About Becoming a Supporter

Note: this wiki was written by independent supporters of CityStrides, not the site’s creator

This wiki addresses why to become a supporter, and how to do so.

1. Why Become a Supporter

There are two subsets of reasons to become a supporter:

  • You get significantly increased website functionality and a generally deeper CityStrides experience
  • You contribute to the longer term development and the general sustainability of this service

Additional Site Functionality for Supporters
same list of benefits appears on the supporter page

  • Priority syncing: your activity sync will take priority & be completed before non-subscriber syncing
  • Advanced LifeMap: activities are filterable by date, individual activity highlighting on hover, each activity is a link, and it’s wildly faster (see this wiki for more information)
  • LifeMap Live: show your current location while you’re viewing your LifeMap … intended as a quick check from your phone while you’re out completing streets
  • Node Hunter: view unfinished nodes within the map view … Go to your LifeMap, zoom in, and click the magnifying glass button - any unfinished nodes within view will be displayed on the map
  • ReRun: replay an animation of your run, similar to this video
  • Sync Now: the ability to start an immediate sync, instead of waiting for the next scheduled sync (currently disabled for Strava-connected accounts due to their API limits)
  • Weather: each of your outdoor activities has weather data added
  • Ad Free: no advertisements will display throughout the site
  • Highlighting: your account is showcased on the Supporters page and a subtle purple outline appears around your user card throughout the site (optionally disabled in your Settings page)

More General Reasons to Support the Site
You may have noticed that there’s one guy who responds to everything, fixes everything, and, as it were, built everything (see stats at Top User Activity). Jim has no team and no ulterior funding, and yet does all the work to make this website what it is for all of us. As such, there are a few other reasons to become a contributor:

  • Support the ongoing maintenance that is regularly required, but also continues to grow with an ever-increasing number of new users (see total here)
  • Support sporadic, more significant investments and upgrades for hardware and other capital outlays
  • Ensure ongoing sustainability of CityStrides so we can all continue to use this great service for years to come

Lastly, by choosing to contribute a small amount on a monthly basis, you are:

  • Demonstrating your personal appreciation of the work Jim is doing
  • Helping keep the site going for the >90% of users who use the free service
  • Becoming an active part of the coolest corner of the web for heatmappers, Striders, and runners & walkers in general

2. How to Become a Supporter

Simply follow this link to become a Supporter.

You can support by becoming one of the following contributor types:

  • Recurring Monthly Contributor: to get unlimited access to supporter benefits and pledge your long-term support of the website
  • One-Time Contributor ($5 minimum): to unlock supporter benefits for the month following your contribution. Note: whatever amount you contribute is spread out as $5/month payments, ie $20 will provide 4 months of access
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