WinCustomize Subscription Totals Won't Make The Goal: What Next?

With the WinCustomize Subscription Not Even At The Half Way Poin... What Now?

Published on October 25, 2005 By joetheblow In WinCustomize Talk

We have talked about this extensively on other threads, but now with the moment of truth upon us the question is what will happen to WinCustomize?

If this site was owned by a person and that crash with the server happened, it would have been a lost.

In fact, the idea that this happened only shows how much work is going on behind the scenes of this site that has to be costly and probably more than Frogboy will admit.

After reading the Does Stardock 'need' WinCustomize? thread as well as other threads on the message board/forums, the question is now what is next.

I think the answer will be more extreme that what we been talking about. Will it be a totally subscriber only site period (this would avoid the multiple account thing because even if you do that you will only get so much and view so much)?

What happens to the Wincustomize User Pages? How will un-subscribers be able to view it or download from it?

Will there be whole sections of WinCustomize off limits to outsiders?

I think the immediate response will be no downloads unless your signed in (unless its wallpapers, CursorXP or something) Not sure about the rest. I am guessing with the need for new restrictions that there will be a total site redesign for subscribers.

Personally, I think it is a sad day for all of this come November 1st 2005. The other sites just don't compare. I visited one site of the alternates to WinCusto and my browser crashed because of the pop-up attempts. Can you believe that?

I don't think many people will like the subscriber idea and will think Stardock is leaching off of artists. People will leave probably from what I read of some of the comments. I find that funny since most of the comments of 'leeching of artists' came from people who started off here and got there notoriety due to the 'leeching' of hosting their stuff, keeping it save, and organizing a community around it.

I always said that WinCustomize is a symbiosis between the artist and Stardock. On can not live as well without the other.

But with the restrictions soon to come on its way, what will happen to WinCustomize? What is next?

Comments (Page 6)

ethsza

on Oct 28, 2005

Admin Jafo wrote:

Stardock customers ARE benefitting/contributing to the site, but what is needed is the site itself to effectively cover its OWN costs of existence....to make it self-sustaining/perpetuating....independent of and not dependent upon financial support from ANY outside source other than its own members.

Hi Jafo,
I value your response and your sober-minded thoughts on the subject. I admit that emotionally I agree with the voice of people talking about communities, the feeling of belonging to fellows.

The other debate whether not subscribing to the site, while having a valid OD subscription, a.) makes perfect sense b.)regarded as leeching and should be avoided by all means in the future, I think rationality matters, not emotions. (I'd prefer to discuss this rather than hide before disdain.)

Jafo,
could you answer me two short question:
-My favorite news portals are free. They are financed by ads on the site. Is it a strategic decision not to use ads, sponsored links, etc, that could cover the costs of HW/bandwidth/system administration? (Subscribers could get the same plus benefits, minus ads, plus pride of belonging to this community. Stardock banner ads could be replaced with paid ads, stardock products are introduced in news entries anyway. If more money is made than necessary for maintaining the site, artists could be recognized with seriously valuable skinning competition awards. More people/skins come, more subscribe, WC rules the industry.)
-Don't you think a mandatory WC subscription will make people turn away from buying the Stardock products? (I think the car+petrol conceit is wrong, cause Stardock or the Wincustomize team does not buy/produce the skins like oil company owned filling stations do with gas. It's rather that you book an apartman at a beach hotel, and you're asked to pay when going in the sea, take a look at the palms, enjoy sunsets, etc.)

thx
ethsza

DJBandit

on Oct 28, 2005

JoeUser Profile
Stardock.net ID: 1139447
User Access: Citizen(1)
Nickname: Citizen DJBandit
Country:
Create Date: 4/28/2004 12:12:45 AM
Last Logged On: 10/28/2005 9:50:37 AM

# Articles: 3
# Article Replies: 30
User Points: 195
User Rank: N/A

Can someone explain to me how come is it that I registered about a month ago or so and yet my profile dates back to over a year? How is that possible? I only learned about WC about a month ago or so and I learn about joeuser.com from WC. I had heard about Stardock before but never went to the site or tried their products till only recently, about a month ago as well.

Fuzzy Logic

on Oct 28, 2005

Your profile was created when you registered at JU

Threi

on Oct 28, 2005

"my way or the highway eh?"
no-brainer...i will always choose the highway...

DJBandit

on Oct 28, 2005

But I have only been in joeuser.com for about 3 weeks, not a year and a half. Makes no sense. Is there someone I can speak of this too?

NightTrainthedark

on Oct 28, 2005

DJBandit..I have been around much longer than my info says. It might just be a database bug. No big deal.

Jafo

on Oct 28, 2005

ethsza ....by and large, a skinning site is not a news portal...and has higher bandwidth usage per capita due to file/content downloading, not just page loading. Banner ads, etc years ago had the capacity to fund a considerable proportion of even a skin site's costing...but those of us who witnessed the demise of our collective 'roots'....[skinz.org] thanks significantly to the collapse of the 'dot com' silver-tongued devils... banner ads won't make sufficient inroads into the costs of a site of this size/popularity/loading....returns per 'click' are several orders of magnitude lower than they once were...

Your analogy about the beach is off target. If the car/petrol one doesn't work for you...try a Photocopier....and additional paper....or a camera...and additional film.

Either one...you have options of how/where you obtain the paper/film....but in most [all] cases you will be paying for the 'consumables'.

A camera never comes with a lifetime supply of film [excluding single-use ones]. Windowblinds [the proggy] should not be expected to come with a lifetime supply of skins in exactly the same manner.

You buy the proggy...it comes with default/included skins....a dozen or so.

You want more?.....you pay to access them....you pay for net connection...you pay for time spent downloading....you pay for site hosting charges aka bandwidth/site coding costs.

It's a user-pays economy model which is the only one that is sustainable.

You want....you pay.

You don't want....you don't pay.

You don't want to pay....you don't get.

Nothing in this life is entirely 'free'. Everything has a 'price', even that which appears 'free' is not. There's a cost to someone, somewhere.....for everything...

Threi

on Oct 28, 2005

you talk as if wincustomize is the only skinning site on the net (please dont make me repeat myself again...just keep the fact in mind...)

lynnyf

on Oct 28, 2005

Maybe you could either limit the number of downloads a person who does not subscribe, can download; OR you can wrap the files with ads like some other sites do; making the unsubscriber download .exe files instead of .zip files. If you sell ads to wrap with the .exe files you could bring in additional revenue.

I also think OD subscribers should get maybe a reduced subscription rate because of the money they shell out each year to keep the latest versions of the Stardock software.

HG_Eliminator

on Oct 28, 2005

you talk as if wincustomize is the only skinning site on the net

not at all.. but WC does have the best and largest librarys ive seen, for the apps it hosts skins for...and it's my favorite place on the net ...

(please dont make me repeat myself again...just keep the fact in mind...)

am i getting the impression you think that the site will fail if you leave?

yes this is a buisness, "one that needs a certain amount of Paying customers to break even"..

I mean geez folks ...the site needs those who are benefiting from the site to help cover the costs ...they arent asking for blood ...just HELP...

Apocalypse_67

on Oct 28, 2005

you talk as if wincustomize is the only skinning site on the net

Not at all. In fact there are many of free skinning site, but eventually, if you are unwilling to help, WC will be one site you won't be able to access.

MountainDragon

on Oct 28, 2005

you talk as if wincustomize is the only skinning site on the net (please dont make me repeat myself again...just keep the fact in mind...)

So what is it you are implying will happen? What could be worse than having the site operate at a loss, financially speaking? I don't think anyone really needs you to repeat your point. It's just that your point misses the point. Try to remember that.

joetheblow

on Oct 28, 2005

The skins are free (like in free speech, not in free beer ) work of the respective authors. If they upload it for free, I download them for free. Whether on WC or other places. If there won't be free sites, I won't download them. This is what I thought when bought OD.

Your kidding right?

All I can say is that I would have a VERY hard time justifying paying $60 for ObjectDesktop when I wouldn't have any skins to use it with unless I paid an extra $20 for Wincustomize!

This is sort of what I am saying. I keep wanting to renew because of the vast array of skins. It is posible that those skins and their authors would just migrate to other sites, but trust me when I say that the convenance of just going to one site far outways goingto 5 different ones ESPECIALLY if 2 or 3 of them are spyware sites or pop-up heaven sites.

I thought about this some more over the last few days and I am in the opinion that OD subscribers re-subscribe because of this site, not because there are new updates to software. I can ;ive without DesktopX 3, but when I see the themes, I saw wow!! I want DX3. Would I have seen the theme on another site? Maybe. Maybe not. The skins could be on Skinning.net, but too bad cause I am on DeviantArt. Deskmod went down, so I go to LotsOfSkns but then my browser crashes for some reason... I stop by Customize.org and just feel like I am on one of those smiliy sites and I avoid ThemeXP totally because they want you to download an executible for a wallpaper... a wallpaper people; think about that.

I officially think Frogboy underestimates the power if WinCustomize on its OD Subscibers. They should not be treated as if they are just people who passed by and signed in to get more stuff. It might not be enough to pay the bills, but OD subscribers should get some special treatment. I think they should still see ads (like maybe to Desktop Gadgets, or Total Gaming) and maybe more targeted ad promotions, but their download limits are way higher than those who just sign in for an account so they can download more thanw what is on the first page.

Anyway for thos who think like this (whether you are a downloader or skinner):
The skins are free (like in free speech, not in free beer ) work of the respective authors. If they upload it for free, I download them for free. Whether on WC or other places. If there won't be free sites, I won't download them. This is what I thought when bought OD.

You should step up to the plate and make a website. I will do what I can to help get your site noticed. Afterward I think you will see that sites like WinCustomize help artist get their work out there.

Open source software makes it easy to start up your website wiht users. Go and see just how simple all of wincustomize does and I think you will come back with your tail between your legs wondering why no one comes to your site and when they do thy say nothing but they sure do download and you sure do pay your host provider for the bandwidth.

Threi

on Oct 28, 2005

I don't think anyone really needs you to repeat your point. It's just that your point misses the point. Try to remember that.

lets see...i beleive that the visitors of this site should be almost completely limited to this site's resourses, as it is the largest library of skins an apps out, and the users of this site need the subscribes to maintain the site, but at the same time they should aknowledge that this site is not the only site on the net, and keep in mind that there are other sites on the net, not that they should let it change their decision, but just that they should keep it in mind.

no, i guess im not on the point at all am i? (I didnt say wether i supported the limiting of non-subscriber accessability [which i do, btw])

am i getting the impression you think that the site will fail if you leave?

wow...i cant really reply to that...i think you should review what u just said...(yeah, a site with 500,000+ visitors will completely fall to shambles if i leave - seriously come on...

)

Threi

on Oct 28, 2005

or mayb the authors should charge for the distribution of their own skins LMAO

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