Hey everyone,

We are thrilled to announce that the poll for choosing a new name for our app is finally over. The process of transitioning to the new name will commence very soon, and we can't wait to share the exciting updates with you.

But first, let's dive into the poll results and shed some light on the important facts without further delay:

Summary​

In total, 71 people participated in the poll, providing us with valuable data to draw conclusions from. Here's a summary of the key findings:

• 52.1% of the community voted against using any terms related to piracy in the app. We understand and respect this choice because it would harm our business and attract the wrong users, as we have no affiliation with piracy.

• 42.3% of the community voted to recommend the app under a different name but not with its current name. This feedback motivated us to rename the app, confirming that it wasn't just a few critics on Reddit. We want to expand our community to include the families, friends, and colleagues of these people. So please, help us spread the word about the name change!

• 36.6% of you said you wouldn't contribute to our app at all solely because of its name, even if you had the opportunity. We depend on these contributions to grow and improve, so we now encourage you to participate!

Without further ado, here are the top 5 names that emerged as winners in the poll:

1. GameStash (38%)
2. GameVault (35.2%)
3. GameShelf (31%)
4. Harbor (29.6%)
5. GameHub (28.2%)

As mentioned earlier, we conducted the poll without conducting market analysis beforehand. However, we recognized the significance of making an informed decision for the benefit of the community. Consequently, we proceeded to analyze each name after the poll to ensure the chosen name resonates with our vision.

Allow us to share the summarized results of our market analysis:

Market Analysis​

1. GameStash​

Google Search Results: ~33,600
Possible Domains: gamestash.de

• There's already an app called GameStash that offers similar features to ours.

2. GameVault​

Google Search Results: ~800,000
Possible Domains: gamevau.lt, game-vault.de

• The term "GameVault" is associated with a popular online casino/gambling application called GameVault999.

3. GameShelf​

Google Search Results: ~560,000
Possible Domains: gameshelf.de

• The name "Gameshelf" is already used by two existing applications. One is a Board-Game-Collection Viewer, and the other is a Gaming Backlog app.

4. Harbor​

Google Search Results: ~393,000,000
Possible Domains: harborapp.de

• "Harbor" is a very common word, making it challenging to find a suitable domain that aligns with our brand identity.

• Additionally, there's a well-known app called Harbor on the Market related to Docker/Kubernetes.

5. GameHub​

Google Search Results: ~5,690,000 Possible Domains: gamehubapp.de

• GameHub is a popular game library manager
• it also sounds like a popular adult site 😁

What's Next?​

We understand your eagerness for a new name, and we are equally committed to distancing ourselves from the old one. Taking into account all the suggested names and feedback, we engaged in extensive internal brainstorming, free from outside influences.

We sought a name that is descriptive, intuitive, and effectively conveys the purpose of our app. Additionally, we aimed for a name that is easily memorable and emphasizes the ownership and control of a self-hosted server, security, and exclusivity.

Introducing our new name: GameVault
Available soon under this domain: gamevau.lt

We have already secured the domain and registered the name wherever possible. The transition process will commence shortly. We are eager to hear your thoughts on the new name. Do you like it?

Special Thanks ❤️​

Well, as you all know, this was quite a journey to get here, and we wanted to give our special thanks to:

• Everybody who gave this project's idea a chance, even if the name was kind of weird.

• Everybody who made suggestions on our Discord server and participated in the discussions.

• Everybody who voted.

• A special shoutout to @KairuByte on Discord for coming up with the name GameVault.

• We would also like to extend our gratitude to The Selfhosted Podcast for discussing our app. (Brent, we are excited to hear your thoughts on the new name from a marketing standpoint 😜)

• Last but not least, thank you to The Self-Hosted Newsletter for mentioning our release.

Thank you all for your continued support!

We will keep you updated as the transition unfolds. In the meantime, head over to our Discord channel to celebrate and share your thoughts on the new name.

Stay tuned!

Hey everyone,

today i want to clarify why GameVault isn't considered "open-source" by definition.

You see, GameVault is what we like to call "source-available" software. This means that our code is open for you to explore and modify, but it doesn't fully meet all the criteria of being considered open-source. I want to take a moment to explain what open-source truly means and why we've taken a slightly different approach.

According to the widely recognized definitions, "open-source" software, as one would think, not only provides access to the source code but also offers certain freedoms to its users. It allows them to use, modify, and distribute the software freely, even for commercial purposes.

For a self-hosted app like GameVault, we believe it's crucual to disclose the source code. We want you, our users, to have full transparency and control over the software you use on your servers. We don't want you to be unaware of what's happening behind the scenes, as is sometimes the case with closed-source applications like Plex, for example.

Now, you may be wondering why we didn't make GameVault fully open-source. The answer lies in our desire to protect our code from unauthorized use and commercial exploitation. While we absolutely encourage you to copy, modify, and share our code for personal use, we want to prevent others from profiting off our hard work by selling our software without our consent.

It's important to acknowledge that maintaining and developing a software project requires resources. While we admire the open-source community and its valuable contributions, sustaining GameVault solely through donations or offering it for free indefinitely is not feasible. For instance, Jellyfin, a popular open-source app developed over a decade, generates only around $13,500 per year (according to their opencollective page). In contrast, Plex, a closed-source alternative, earns a significant $8.5 million annually. Our company's main goal is to keep the core functionality of GameVault free, but we also need to explore ways to generate revenue in order to support its future growth and improvement. We are currently considering monetizing additional convenience features for the Client Application in the future, although nothing has been finalized yet.

We genuinely appreciate your understanding. As a small business with just two members, we strive to provide you with a valuable product but cannot continue to do so as volunteers indefinitely. Sustaining losses in the long term would not be sustainable, especially considering our local tax obligations. We have families and commitments that cannot be neglected, and this project is not our primary job. Therefore, please understand that GameVault may not strictly align with the traditional definition of "open-source," and we no longer characterize it as such. Our intention is to be transparent and present our perspective. Your understanding, support, and empathy mean a great deal to us.

If you have any thoughts or comments on this topic, we'd be more than happy to hear from you. Feel free to share your feedback on our Discord server. We truly value your input and look forward to engaging with you there.

EDIT: Updated Application Name

Hey folks,

We have an important update to share with you all while our poll is in progress. It has come to our attention that a group of individuals has been engaging in harassing, blackmailing, and threatening behavior towards us.

It began with spam on our Issue Trackers and Discord Server but this situation has escalated to the point where these individuals went so far as to search me up on LinkedIn and threaten to inform my employer with baseless accusations of racism because of trivial reasons like the branch name in our github project being "master". Moreover, we have received reports that these trolls have extended their actions directly to other members of this server, attempting to spread negative narratives and disrupting the community atmosphere.

To address this issue, we kindly request that you promptly report any encounters with these trolls to both Discord and our dedicated team of moderators. By doing so, we can take appropriate measures to handle the situation and maintain a safe environment for all.

We would like to emphasize that we are not racist individuals, but rather developers who decided to share our hard work with the community, hoping to bring joy and utility to everyone. Unfortunately, we did not anticipate encountering such creepy behavior when we made the project public. It has made us question whether it was the right decision to open up our work in the first place.

If you appreciate our efforts and would like to support us and the app, we humbly ask for your financial assistance. Even a small contribution of five bucks on Kofi would go a long way in helping us maintain our motivation and dedication. Alternatively, if monetary support isn't possible, we would be incredibly grateful if you could share kind words about how the GameVault app has positively impacted your life in the #chat channel. Your encouragement means the world to us. 🥰

In addition, we encourage you to continue reporting any bugs you encounter and submitting feature requests in the respective GitHub trackers. With your valuable input, we can continue improving the app and making it even better.

Remember, the success of this project relies on your support and engagement. Let's stand together against these trolls and ensure a positive and inclusive community experience. Thank you for your attention and understanding.

Hello, everyone!

We have an important announcement to share about our source-available gaming platform, project. We have listened to your feedback and concerns, and now we need your help in choosing a new, family-friendly name that better reflects our platform's values. To make this decision-making process more convenient, we have created a poll with 100 potential names, suggested by you on our Discord, some of which were generated by AI. Your participation in shaping the future of our platform is greatly appreciated.

We kindly request your support in selecting a new name for our gaming platform. The poll offers a variety of names, and we ask that you choose at least 10 names (10%) that appeal to you. By gathering diverse input and minimizing bias, we aim to create an inclusive and enjoyable experience for all users. We apologize if the current name has caused any discomfort, and we are committed to creating a welcoming environment for gamers.

To cast your votes and contribute to the selection of a new, family-friendly name for our source-available gaming platform, please click on the link provided at the end of this post. Your voice matters, and together, we can find a name that truly represents our app's essence. The results will be announced on this blog around July 15, 2023.

We sincerely appreciate your support and encourage you to stay tuned for updates as we continue to improve our platform based on your valuable feedback.

Link to the poll: https://forms.gle/cYsURG6BqMXcxE3B8

Happy voting!

Hey Guys,

Our team has been working tirelessly for the past year on creating GameVault, the source-available, self-hosted, and free alternative to traditional cloud-based game platforms like Steam, Origin, Epic Games, and GoG. We are excited to share that GameVault is now available for everyone to use, and we are delighted to disclose it to the community.

With GameVault, you can play and track games together with your friends on a shared file server, free from any restrictions that traditional game platforms may impose. We have designed it to work with DRM-free games, providing a unique solution for those who want a more flexible and open approach to gaming. Think of it like Jellyfin, but for Videogames.

GameVault offers a self-hosted approach that gives you complete control over your gaming experience. The platform enables you to browse your server's game collection, securely download games, launch and play them, and even track your playtimes and progress - regardless of whether the server is offline. Additionally, you can compare stats and play states with other users on the server.

Our server features offer automatic indexing of games on the file system into a database, enrichment of games with metadata like tags and genres using RAWG API, multi-user authentication, and configurable logging. We have also implemented health monitoring, full-text search, filters, sorting, pagination, and a fully documented API. The GameVault platform is highly configurable to suit your needs.

We are thrilled that you have found us, and we invite you to try GameVault today. We would be grateful for any contributions, feedback, bug reports, and feature requests you might have. You can also support us by donating using the links provided on our website. If you have any questions or would like to connect with other GameVault users, please join our Discord, Reddit and Lemmy communities - links to which are available in the footer.

We are passionate about creating a gaming experience that is more open, flexible, and enjoyable for everyone. We hope you will join us on this journey and experience the benefits of a truly source-available alternative to traditional game platforms with GameVault.