Publisher?s Club

[Fenixius]

This is a huge post, sorry, but I'm trying to answer whatever questions I can before the wife catches me working at night

We love you, Virgil.

 

[7ru7h]

Would you be able to do something similar for the Android browser?

It should already work. Funk has a Droid and we tested it on his phone - just make sure you log into the site on the phone first.

so you do... I will say though, whether it be my G1 or T-Mobile's 3G coverage, but the standard quality videos load faster than they do on my netbook's wifi (addendum - HO. LY. FUCK. The high quality vids load perfectly in 3G as well)

And to add yet another question, will I get videos in said RSS as well, or will I need to hit the article on the page for those?

Embedded videos don't work in the RSS - if they're our videos, they'll have links to the video instead. Unfortunately I couldn't find a way to get the embed codes to work reliably via RSS.

I figured, but a man can hope. I don't really mind though.

Yet another question. Does anybody know how to add authenticated RSS feeds to Google Reader?

Google reader doesn't support them at the moment. Hopefully they'll add it in later. I use FeedDemon, which syncs with Google Reader, and had to add the full-content feed directly to the client.

I haven't heard about FeedDemon... I'll have to look into that. I knew there was a way to do it with feedburner, but I was sort of hoping that there was an easier hack (and hopefully FD is easier). Again, I don't really mind. Just one more little hack I get to add to my repertoire.

All in all, my feelings about the Publisher's club can be summed up in the words of Master Billy, Quizboy - "This. Is. TITS!"

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

What is this, Loading Ready La Reistance?

You have to understand one of the main gripes coming from the Runners base right now; LRR offered their videos in high resolution video for a long time before the migration over to the Escapist, and now several of the loyal and long-time fans are feeling cheated because they're being put into a position where they pretty much have to pay for something that they've been getting free for years.

While the "you don't lose anything you already have" argument is valid and does hold up, you guys have to understand that in the eyes of the LRR fans they did lose something here, and they aren't happy about it. And understandably so.

While anger and angst certainly exist because of such things, just because a product was once offered for free does not imply some sort of contract or commitment that it ought to continue being free. If you consider the time and expense those guys spend making their funny internet videos, the fact that they were, apparently, merely breaking even (and even then likely only in terms of hosting costs and whatnot, not including the fact they all were doing this work for free) I see no problem with them pursuing an option that nets them a paycheck. Moreover, the underlying assertion is you deserve a product or service for free and lets face it - the charity ends the moment someone decides working for free is a bad strategy.

So, while I understand why such people might be angry, I'd say the argument you present holds no real merit as such. Besides, were talking PENNIES for each video - literally a quantity of money that anyone with even a minimum wage job would likely ignore if they saw it lying on the street. And if this cost is really unpalatable, it isn't as though you can't continue viewing the content for free anyhow - just not on an iPhone or in HD.

 

[blankedboy]

Notice how almost everyone in this topic has subscribed to the PC.

 

[SonicKoala]

Damnn, now that is a good deal. Considering how often I go to this site, I think $20 bucks a year is pretty damn reasonable. And now my videos look prettier!

 

[ravensshade]

I would join, but lack of credit card and money prevents, me from doing so.

However is there any chance of a paypal option being included using my debit card?

Amazon accepts debit cards, i don't have a credit card either and i managed to join

only for americans then? for payment options i only seem to get credit cards..

 

[ethan22122]

how do you pay? p.s i'm in Australia and i don't have a credit card.

 

[Samurai Goomba]

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.

Not to be a jerk? I often answer questions people ask me with no thought towards compensation. I would be more likely than ever to do so if I created a thread specifically to answer questions. You're not giving him much incentive to be persuaded by your salesmanship, wit and charm.

Spoiler

 

[newuseforvintage]

I would join, but lack of credit card and money prevents, me from doing so.

However is there any chance of a paypal option being included using my debit card?

Amazon accepts debit cards, i don't have a credit card either and i managed to join

only for americans then? for payment options i only seem to get credit cards..

It has all the little credit card gifs and options (visa, mastercard etc.) but your debit card will work because it runs through the same channel. So, for example, my debit card is registered with Visa so I just picked the Visa option and it worked fine.

At least that's the way it is here in Aus. I assumed it'd be true most of the rest of the 1st world. We do so lag behind technology wise

 

[ZephrC]

This is a nifty idea, and I'm all for it in theory, but for me it comes down a few questions I had to ask myself. First, is The Escapist worth $20 a year? The answer was, of course, resoundingly yes. The second was are the features being offered worth $10 a year? Sadly, to me at least, the answer here was no.

That brings us to the most important question. Should I give my money to The Escapist for no reason other than that I believe they deserve it? Sadly the answer is no again. I already pay nearly $60 a month for the privilege of connecting to the Internet, and while I understand that nobody on this site sees a penny of that, it's still money I'm paying for access to all the sites on the Internet. If I gave even more money to every site that I felt deserved it I would rapidly find myself unable to pay for my Internet connection, and so I must pass on this offer.

I do wish you the best of luck with it however. I certainly have no objection to the people who run this fine site making money.

 

[Eagle Est1986]

I'd just like to say thanks very much guys, I've been wanting to help contribute to the site for a while now and probably would have done it for a lot less than what you've given us.
I was a bit skeptical of your choice to use Amazon for payments, but I found it to be very quick and easy to set up, so no problem there.

So thanks very much guys!

 

[Latinidiot]

would it be a good idea to not ban people that have subscriptions, but simply disable their ability to post anything. ANYTHING.

 

[Exterminas]

While I'm not a minor I don't posess a credit card and have no idea what a debit card is. (I'm not a natural speaker)

I would like to subscribe, but I would prefere a paypal-option or something like that.

 

[Andronicus]

I don't know if anyone's touched on this subject yet, but I have to ask.

While I'll most definitely be handing my hard-earned cash over to the Escapist (customs titles? Where do I sign?), I just wanted to know if people outside America will finally be able to enter Escapist competitions?

While I can sort of understand why normal contests would be for American citizens only, the list of benefits for subscribing offers "members-only contests", but it would seem a little self-defeating if the only paying members that can enter are those who live in the US. Are people living outside America effectively paying the same amount of money whilst receiving less content than Americans?

 

[DragonsAteMyMarbles]

If it means the servers are more reliable, I'm paying you.

EDIT: Awww... It doesn't like my card...

Now that you mention it.. The site is running rather quickly since signing up.. Didn't like Visa/Mastercard though? O:

Maestro, which is a sort of baby Mastercard.

I'm having the same problem. Anyone know if there's a way to subscribe via a non-US Amazon thing?

 

[pjm]

I love the...

*Cue sad music* Every thirty days, an Escapist game journalist is forced to buy his own videogame at retail price. But you don't have to let them suffer anymore. Now, for just twenty cents a week, you can help...

As you can see they had me at 50% off

 

[Insanum]

The forum community, Which probably gives a proportion of the revenue via the advertising & Site traffic to the Escapist, And the Suits, Who want to make as much money as they can from the site.

Here's something you may not know. Forum traffic is, in ad terms, completely worthless. It's a tiny percentage of our total site visitors that view lots of pages but never click on ads. Nobody wants to advertise in them. The forums are also the heaviest load on our servers, and require a dedicated employee and several very gracious volunteer moderators to even attempt to keep in line. As a business, we'd be better off not having most of our forums at all.

I'll leave it to you to decide why the "suits," every one of which who is a long-time dedicated gamer and has written articles about gaming for our site, keep the forums around. Frankly, as one of them, I find your insinuation pretty offensive.

My question to the Escapist faculty is Should[/I] we part with our hard earned money?

Here's the thing: As an ad-supported business, there are certain things we can and can't reasonably do. The membership program is a way to do two different things. First, it's a way for people who want to support the site but not see ads to support us and what we do directly.

Second, it's a way for us to add features that being ad-supported doesn't allow us to do. For example, we couldn't afford the bandwidth to serve the high quality video to everyone. Video podcasts mean people don't need to come to the site or see ads to see the videos. Full-content RSS feeds also keep people away from the site and ads.

If you don't mind seeing the ads, and none of the features sound like something you'd use, then by all means take a pass on this. I personally think that when you add everything up it's a nice set of features, but it's definitely not for everyone.

I didnt mean to cause offence with my previous post, but im sure you could see the point i was trying to make.

The thing is, I see this now as a slippery slope, First its memberships, then microtransactions, then other things. Before you know it things get out'ta hand. I can understand you want to keep the lights on at the Esc HQ, and im not bothered about the price (£6 is hardly going to break the bank), but its the principle that now we're going to have to pay for a site we've come to know and love.

I know we're not losing anything if we dont[/I] pay, but things that are being added to members only would've been stuff that was added to everone before.

Once again, I see how it makes business sense, it just doesnt make it sting any less when your reminded your favourite site on the internet is a business.

 

[Fetzenfisch]

While I'm not a minor I don't posess a credit card and have no idea what a debit card is. (I'm not a natural speaker)

I would like to subscribe, but I would prefere a paypal-option or something like that.

Same here

 

[Legion]

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.

While I am certain that this is not the Escapists intention, I feel that this is the way things will go. The same way people who had/have MM avatars or ones with the Escapists 'E' tend to be in a clique of sorts.

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

I had been wondering why his title went, I assumed it was upon request.