A few thoughts about DU3's financial model...

#1: The ABSOLUTE no-brainer is to buy another year now, for as little as $5, which will be grandfathered to the new board. Pony-up now for cheap, you earn the right to bitch, and you'll get (probably) 6-9 months to evaluate the new board.

#2: I'm not sure I'm crazy about the new model. But you know what? Skinner, EarlG, and Elad have kept this board healthy and vital for over a decade so far, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure they have considered both the financial and political implications. They are not the enemy!

#3: Skinner, et al, please listen to, and respond to the concerns that long-term members are expressing. They are valid concerns, and deserve better answers than what we've heard so far.

#4: EVERYONE FUCKING RELAX! Bottom line, it's just an internet forum. No puppies have been killed, no workers have been exploited.

Except for Elad, apparently. :D

It's funny. Really.

But seriously, mods do put in a great deal of time and are generally under-appreciated. I did one term as a mod and it was really a great way to learn more about what it takes to run a forum of this size. Honestly I think that all regular participants on this board should serve a term as a mod. It would drastically reduce the fighting.

what you can do is only 'extend' the star you have now to a full year.
My star is only 3 months old right now, so if I donate today my star will only be 'extended' for an additional three months.

So, it all depends on how old your current star is at the moment.

So if I've had my star 10 months it gets extended 10 months?

SNIP

This is our last ever fund drive because DU3 will be launched before the end of the year. And here's something important to know: anyone who is a DU donor when we switch over to DU3 will be grandfathered in to the new system and retain their donor star and privileges for one full year from the time they donated. So if you don't currently have a donor star, or if you already have one but would like to extend for a year at the price of your choosing, now is the time to donate.

SNIP

----

See where it says: ... or if you already have one but would like to extend for a year at the price of your choosing, ...

----
So, if you have a star now and donate now your star is 'EXTENDED' to a full year - a full year isn't added on.

So, if your current star is ten months old and have only two months left if you donate say $5 now you get 10 months added on to bring you up to a full year.

That's how it reads to me.

It's a total of 12 months - I believe.

If a person bought a star (for a year) two month ago and then buys another one today - their star will still expire in 12 months from the date of the last star bought.

See? :hi:

..."extend for a year" differently than "extend to a year".


I inferred one could get a 12 month extension added on to existing time for "price of your choosing".

They won't tack the year on, giving you the two months left on this star PLUS a year. You will just get a year from the day you buy.

You get only a TOTAL of one year.

My star is only three months old right now - I have nine months left.
If I donate again now I'd gain a total of three months, not a full 12 'extra' months.

And voila my 5 bucks for a full year.

(Maybe I'll skip another one next week for another DUer who cannot afford the cost of that extension.)

If I had won last night's lotto, I would have enjoyed donating more, but... tough luck... ($50M still up for grabs next week, which I prolly won't win as usual).

...got no problems when it comes to complaining.

:evilgrin:

PB

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2301263 .

but what about the HAMSTERS inside the servers?

:rofl:

five dollar....and then pray that December 2012 is when Mother Nature kicks the ass of every fucking greedy asshole on the planet Earth off the planet Earth.

I'm not giving fucking paypal a $1....they such. So I'll keep the Postal Workers employed and mail a check....which the DU owners do not visit for a few weeks. So one doesn't get the 'recognition' of 'I DONATED AT THE DU FUND DRIVE.' Who cares?:eyes:

a post about this "new financial model"? I've seen nothing about it and don't know what the issues are. Thanks in advance.

You'd think a change of such import would at least merit a pinned post or an inbox message. I think that speaks volumes about how negatively the admin. knew this would be taken. Thousands of people here, such as myself, probably have no idea this change is being instituted.

As I posted in the main thread: let's see an exact accounting of advertising and other revenues, and specific expenditures on upkeep and salaries, before we're asked to assess whether a monthly subscription fee is merited.

This is indeed a curious, politically questionable move at a time when people are being hit by dubious fees from everything from banks to state and local governments. And it's not about the money even for me: it's about the principle. My gut belief is that this is about satisfying advertisers. And that's not who I have in mind to satisfy.

And that the better way to get people to read and comment is to just post it without a pin for a while. Then when the discussion dies down, you pin it so that people will still see it.

I think it's a bit steep, myself. Hell, SALON, when they tried and later abandoned a similar model, they only were charging thirty bucks.

Bottom line, though? It's their site. They can do what they want. We can crab all we want, but we're not stockholders in this corporation--we're just customers buying the product.

a penny a day.

If you look at it that way, well.

Someone donated for me this time (thanks nenagh :hug: )

And had donated a month before to get me my star...

be generous if you can be, and get a full year now real cheap.

If you have some time left, and can't afford to donate right now,

then imagine that DU somehow will lead you to that extra $42 you'll need.

DU is worth it.

be admonished to chill, or that necessitated Heretic's ridiculous thread title. I think people are entitled to their opinions and they don't have to be the same. I haven't seen any freak outs, with the exception of Heretic. My only thought on the matter is that the Admins appear to think people are stupid. A straightforward "Hey, it's going to cost more if you wish to donate" would have sufficed. :hi:

considering the size of the membership. I subscribe to a couple of magazines including National Geographic and Mother Jones for far, far less -- an entire year of printed magazines with professionally written articles mailed to my door monthly.

I would, however, suggest that Skinner consider special requests from people who write him privately to explain that they really cannot afford $42 per year in order to avoid the ads.

I assume that in addition to viewing ads, those who cannot afford to subscribe will also have to forgo the My DU, the personal messages and the personal blog.

If so, seems to me that those who really cannot afford $42 per year should be permitted to at least use these benefits even if they have to watch the atrocious ads.

for those who can't or don't donate?

Just use a free ad blocker with your browser and not only will you see no ads on DU, you won't see them anywhere on the internet. Simple.

It's the loss of other privileges concerning not having a star that is the problem. But of course, the bigger problem is the price of a star just more than quadrupled and supposedly because DU is doing so well financially.