builds.sr.ht migration doc

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+---
+title: builds.sr.ht billing change planning
+---
+
+builds.sr.ht is going to require users to have a paid account in advance of the
+larger [beta payment migration](/billing-faq.md).
+
+# Background
+
+builds.sr.ht is the most expensive service we provide to our users. It is also
+the most easily misused: we have, on many occasions, had to reach out to users
+who are not paying for their account and who are submitting an excessive number
+of expensive jobs.
+
+This has been exacerbated recently with a rise in cryptocurrency mining attacks
+on builds.sr.ht. Malicious users have been deliberately submitting huge numbers
+of jobs under dozens of frequently registered accounts and deliberately
+circumventing our abuse detection to use as much of our resources as possible to
+mine cryptocurrencies. This exhausts our resources and leads to long build
+queues for normal users.
+
+We have a multi-faced approach to dealing with this kind of abuse. We will not
+go into detail in public on our anti-abuse measures: secrecy is required for
+them to be effective. However, one easy measure we can do to cut this abuse down
+substantially is to make builds.sr.ht a paid service.
+
+All sr.ht users will ultimately be expected to pay for their account
+([details](/billing-faq.md)). Making builds.sr.ht paid ahead of the rest helps
+to fix some problems, free up our sysadmins to focus on development, and does
+not substantially change the long-term planning.
+
+# FAQ
+
+All of the details in the [billing FAQ](/billing-faq.md) apply here.
+
+## Will pricing change after the alpha?
+
+Yes. The exact numbers have not been decided upon. There will be a generous
+period of consultation with the community and advance warning before any pricing
+changes take effect.
+
+## I'm not sure I can afford it.
+
+It is not our intention to price anyone out of using the service. If the minimum
+fees are too high for your financial needs, then you can simply [send us an
+email](mailto:sir@cmpwn.com) explaining your situation, and you will be issued
+free service, no questions asked. sr.ht users from many walks of life have been
+granted free service: students, users with issues using their currency of
+choice, people between jobs, and so on.
+
+## I represent an organization, how do we pay for builds.sr.ht?
+
+The software implementation for user groups or organizations is prioritized for
+the beta. In the meanwhile, utilize any workaround you wish: nominate one of
+your members to host your resources on their account, or set up a dedicated
+psuedo-account for the organization, or any other approach that suits your
+needs. We will help you migrate to user groups once the feature is available.
+[Shoot us an email](mailto:sir@cmpwn.com) to let us know about your workaround
+and we'll make a note on your account.
+
+Billing considerations for organizations will be available when the beta begins,
+but we don't know what they'll look like yet. The final discussion is deferred
+pending the final software design. Don't double-charge yourself: just pay on a
+single account and let us know. If you set up a dedicated organization account,
+and one or more of your members has a paid sr.ht account, let us know and we'll
+link the billing so that you don't have to pay twice.
+
+# Community discussion
+
+The proposed changes have been put to the community for discussion, via IRC
+discussions in the week of 2021-04-12; in the public Mumble meeting on
+2021-04-16; and on [sr.ht-discuss][0].
+
+[0]: https://lists.sr.ht/~sircmpwn/sr.ht-discuss/%3C32e85430-b650-4774-ad14-00688e473c5b%40benaaron.dev%3E
+
+# Detailed migration plan
+
+The plan is as follows:
+
+1. All new users who register on or after 2021-05-01 will be required to pay for
+   their account to use builds.sr.ht. Users registered before this date will not
+   be affected.
+2. On the same date, existing users will have 30 days to convert to a paid
+   account before they will no longer be able to submit builds. Any non-paying
+   users who have submitted builds during the 30 days prior to 2021-05-01 will
+   be notified of the impending change by email, and will be given an
+   opportunity to ask questions of the admins prior to the changes coming into
+   effect. Users with extenuating circumstances who require additional migration
+   time will be accomodated.
+
+Tasks:
+
+- ☑ Update billing FAQ and write this document
+- ☐ Prep software changes for builds.sr.ht
+- ☐ Fix billing system messaging bugs
+- ☐ Send emails to affected users
+- ☐ Deploy software changes
+- ☐ After 30 days: roll back temporary software changes