My youngest and I at a wine-tasting 

Original is here

But it doesn't make much sense to me.... maybe I'm just obtuse.
I would rather pay the sub. price and deal with one or two ads, as opposed to paying nothing and getting swamped with ads. Plus, as Zoomba stated, some of the revenue generated by these STATIC ads will go towards giving perks to the subscribers.

And people need to understand that the promise wasn't no ads period. It was:
"removing banners and other ads from the website that may hinder your surfing experience".

Static ads don't hinder your surfing experience do they? Hell, there's an ad for the WC store that we all see! What's the difference???

Yes, I think what's needed is a working example of the Sponsorship in action....the 'impact' of which can be seen for/by both subscribers and non-subscribers.

Combine that with a clearer indicator of what actual benefits it will bring [specifically FOR the Subscribers] and my bet is that 33% will diminish significantly.

Too much of the discussion was about what defines advertising and not about how it can/will benefit the Subscriber. 

Ultimately there is always those who will play the cautious card and go for the 'no' vote which equates with 'no change is good'.

The problem with polls is that typically one 'side' or another engenders more angst or ire and thus attracts more respondents who want to be 'heard'.  The ambivalent are by definition less likely to want to have an input hence that 2%.

It's a fair bet that were the vote a compulsory one the 'don't care' portion would be bigger and thus the results would differ even more....

How about a bit of subsidized subscription, say, $15 but will get a few ads and unlimited downloads?

Evryone speaking up is somehwhat biased towards supporting the coomunity so I can see why people have trouble accepting the bad results.

I voted I don't care but I'll play Devil's advocate..

A small percentage of people will resort to extremes to make their case stronger.

There is a small percentage of people that will take their ball and go home.

There is a small percentage that feels subscriptions should not be necessary and Stardock should be fully sponsoring the site.

When the carrot is dangled that we may get some premium skins in the future for a trade off, some won't bite. Promises are generally empty when it comes to business.

I personally think that it is a road to failure. Without knowing specific numbers involved I can only assume that subscriptions will never be enough to support the site. As the site grows, so does the overhead. This means the site gets more in the hole as time goes. When sponsors aren't enough to support the site, then what? I sort of feel like we are being asked to get aboard a sinking ship.

Actual subscription numbers have never been shared with the public so we have no way to gauge just how much freeloading is going on out there. Some will start new accounts over and over to get around the download cap. It would be interesting to know so we could base our opinions on something with more substance.

I think the silent ones or "lurkers" are the ones to listne to becuase the mopre time I spend in forums around the web, the more I am assuered that people that feel the need to offer their opinion in a forum are most likely uneductaed and shooting from the hip and not the brain. The smart stay silent and laugh at all us morons.


Windowblind reviews haven't been all that great when it comes to the quality of skins in the libraries. I have no clue how to correct that image problem but it will hamper subscription sales if people believe the libraries aren't worth subscribing for.

I have gone way out of my way in the past to support this site and will continue to do so in whatever way I can but I can understand the hesitation some have with changes. Especially when it targets the people that have supported the site for years and years to come.

But if that's the sole reason that some folks subscribe, just to not see ads, and they would leave because of 1 static add on the page...that seems kinda sad to me.

I doubt they would leave but they may not re-subscribe.
Since I'm Stardock customer, and I already had the only blind in the giveaways that is Vista and WB6 ready, ad free was the main benefit for me to subscribe. Well, that and the fact that this was a charity drive that would help the kids, I figured what the hell, I spend that much for a few beers at the pub, I'll stay at home for a night and subscribe. Now that I'm subscribed until 2010, I'll give it a few years and see how many ads this turns into. If it gets out of hand and they multiply too much, there will be little reason for me to re-subscribe since I will still be a Stardock customer. Now that I think about it, there is another perk I like...the 100 blinds per page is really nice.

The true test will be when the 2 million or so who havent participated in thsi thread or read it.. see ads.   

Myself.. I could care less.  

I find it hard to believe that Stardock would shut the site down even if it loses money. It would hurt Stardock's sales too greatly for them to shut it down. If this site didn't exist I never would have bought Object Desktop, and if it shuts down, I doubt I would buy it again.
There are not enough sites to take up the slack, as Zubaz thinks there are, and there is no other site that has near the collection of skins that Wincustomize does.
The ship will stay afloat as long as Stardock stays in business.

Before the success of Galctic Civilizations there was talk of closing the site by the Power that be's.

I concur with CarGuy1 on that assessment. Yes, other sites can take over the skins but there is no way people are going to flock to someplace like DA for them. Stardock needs WC. I honestly think Object Desktop sales would plummet very dramatically should something like that occur.
I also would not renew without WC.

WinCustomize is the fuel that allows the ObjectDesktop engine to run.   

If WC would shut down, which I don't see happening, all the skinners here would not just stop skinning. They would find a home. Guess who would follow them, yep, all those people who didn't want to subscribe, and of course, the rest of us.   

Same with me. I would be willing to dish out more money to keep the site going.

I would also, but then that gets us back to some of what was brought up, only a small group keeping the site open for everyone.  ( 

A mock-up would be interesting to see. I personally don't think a static Sponsorship will be in any way obstructive at all. It would be great to see WC sustain it's self. Realistically I don't think it is possible...yet. We should still try the Site Sponsorship, regardless what the numbers say in the poll.