A Poll regarding bandwidth and costs (important)

from WinCustomize Forums

This as good a time as any since this subject is going to have to be dealt with at some point:

Our Story So far...

As long time users know, the amount of traffic this site gets has steadily increased. This month something like 1.3 million unique individuals will visit this website.

Since the dot-com collapse, bandwidth prices have increasingly become painful because there's no realistic way to pay for the site via banner ads. We are getting ready to unveil Textbanners.net this next week and hopefully that will help (users can take out ads on the site directly for as little as $1 per day).

But realistically, we're at something like 50 megabits of bandwidth much of which is dedicated to this site.

Right now, Stardock pays for virtually all of the tab. The goal was always for WinCustomize to become self-sustaining. But as the site has grown, that hope has drifted further and further off. 

But to try to off-set costs, we instituted WinCustomize subscriptions. For $19.95 a user gets a 2 year subscription to the site which gives them unlimited downloads, 2 premium suites, and the WinCustomize browser along with 5,000 free impressions on TextBanners.net. 

Non-subscribers have been restricted to 50 megabytes of bandwidth they could consume in the form of downloads. You'll occasionally see a post by someone who suddenly discovers scruples and expresses his outrage and desire to defend innocent artists everywhere for having to pay to download more stuff. But it's been one of the few ways of getting people to subscribe or at least go away and go to some other site to download stuff.

Subscribers have helped us pay for new hardware, more bandwidth, etc. But it's still a fairly low percentage. Well not just fairly low but amazingly low (far less than 1% of visitors).

One reason for that is because Stardock customers are currently exempt from the bandwidth restriction. So are users with access levels Apprentice and up.

Who should pay the bills?

That's put Stardock in an awkward position. It's facing either having to raise the price on Object Desktop (the proposed price is $69.95 up front and $37.95 for renewals) or put some sort of cap on the amount of megabytes a non-subscriber Stardock customer can get. The proposal on that end is 250 megabytes.

We'd like to hear from you. Which way do you think is most fair? My opinion is that we should go with the 250 meg cap on SDof bandwidthvery few people download that amount of bandwidth so it would only affect a small percent (most of the bandwidth is used by a small percent btw).  Those users can contribute either by subscribing for $20 for 2 years or contributing in other ways (skins, themes, walls, message boards, etc. and gaining higher access).

What's your view?

18,287 views 69 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
250 meg cap or pay for a subscription. It's a good deal for what you get - where else could you get so much for $10 per year?
Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I agree with Fuzzy. Thats overly generous and if you like something, then help support it. I also feel that the people doing the buying should not have to keep picking up the burdon for the freeloaders. A $20 subscription for 2 years wouldn't break anyone.


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Start11 - Customize the Start Menu and Taskbar in Windows 10/11.
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
As with most modern concepts....'user pays' is the generally accepted system...so the preference would be for the 250 meg limity....to coax the Wincustomize 'user' to pay, rather than factoring it into the OD subscription whose user may or may not actually be a member/user of Wincustomize, or, perhaps is already heavily supporting the site and would see the OD increase as 'paying twice'...
Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top
'limity'?...grrrrr....Spell checker
Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
That's a difficult one to answer, Frogboy. You always said you didn't want to make the ODNT subscribers pay for WC. You also had a plan a few months ago about improving WC services, like having a home page kind of facility. Do you think that would attract more WC subscribers?
Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Yow! While I know Object Desktop provides a variety of apps that cumulatively would be worth more than $70, that's just seems kinda steep to me and probably some others for the initial purchase price. I subscribe to OD although I really only consistently use WindowBlinds and sometimes Iconpackager and Logons. (Perhaps I'll also play with the fishies with the new DX version, too.) I really wonder how many people are like me, only using a few apps and wouldn't pop for a $70 initial investment in OD?

I previously wondered about having a download cap on SD registered users who may have been getting the most use of the site since the skins for the apps are mostly, although not exclusively, here. So capping the downloads on SD users might not have as much of an impact on product purchases as the other alternative and also may be a fairer way of supporting site costs. I subscribe to both OD and WC so of course I have no personal issue with such a move. Although no doubt some others may have other views.



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Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I don't think the price of OD should be raised on the account of WC. The 250 Meg cap and paying for the subscription is a better choice I think.



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Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I agree with the cap:subscription. I know some people will say they are too broke, and some people will say they have no way to pay.

I recently subscribed to a classical music site. They ask $25/year. I was always tempted but just couldn't justify it. The other day, I noticed that they have a pay/month option. So now, $2 something/month and I get all the classical music I want. If it ever got too much, I can unsubscribe with no penalty.

I notice that a lot of wall sites have paid-member sections, including places like digital blasphemy.

One thing that bothers me a little is when people who do subscribe are in an argument, they then use the paid status as an argument... "I paid for this and you didn't so listen to me" or to "my argument" as if a payment implies that all arguments are henceforth right, or more right than someone who has no subscription.

For the record, even though I have no WC bauble I am a subscriber. I usually use IE because I moderate a site and need to be able to go there immediately to delete porn links or what-not. Switching browsers just slows me down. And I have been reading threads where people have said something to the effect.. 'I paid for this why should I have to listen to you'.

As far as I am concerned the WC browser is value-rich. I would even have subscribed for a one year stretch. It is about more than the money.
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Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top
$20 for two years is cheap considering what you get, and one would think that is a good deal to join.



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Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I agree with elvee on that matter. Rising the price (renewal) for OD would indeed be like paying twice for the same thing if you are also a WC subscriber. 250 Meg (a year?) seems to be fair especially since a WC subscription is really not that expensive.
Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I say this. I bought ODNT for $50. I also bought a WC subscription for $20. I also bought CursorXP Plus for $8. What benefits did the WC Subscription get me besides a skin browser thats constantly on the fritz and 5000 impressions to a site I do not have. Oh and 2 premium suites? I think us subscribers get the short-end of the stick if you ask me. I could of downloaded all I ever wanted without having to subscribe to WC. So, your proposal sits fine, I think it's a good idea. For all non-subscribers to pay after 250mb sounds more than reasonable. Perhaps adding some more perks to being a subscriber wouldn't hurt either.
Reply #13 from WinCustomize Forums Top
If everyone thinks it's such a good deal, then why doesn't everyone do it.

Guess I should wait till the Stardock/WC bashers get here and tell us it should be free like everything else is.





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Reply #15 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I vote for the cap being reduced. Seems more fair than making the software cost more. 

Reply #16 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I have paid for both OD & WC. If a cap were to allow me to not pay more, so be it.
Reply #17 from WinCustomize Forums Top
As in all things, you get what you pay for....subscribe, period.



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Reply #18 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I think the best thing I have gotten from this site that cannot be weighed against the trivial amount of money I have spent here, being an ODNT and Wincustomize subscriber, are the friendships, and the self improvements from such a rich diversity of humanity that is found here at Wincustomize.
To receive these things, one but needs only to listen quietly and to speak appropriately.


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Reply #19 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Is raising the price of the subscription a possibility? Or would that scare away the customers? ($20/1yr) ($35/2yrs)
Reply #20 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I vote on the download cap. for non-subscribers. I also think that further limiting accounts of those that are not subscribers would be helpful.
Reply #21 from WinCustomize Forums Top
We want more people to subscribe, not less. raising the price $15 wouldn't help much. It would just make the same amount of money come, just from less people. That wouldn't be good. We want a large community too. Hmmmm...
Reply #22 from WinCustomize Forums Top
#18  by  White_Moth - 7/27/2003 5:23:52 PM

I think the best thing I have gotten from this site that cannot be weighed against the trivial amount of money I have spent here, being an ODNT and Wincustomize subscriber, are the friendships, and the self improvements from such a rich diversity of humanity that is found here at Wincustomize.
To receive these things, one but needs only to listen quietly and to speak appropriately.

 

I vote White Moth for President of the UN...

[except the 'gotten' bit.....nasty use of English, that]....Spell checker

Reply #23 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Sorry Jafo, "received" is what I meant to say.

And thank you for the vote.



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Reply #24 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I don't see how a 250 meg cap will help. You said  very few use that much, so how does that make a difference? 



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Reply #25 from WinCustomize Forums Top
The problem is that about 5% of the userbase uses about 25% of the bandwidth.