Yup - I'm subscribed into the afterlife  But as I see it having sponsors is not really a hardship if it provides subscribers with extra content. I don't see a compromise there, what I see is a clear advantage to the subscriber. Anyway, none of that is the reason I subscribed...

I would like to see ads in the gallery for non-subscribers/non-purchasers though. This site costs so much to run the 'freeloader' needs to contribute in some way, even if it is only with the revenue from ads.

This is probably the first case of us asking subscribers to compromise on what we listed as subscriber benefits.

And like I said earlier, this is something that if we do it, will have very direct benefits ONLY for subscribers.

And to Fuzzy's comment... non-subscribers will still get the ad-heavy version of the site.

To be fair, You are correct.

I'm just tired..sick and tired...tired tired tired.. of big corp's passing their issues onto the little guy.

Stardock has branding on the Samurize site and has for as long as I've visited there. If that's consistent with what is being proposed, I'm NOT against it. I just want to avoid the appearance of "Anything ya'll want to do is OK" that I see in some of the early posts. I missed the "benefit" part when I read the original post.

Not having ads was not my MAIN reason for subscribing but it was definitely part of my reason. I don't frequent Skinbase much the last few years because of ads and the fact the same folks are here or on other sites not so aggressive in that area.

It is as far as I know.

I do, and it's not something that I feel has truly been acknowledged.

The description plainly states "removing banners and other ads from the website that may hinder your surfing experience."....

It never promises no ads, period. That would have been a mistake by WC, because it would have left no room to work within. It seems like the 'button-ad' proposal is the best way to go about raising revenue for the site, while still trying to keep subscribers happy.

Would a button ad really hinder your surfing experience that much? Just sitting there unobtrusively, say, above or below the WC Store ad? After the first few days, I'm not sure I (personally) would even notice.

If it were the local NAMBLA chapter...yeah, it would kinda put a damper on my surfing experience.   

I had to Google that to see what it was...thanks, I could have gone happily through life without knowing. It's going to take a lot of beer to kill that brain cell.   

I would like to point out that there is already an ad that is visible to subscribers. The Wincustomize store ads. I propose using half of that space as a sponsorship logo/ad if this is the path that is taken. No matter what, once this door is opened it will never be shut.

I always assumed that this was the support site for Stardock's sales. Without Wincustomize, the sales of Stardock’s products would not be as good as they are. That being the case, why does Wincustomize have to be a money making division of Stardock? The old adage is true, in business you have to spend money to make money.

I think SD apps would do fine without WC.  There's dA, skinning.net, etc.  Somoen would pick up the slack.  the Masters could always start their own sites.

I think that WC is a balance between the marketing arm od SD and a service to us.

Wincustomize.com 'could' simply be a straight Stardock portal for access to programs and skin content for SD product.... but it is quite substantially more than that being a somewhat independent Community Site for skinners and skinning in general.

Remember that Wincustomize was setup not 'just' to replace Stardock's original sites....eg. Windowblinds.com [I think - brain-fade here today] but also to fill much of the void left by the 'demise' of skinz.org, particularly as Deviantart.com 'deviated' more towards 'general' graphic art/s.

At its genesis the existing skinning sites were less than 'reliably present' - Deskmod.com had a DB failure ...skinz.org was pillaged by eFront and Customize.org was in rebirth with a place-holder 'watch this space' thingie.  One of the 'smaller' sites was run through mum's dial-up account, and others were still looking for an economy model.

Nothing 'we' do regarding having "advertising" [whatever the interpretation/definition] visible to Subscribers is ever likely to get O.T.T. as Site owners, Admins, Moderators and all would have to 'endure' them as well.  Remember we too are Subscribers [eg. I think I'm about 4 years ahead]...

 

I thought this problem was solved with the Masters-suite program. Weren't we told that if the Masters-skins sell really well (which I think they did), they would generate good money to support WC? And wasn't that just a year ago?

The same "incentives" about creating additional goodies for subscribers were presented as an argument back when we had the discussion about setting up a Master-system, but haven't really surfaced yet (apart from an update to RIP, the other free skins were OD-skins).

I am not saying this, because I spend sleepless nights about not having free goodies, but I thought it might be worth mentioning as I do well see a "slippery slope" here.

While the thread is active, I would like to take advantage to check a couple of things out.

Is there consensus that these commercially funded sponsorship slots can be reasonably described as adverts?

If so, are they being implemented through the mechanism of the existing qualification that I had previously noted could be drawn from the statement below. Further, if the phrasing below is being used as a mechanism for introducing growth, can we expect it to be used more consistently throughout the site in preparation for any similar proposals?

No Banner Ads. By becoming a Wincustomize subscriber, you help support our website in many ways. We recognize this by removing banners and other ads from the website that may hinder your surfing experience. We want all of our loyal patrons to have the most enjoyable surfing experience possible.

.......... alternatively, was the above just an incidental phrase that was never intended to be taken advantage of? In which case does this proposal represent a decision to simply deviate from the terms stated at the beginning of this present subscription drive?

If it is the latter, what mechanism exists to change the terms of subscriptions? Is there a clause that enables Wincustomize to make such changes at any time it sees fit, that would supersede any other conditions?


For the record, the aspect that I think bothers me more than anything else is this-

Members were actively encouraged to promote subscriptions to other people off-site, including friends and family. We were linked back to the charity page which amongst the FAQ section, stated "What do I get for my subscription?You get ad-free browsing," . It wasn't qualified in any way. These were the terms we were invited to use as sales points.

While I don't feel that there's anything in the realisation of the proposed change that if implemented, need necessarily cause additional surfing issues for subscribers. I do feel that the principle of putting members in the position of promoting a benefit that hasn't even made it to the end of this drive without being up for review, isn't acceptable, and however unlikely it is to happen again, should be challenged as a matter of course.

Tks

Alternate Setting, after reading your post I clearly see why you chose the personal icon that you did. It fits you perfectly.  

Okay, so which way is the tree bending here. I thought the OP presented the facts clear enough that I voted yes. Bottom line for me was I pay more for a subscription or get a sponsor to kick in money so provide new revenue to cover new enhancements, upgrades and or goodies for subscribers.

I don't want to interpret what others are saying, but is it that those of you who are saying no want to pay more for a subscription or have no more enhancements, upgrades or additional subsciber goodies. Of course you maybe of the mindset that you believe no new revenue is needed.

I'm really a bottom line kind of person.

To the contrary, new revenues will always be needed. After this "change" there will be new revenues needed next year and the year after, etc. It is the nature of the beast. The issue for me is that there seems to be a basic flaw in the subscription model and as a result the core subscribers must give more or diminish the perks to compensate for the increase in freeloaders(for lack of a better term). The real issue to be solved is why does not this increased traffic bring the needed increase in subscribers with it? What is missing that will get a percentage of them to sign up and stay? If this is not resolved, it will continue to be necessary to go back to the core for more on a regular basis. Heck many of us are already paid up into the next century as it is. There is a natural uneasiness to diminished perks (no matter how small they seem one by one) when one has prepaid to the degree that many here have done in answer to the calls for support.