Publisher?s Club

[MattAn24]

Ugh.. As it almost pains me to say it and while I'm STILL thoroughly against blatantly paying for content for a website when it's in no way a donation. It's a subscription. Donation with minor benefits, fine.. But a full-fledged subscription just doesn't sound right.. Anywhere.

Anyway.. As much as it bothers me immensely.. I shall consider it.. As long as LRR's Behind-The-Scenes stuff is still staying on their site (ENN Rejected Stories included) and isn't being dragged over with the rest, fine. Hell, I only watch the occasional Zero Punctuation, weekly LRR/ENN/Unskippable.. And Good Knight's Quest. Some news articles and/or e-mail articles are ok..

Le sigh, look, as I said, I'll think it over more. I do need what little money I get a fortnight for several other things I've been planning on buying though. This just wasn't timed right. Some warning would've been brilliant.

 

[Cody211282]

Humm it might just be my cynic nature but I have never seen the point in a subscription for a website(only one I really thought about was rooterteeth and that was because I could get the movies earlier) the HD movie would be worth it if i didn't still use an old CRT monitor and my internet didn't take forever to load a normal one, and the exclusive member forum access sorta sounds nice but at the same time a bit elitist. I think I'll sit on the bench on this one to see how it is handles, I just hope the nonmembers don't get screwed out of anything.

 

[Eri]

Sign me up!..oh wait..*looks at badge*..

 

[JWAN]

If you get a papal option Ill consider it...

 

[Fearzone]

I pay my ISP a dollar a month not to display adds with my email, so I'll do the same for you guys.

...except if there is no PayPal I'll have to think about it. You could even charge me any PayPal fees.

EDIT: Ah, nevermind, Amazon is fine. When do the ads go away?

 

[JWAN]

Id rather be a mod on second thought.


You could always add a couple advertisements on the very bottom of the site.

 

[JWAN]

I'm certainly not going to pay to use a website...however a few things irritate me about this service:

A custom title of your choice: We've only given out a handful of custom titles over the years, but you can claim a unique title of your own (within reason, of course). We'll even throw in a special badge for good measure.

This is the section that irritates me - really, you're now selling custom titles - making those titles earnt through winning contests or posting a lot completely pointless...I wouldn't pay just on principal...

Audience panel membership: Let our content team know which direction you think they should go by participating in opinion surveys and focus groups.

Wasn't there a user group created for this very purpose that was disbanded? Was it purposefully disbanded to make way for this paid membership group - if not, why was it disbanded if you're simply going to do the same thing?

Not to be a jerk here or anything, but I have to wonder why you're asking us questions about something you've already told us in no uncertain terms you won't be bothering to support? You're not giving me much incentive here to answer your questions, dude.

Well, the guy who started this said " Any comments or complaints will be accepted, but please be careful in what you say." and this guy has a few pretty good ones.

 

[Artemicion]

It's kind of funny the amount of stuff you can get simply by asking. I got the PM that I assume was forwarded to most (all?) members of the forum, and only then was I made aware there was an elite status.

I don't really care about the quality of the videos I watch here - it's never really been an issue for me. And publishers not making a super profit doesn't really bother me, either.
But I signed up anyway - because you were polite about it.

Besides which, even though I haven't been here for very long, I like this site. It's visually pleasing, rich with content and the forums are well kept by a staggeringly-proficient moderating team. I've no problem with dropping a dime in appreciation.

Just keep the site up and running, yeh? I don't want it to go to waste.

 

[Mr. Mike]

I've probably already been ninja'd here, but I hope this doesn't spawn a "Publisher's Club" elitism among Escapists on the site.

 

[Nomad]

I'm certainly not going to pay to use a website...however a few things irritate me about this service:

A custom title of your choice: We've only given out a handful of custom titles over the years, but you can claim a unique title of your own (within reason, of course). We'll even throw in a special badge for good measure.

This is the section that irritates me - really, you're now selling custom titles - making those titles earnt through winning contests or posting a lot completely pointless...I wouldn't pay just on principal...

Audience panel membership: Let our content team know which direction you think they should go by participating in opinion surveys and focus groups.

Wasn't there a user group created for this very purpose that was disbanded? Was it purposefully disbanded to make way for this paid membership group - if not, why was it disbanded if you're simply going to do the same thing?

Not to be a jerk here or anything, but I have to wonder why you're asking us questions about something you've already told us in no uncertain terms you won't be bothering to support? You're not giving me much incentive here to answer your questions, dude.

I was really on the fence about this. On one hand, I'm wary about subscriptions by principle, but on the other hand, I really like the escapist. I even went as far as opening up the subscription window to register - but in the end, I backed out. It's not that I don't feel the sum is too much of a fortune for the features being offered, or that I don't want to support the website. It's the way the whole thing was presented, it honestly makes me feel uneasy. As I read through this thread, I became increasingly more wary about the subscription as I read the replies of the staff members - especially in combination with the parts of the initial offer that some people have commented on already (the "walled garden" stuff and whatnot)... And this post is what finally made me back off completely.

Now, apparently, your new business model is to offer support only to those who toss you money. Sure, it's an economically sound policy - but it makes you seem cold, distant and unpersonal. It makes you look like robots. It makes you look like EA. You shouldn't need an incentive (read: wad of cash) in order to spend 20 seconds answering perfectly valid questions from loyal visitors. You already spent an equal amount of time saying you're not going to answer the questions, which means you can't play the "our time is valuable"-card either.

It just signals that people who aren't subscribers are henceforth considered second-class citizens - like someone said a few pages back, in six months anyone without the proper badge will be scoffed at and ignored by all the cool kids who payed up.

I don't know about this whole thing. The idea itself is, while not my favourite idea of all time, not all bad. The way it's presented, and the general attitude behind it, is what puts me off.

 

[ddq5]

The custom tiles kinda seem like the Something Awful premium upgrades. I don't post nearly enough to care about the words under my name. High-res videos are fancy, but current resolutions are good enough for me. The only series that would objectively benefit from higher resolution would be Unskippable, the Stormrise video specifically with the itty-bitty text.

Are swear words allowed in titles? Would one be allowed to identify oneself as a "Bad ************"?

It would be incredibly hilarious if the so-called "walled garden" caused a caste split that generated immense hostility between the Pubs and the Plebs, culminating in a forum war so intense that the insane amount of flaming fried the Escapist servers and burned up the souls of every user online on what will come to be known as Judgment Day. Well, it'd be hilarious to me.

 

[MattAn24]

Exactly what Nomad said. Seriously, Russ, I respect you, I respect the staff.. But come on. If you're going to promote your paid membership service, at least do it with some common courtesy. Treat the people who are considering giving you their money some respect. A little counts. The way the staff have been "promoting" this just looks off. I donated to this sort of access thing before. It turned into more of a paid FRIENDSHIP. "If you give us money, we'll be your friend and we'll only listen to you for any support questions."

Hate to mention it again, but LRR doesn't do that. Runners don't get special treatment. Yes, they're in a pretty sweet gang and all, with their peeps and it's all cool, g.. But y'know, they still respect and honour their other fans messages. Hell, Paul's helped me out with some HTML advice for my uni assignment. Jer, Graham and I have had some deep discussions about JRPG's. Tally and I discuss crafty stuff. I'm not a Runner (and I don't think I'm likely to be, the operations to do with art and such aren't my strongpoints), but that doesn't matter.

Honestly, I'd be much more inclined to buy the product if you don't cram it down people's throats that we're idiots if we don't.

 

[Lord Krunk]

I'm sure as hell not doing this, mostly because I'm not an especially active member over here, but partly because it seems like profiteering with some of the recent moves on the Escapist and comes across as downright insulting to be asked to pay for quality and full RSS. At least to me.

But I can predict a big problem: Bannings.

I've glanced at users getting banned for rather small infractions. But if they're paying for a service and their account is banned from access, that's a pretty big liability train you're standing in front of. Sure, the users could not be douches, but asking someone on an internet forum to not be a douche is like asking the sun not to rise.

That is a fair point. Are there at least some terms and conditions associated with the forums? Because I really, really don't want this place to become Xbox Live.

As for the subscription, I think I'll pass. Partly because my ststus as a 17-year-old without a credit card renders me unable to pay, and partly because I don't really care about HD videos anyway. I came for Yahtzee, stayed for the News Feed.

I'm not too sure about custom titles either, to be honest. Now that they've become common, they're not valuable anymore. And for the people whose badassery earned them one (Nuke, Decoy and Gigantor for example), I could understand if they feel a little shafted.

Also, as a sideneote: $5 that this is the reason Root lost his Time Lord title.

 

[John Funk]

I'm certainly not going to pay to use a website...however a few things irritate me about this service:

A custom title of your choice: We've only given out a handful of custom titles over the years, but you can claim a unique title of your own (within reason, of course). We'll even throw in a special badge for good measure.

This is the section that irritates me - really, you're now selling custom titles - making those titles earnt through winning contests or posting a lot completely pointless...I wouldn't pay just on principal...

Audience panel membership: Let our content team know which direction you think they should go by participating in opinion surveys and focus groups.

Wasn't there a user group created for this very purpose that was disbanded? Was it purposefully disbanded to make way for this paid membership group - if not, why was it disbanded if you're simply going to do the same thing?

Not to be a jerk here or anything, but I have to wonder why you're asking us questions about something you've already told us in no uncertain terms you won't be bothering to support? You're not giving me much incentive here to answer your questions, dude.

I was really on the fence about this. On one hand, I'm wary about subscriptions by principle, but on the other hand, I really like the escapist. I even went as far as opening up the subscription window to register - but in the end, I backed out. It's not that I don't feel the sum is too much of a fortune for the features being offered, or that I don't want to support the website. It's the way the whole thing was presented, it honestly makes me feel uneasy. As I read through this thread, I became increasingly more wary about the subscription as I read the replies of the staff members - especially in combination with the parts of the initial offer that some people have commented on already (the "walled garden" stuff and whatnot)... And this post is what finally made me back off completely.

Now, apparently, your new business model is to offer support only to those who toss you money. Sure, it's an economically sound policy - but it makes you seem cold, distant and unpersonal. It makes you look like robots. It makes you look like EA. You shouldn't need an incentive (read: wad of cash) in order to spend 20 seconds answering perfectly valid questions from loyal visitors. You already spent an equal amount of time saying you're not going to answer the questions, which means you can't play the "our time is valuable"-card either.

It just signals that people who aren't subscribers are henceforth considered second-class citizens - like someone said a few pages back, in six months anyone without the proper badge will be scoffed at and ignored by all the cool kids who payed up.

I don't know about this whole thing. The idea itself is, while not my favourite idea of all time, not all bad. The way it's presented, and the general attitude behind it, is what puts me off.

I can tell you that in no uncertain terms, the emphasis here in the office was that we would continue to be doing everything we do for the vast majority of people on the site who don't join the Publisher's Club. That was the message from the top, and that's what we're going to be doing.

This just lets us go above and beyond.

 

[MattAn24]

Huh.. $10 USD is $10.78 AUD.. I guess I can let 78c slide. See you on the other side, I guess?

 

[Nerf Ninja]

I keep getting this horrible feeling that those of us who don't sign up are going to be treated as akin to pirates.

 

[Knight Templar]

I'm not sure how I feel about this. I want to join, and I guess I love the escapist, but I also have no way to subscribe, unless you take cash.

To be honist it's Amazon thats holding me back, My dad has a Paypal account he allows me to use (As I have no need for one myself) but I don't know if he will let this fly. Yeah I'm one of those crazy kids who do what their parents ask.

 

[MattAn24]

YAR YE SKURVY DOG, WALK YE PLANK! I mean.. Um... No! No that won't happen at all!

Also.. I'm a Publisher Club member! O: Oh snap.. I actually did it o.o

So yeah, I can end if I wish to before the instant billing in a year's time, right..?

 

[Matt_LRR]

YAR YE SKURVY DOG, WALK YE PLANK! I mean.. Um... No! No that won't happen at all!

Also.. I'm a Publisher Club member! O: Oh snap.. I actually did it o.o

So yeah, I can end if I wish to before the instant billing in a year's time, right..?

Yes - it was stated that you can unsubscribe at any time, and you will continue to have access through the end of your paid period regardless.

-m

 

[MattAn24]

Yes - it was stated that you can unsubscribe at any time, and you will continue to have access through the end of your paid period regardless.

-m

Understood, thanks Matt! Let's see how this whole shtick works out.. Hopefully better than my last experience with this sort of thing.. Just.. Escapist Staff, don't start acting like super-celebrities, ignoring people who AREN'T Publisher's Club members. Benefits are benefits, but don't treat anyone who happened to not subscribe like shit. That should be the same to PC members too. Common courtesy, kthx?

My other question.. Who do I ask to see if I can get a username change? This is one hell of an old name. Might see if I can get a change on the LRR boards too..