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 7)

Apocalypse_67

on Oct 28, 2005

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

Trust me, if WC would permit it, I WOULD charge those that don’t contribute for the downloading of my work and freely email my skins to those that do contribute, but that is neither the point here nor the message intended with this post.
The fact of the matter is that this site cost a lot of money to maintain and for a small group of people to financially help support the site so 3 million user/visitors can benefit FREELY from the work of others without any real intentions of helping with the burden it's rather unfair. To create a balance the wheels need to be put in motion to either 'push' those that are not contributing into helping or simply put them on the side-line, sort of 'window shopping', you get to see all the goodies, but can't have any unless you pay

Threi

on Oct 28, 2005

indeed...but the same ideal still remains...a lot of people wont pay if they dont need to...thats just how it is...love it or hate it lol

Apocalypse_67

on Oct 28, 2005

a lot of people wont pay if they dont need to

If this is true, then we need not to worry about it

Chef Garry

on Oct 28, 2005

Threi: indeed...but the same ideal still remains...a lot of people wont pay if they dont need to...

Exactly the point isn't it? At this stage, it costs too much to feed those who won't pay. Sure, I can understand their view - if it's free, why pay? Well because someone has to and those who are paying are getting tired of this whole subject - I am anyway.

The sooner Stardock makes this a subscriber site the better. I can find lots of ways to spend $10 a year (a case of beer or a salad at my favorite restuarant comes to mind). Fact is, the benefits of subscribing are worth the cost to me. If the cost/benefit doesn't work for others, so be it, their call. Admitedly I'm doing ok financially (2 teenage daughters not withstanding). Still, I find it difficult to imagine that anyone accessing this site is so hard against it that the cost of a subscription is beyond their means.

Lot's of posters recently and otherwise have pointed out that there are all kinds of places to access the skins you find here. If you don't want to subscribe, by all means go there. How DeviantArt et al pay for their bandwidth is their issue. WC is ours.

I surely admit I'm getting a tad grouchy about this. We've talked it to death. My view is the same as Jafo (post 82). Thanks Paul from one grumpy old bugger to another.

starkers

on Oct 29, 2005

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.

But they're NOT treated that way....OD subscribers are seen as valued customers, and therefore have access to unlimited downloads. Frogboy hasn't under-estimated the situation at all....he's simply asking that we all help WC to become self sufficient to ensure its survival. A large number of people visit and download, etc, but only a small few contribute to help cover running costs....and therein lies the problem.

Stardock/Frogboy cannot be expected to perform miracles! The five fishes and five loaves may have once fed the 5000, but the multitude has grown, continues to grow, and has become too big a crowd to cater to. Come crunch time, the answer to that is quite simple.....those who only come to gorge themselves but contribute nothing will be the first to go without.

Many businesses/places of work have social clubs, yes? And does the businessperson/employer fund club activities? No! Whilst he/she/they may provide the venue, the members themselves make contributions to cover the costs. Well Stardock is a business, and to all intents and purposes, Wincustomize is its social club and should operate no differently. Stardock has provided the venue, and it's our responsibility to cover the costs of our own hobby/leisure time.....as in, if we use the bandwidth for our own interest, then we should help pay for it.

Vailene

on Oct 29, 2005

I'm trying not to comment on these issues everyday, but it's irritating to just hold back.

There's soo many posts on here about requiring subscription will deter users. And requiring subscriptions will turn away Stardock future customers. And requiring subscriptions will make WinCustomize.com go down hill. To name a very few.

Did you ever think that if you didn't care about WinCustomize.coms' presence that you wouldn't bother posting and complaining about requiring subscriptions. If the content isn't worth it to you, don't subscribe. Period. Why is this a difficult analogy. I don't see the purpose in making "threats" if you DO HAVE THE OPTION TO GO TO ANOTHER SKINNING SITE. (Sorry for the caps).

The way it will work around here come after October 31st, 2005 is this... (I project)

-Subscriptions will be required if you want access to WinCustomize.com

-Hopefully, they can make a 30-60 trial REGISTRATION account with LIMITED ACCESS so those people can decide if they'd like to subscribe or not.

-Those not registered or subscribed will just not have access. Period.

I'm a 24 year old (In-Debt) Husband and Father. Demanding, huh? If I can manage to pay $49.95 to Stardock for ObjectDesktop and manage to pay $19.95 to WinCustomize for a subscription.. ANYONE should be able to do the same easily.

And all that's required here is the $19.95. WOW that's 1 pizza you miss out on. Oh darn!

Well Worth it for all of ther content you get.

Stop complaining that you won't buy a subscription. No one cares. If you don't like the required subscription method.. Then IMO Leave and go somewhere else. There's plenty of skinning sites with crap (leechable) quality stuff and about 9 million ads to pop-up and freeze your computer (At least). But hey, there free right! Woo hoo!.

SKoriginals

on Oct 29, 2005

Bash2cool

on Oct 29, 2005

i only read the first page of this thread so whatever i might say could be what other people have said.

1. according to the first page of this thread, there should be a wincustomize calender for subscribers. it should say things about birthdays, important things that are going on at wincustomize, and something to allow subscribers put their own important dates.

2. there should be a chat room at wincustomize. I know that they have them at the wincustomize browser but all i see is the moderators.

2 1/2. (

) there should be an option for subscribers to change the way the site looks. You know...people who have Yahoo and MSN accounts have My Yahoo and My MSN where they can change how it looks.

if i have any more thoughts i'll write more.........what do you guys think?

Apocalypse_67

on Oct 29, 2005

Bash, that is not the topic or purpose of this thread (this is what happens when you don’t read thru the entire thread)
1- We already have the forums and personal pages for that.
2- We already have a chartroom thru WC Browser and can also be accessible thru IRC
2.5- This issue has been addressed before and it was concluded that other things have priorities before individual customization of the site can be implemented.
The true purpose of this thread is to shine some light on the future of the site in relation to the access limitation to non-subscribers/non-costumers.
Suggestions for the site will come later on

100

seldomseen

on Oct 29, 2005

#96 says it for me, too.

101

Kurisutaru

on Oct 29, 2005

I know I'm going to be flamed to pieces, but there are some things I'd like to say.

For starters, I'm one of these so called leechers. I have a shareware version of Windowblinds and I visit this site every so many months to check out the new stuff.

When I noticed the download limitations I was shocked, but after reading about the server failures, I can understand. I'm not stupid. I know someone else has to pay, whether it is me or not. And sides, I've gotten more than fair use out of the programs and the skins. I can't even stand to look at the normal windows interface anymore.

And honestly, I'm considering subscribing...or rather registering my version of Windowblinds. This isn't something I usually do; I'd rather put up with the hassle of limited software IF it gets me the results I want. But there are plenty of benefits to registering. Enough to convince someone as stubborn as me.

But...

There are some parts of this that just don't exactly sound fair to me. I'm not saying I'm right or that anyone has to agree. I just want to be heard is all.

First of all, I can see the point in registering Windowblinds. And from what I understand this gives me a full year of no hassle downloads. Not a bad deal considering the price. But what after this year is up? I'll start having to pay yearly subscriptions...

Fine. I do that with Norton Antivirus, which is also worth it. Now here's the point. What exactly is being offered for these subscriptions that wasn't formerly available? With Norton, you don't have to subscribe yearly and you can still get use out of your virus protection, even if you have to manually install updates. Atleast that is what I understand. I've never went through it because I've never not renewed. So in truth, I'm just paying for the convenience.

But what am I paying for here? Access to skins I used to have access to anyway? Skins I could get elsehwere for free? Even if I am paying for the convenience here too, it seems like a rip.

For starters no matter how many whistles and bells you attach, this is just another skin library filled with free contributions of other artists and skinners. You (collectively) make it sound like we owe this site for this service. Apparently others do it for free. Maybe they aren't as big, but this is the price of fame.

And yes, I can go elsewhere. So can most of the others in my boat which is apparently what you want. This is only going to increase the demand in Warez and other illegal methods though... And no, I'm not a hacker or anything of the sort. Just someone questioning the point of all this. In effect I'm asking to be convinced.

If all the leechers leave...as you say we consist of a huge part of this community and the bandwidth costs...then the hit totals on downloads will go down considerably. Maybe this is what you want, but I doubt it is what the artists/skinners who contribute here want. And if they end up being allowed free downloads based on the hits for their skins, then effectively the whole system falls apart.

Even if the artists/skinners don't care about being able to access other skins or have no problems paying for this access, I'm sure they do care about the number of hits their skins are getting. If few can access their skins, there will be fewer reviews, fewer downloads, a lower distrubtion, and a lack of incentive for these people to keep wasting days of their lives to create this content. This in turn means there will be less stuff for even the subscribed accounts to access, which means even more people will leave.

Of course, this may or may not happen and it certainly is an exaggerated model. But I think it proves my point. It's something the rest of you who are for alienating this part of the community should think about. Especially since it would appear the ones who are parading here because they are subscribers and the like aren't the ones who are contributing the goodies in the first place. Not to say I am either. Which in my opinion puts us in the same boat since flashing around all that money won't do any good if the site goes down because the cost doesn't warrant the number of hits.

Sorry...I guess that was uncalled for to a degree. You can say that I am part of the problem. You're probably right. Will getting rid of me solve it? Not really. Will trying to convince me to pay help it? Maybe. Will I leave if I don't get my way? No, I'll leave because the benefits of paying aren't worth it. Am I saying I shouldn't have to pay? No, just wanting something worth paying for. And paying only to have continued access to this library doesn't seem worth it.

Thanks for listening.

102

Apocalypse_67

on Oct 29, 2005

People need to stop thinking about 'I’m paying for skins' and start thinking about 'I'm helping support the place where authors upload their work so I can download skins'
Let me give you an example from a skinner point of view. I as a skinner, spent $1,000 (per say) to purchase the graphic programs and skinning programs to create my skins, aside from this I spend weeks of my free time to create these skins that I freely share with you and the community members and all I ask in return is for people to help support the site that serves both artists and users to enjoy their hobbies.
Don’t you think this is a fair deal or is $19.00 a year (or 2 yrs if you are renewing) too much money for the trouble all these authors go thru?
I have access level that allows me to download all I want without shelling a cent but I’m on my second year of subscription simply because it’s for a good cause.
Yeah sure, people can go to other sites which offers less things with a lot more garbage, but that only proves that convenience is stronger than commitment no matter how uncomfortable it is

103

HG_Eliminator

on Oct 29, 2005

And paying only to have continued access to this library doesn't seem worth it.

this is what you get for either subscribing or buying a stardock app..

Level 4: Current Stardock customer. These are users who have either purchased Object Desktop Network or some other Stardock product (Stardock is WinCustomize's sponser) within the last 2 years. These users get all the benefits of a registered user plus:

Unlimited File Downloads. Say good-bye to file limitations! No more annoying messages preventing you from getting your download to work.
Level 5: WinCustomize Subscriber. Users who are current WinCustomize Subscribers get all the benefits of level 3 & 4 users plus:

The [SkinBrowser]. A powerful yet easy to use program for navigating the site. This alone is worth the cost of becoming a subscriber, it truly changes the way you view skins, icons, themes, and wallpapers. Not only can it view them, it can apply them directly. And if you're missing a program, it can download the programs you need.
A WinCustomize Personal Website. These users are given exclusive access to tools designed to help in creating their own presence on the WinCustomize servers. This includes a (x.wincustomize.com) domain at WinCustomize. In addition, they can also write web blogs and upload skins & themes to their site to help promote their website.
Photo Album. As part of your personal page you will have access to your own personal photo album where you can upload pictures!
Premium Skin Suites. WinCustomize offers two premium suites. These suites will be able to completely transform your desktop and look totally cool.
Extra WinCustomize features. New features will be added to the site specifically for WinCustomize subscribers. Features will include journals, auto-notification of comments made to submissions you've made , notification to responses to messages you've made and more.
Other goodies. During the course of the year we'll come up with other things such designed specifically for subscribers. We have a few new software technologies including Skincast and more that will taking customization to a whole new level.
No Banner Ads. By becoming a WinCustomize subscriber, you help support our website in many ways. We recognize this by removing banners and other ads from the website that may hinder your surfing experience. We want all of our loyal patrons to have the most enjoyable surfing experience possible.

104

PurrBall

on Oct 29, 2005

A WinCustomize Personal Website.

Hmmmm...

Doesnt everyone have the ability to have one of those?

105

Jafo

on Oct 29, 2005

Citizen Kurisutaru ....to answer you it's simple enough to explain the subscription system to Norton. If you do not subscribe you do not get any updates.....your computer will be protected to the time/point when you ceased being an on-going customer.

If a newer virus comes along...well, tough luck...you'll possibly be infected and your system will be fubarred.

Maybe it's good to know that if you only cease being a Wincustomize.com site member/contributor all that will suffer will be your GUI's aesthetics.

Either way, it's the price you pay for .....not paying.

And...

Logically, if something 'may or may not happen...and is an exaggerated model' it hardly proves any point at all other than a propensity for flawed reasoning....

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