that several problematic adverts have been appearing across the site. If you encounter any ads that obscure the text or make reading difficult, please snap a screenshot and email me (protected email) or send it via the Facebook page immediately. Including your operating system and browser details will help us resolve the issue more quickly. Our small ad‑operations team is standing by to investigate. In the past I was slow to react, but that has now changed.
6 Follow Us On Social Media
Just a reminder that we maintain active social‑media profiles. Daily lists are posted on Facebook and Twitter, and we also have an Instagram account for those who prefer visual updates. Of course, you can always reach us via email at the protected address.
5 Youtube
We already run a YouTube channel, though uploads have been infrequent. I plan to relaunch it early next year with a much larger, more serious effort. I’d love to hear your suggestions about what you’d like to see on an official channel. Beyond list presentations, there’s huge potential for diverse content, so please share your ideas in the comments.
4 Books
If you’re new here, you might not know we offer a selection of books for purchase on Amazon. Links to those books are available on the Books page. With Christmas just around the corner, a book makes a perfect gift for anyone who loves lists and trivia. The Books page also features a handful of recommendations and a link to our books category, which we’re working to expand.
3 Subscriptions
In a recent “Your View” poll I asked whether readers would consider a subscription model for the site’s future. Advertising revenue is shrinking across the board due to ad‑blockers and a tough online economy. However, most of you opposed replacing ads with subscriptions, so we’ll keep the current model for now. If ad revenue ever drops below the level needed to cover costs, we’ll have to explore alternatives, but that scenario hasn’t arrived yet.
2 Thank You
The past five years have been extremely challenging, yet you have continued to visit, comment, read, and keep the community alive. Without your dedication, the site would not exist. I can’t thank you enough for your loyalty during the times when I was unable to give back. I intend to repay your support many times over, just as I did when I first launched the platform back in 2007.
1 What Do You Want?
We can’t wrap up a site update without hearing your wishes for the future. If there’s anything you’d like to see more of—or less of—please let us know in the comments. Got a brand‑new idea for a feature or a completely different direction? Share it below; you never know, your suggestion might spark the next big thing here.