| Some very interesting comments in this thread. I still think a Subscriber level model would work. But one thing i have noticed is a lack of input from Stardock? Are they really interested in all the ideas being thrown around here? |
Such is life....This thread started the day I was off to Phillip Island....working at the MotoGP [that other volunteer job]...and came back to 3 pages of thread....149 comments, many of which were lengthy.
As a Wincustomize.com site 'admin' I naturally [conscientiously] read each and every word....so I've 'caught up'...
Stardock themselves are equally interested in Community input.....that is the very reason it's called a 'Community'.
What can be gleaned from all the input so far is a general acceptance that something 'needs' to change, so it probably will. It's Stardock's declaration of the 'need' and the Community's understanding of the 'necessity' that will lead to change....
No matter how you phrase it, arrogance/exclusional/elitist, the reality is there are only two types of people accessing this site....Those who contribute, and those who don't.
I think it's time for those who don't to jump ship and join the 'those who contribute'.
Now, 'contribution' is not limited to 'subscription', hence they are two different words.
Skinners, forum chin-waggers, subscribers, SD customers, casual visitors monopolizing bandwidth....they ALL 'contribute'...to a degree.
The 'degree' differs.
Unfortunately, the first four 'groups' make up such a small proportion, number-wise, yet are essentially the ONLY financial supporters of the site. [the 'visitors' have a potential 'value'...through word-of-mouth dissemination/advertising that 'may' lead to new 'visitors' who decide to subscribe, etc].
The obvious site traffic means that the content is appealing.....and if that's the case it 'should' also be saleable, too.
Now, 'saleable' does not mean specifically paying the skinner who has his works here....but paying FOR the skinner's having his works here....aka...paying the bandwidth those skins use.
The trick is obviously to coerce more casual visitors to JOIN...to become members of the Site's community, willing to financially contribute....maybe just because it's helping their new 'friends'.
The Community NEEDS to be appealing to the 'newbie'....if it's 'cliquish' that should be all-embracing....exactly what 'community' means, afterall....
Mention has been made about WC 'exiles', and other sites, etc. Some of the people who raised these as 'issues' are new so are probably unaware of the history/s. Wincustomize.com is just one skinning site amongst several 'sister' sites....we all know each-other....most older members here are members of all the others as well. Each targets a slightly diverse user-base...Deviantart for example morphed from originally being an art-oriented skinning site to an art site with skins.
From time to time, a site member may overstep his/her welcome and fail to respond to reasonable requests to be more 'community minded' and will be shown the door. I think, this year there's been 4 or 5......a pretty good batting average in a site that has grown 500,000 members or so in that time. Their removal, as with the quiet asides to the odd person suggesting a 'rethink of attitude' is how Wincustomize.com is kept running 'smoothly', where people can freely interact without being reviled/insulted/abused.
Some people see Wincustomize.com as a place to grab heaps of free skins...
Some people see Wincustomize.com as a place to feel at home, hang out with friends, and grab heaps of free skins.
Some people see Wincustomize.com as a community...and are more than happy to put their money on the fridge.
It's up to one and all to realize the 'value'....
