Yes, by and large it's all an academic issue. I'm not even sure what the previous wording was where/if it was ever stated what the purchase of a membership would get the user in return, but in terms of functionality, it's always been the same things:
1. Posting, be it public or private. This has always been the single most important privilege bought with a subscription. Not only a revenue stream but a vetting process.
2. Next 10. This feature was kinda late to the game and was added in response to 3rd-party software that did the same thing. We've since taken it a step better and then some.
3. No ads on message pages. Actually, this has been true only during certain timeframes. When we acquired the site, people who bought subscriptions still saw ads. I don't know for how long this was true. It's never been true in the new version.
I paid for that agreement ..
That was what I was trying to get at .. now the question is what exactly the agreement was.
As is true of most such sites, or any sites of any kind or even any software that contains "conditions" you must agree to, they're written primarily to limit you; not us.
The only "agreement" in effect on this site is the one we commonly call the Terms of Use ("TOfU") and it's binding on our users; not us. The short version is that for the privilege of using the site, users agree to abide by our rules or risk loss of those privileges.
Purchase of a subscription doesn't change that.
We have, however, modified the business model quite a bit and as part of that, what a subscription purchases is different. You used to have to pay to be able to post. No longer the case. And a good business decision because, although the effect is likely quite skewed because it coincides with a new version with new features, subscription income now is much higher than in the "pay to post" model.
But purchase of a subscription doesn't constitute entry into any kind of special "agreement" beyond the "good faith" way we conduct business just because we feels it's how things should be.
A number of people think the purchase of a subscription (no matter when purchased) should give access to every feature that ever rolls out. Fortunately for our business model, it's relatively few people who feel that way. This model not only works, but encourages us as the business owners to improve the product.
When I think about some of the other features that people think should be available in perpetuity for having purchased a subscription, even when the feature never required a subscription (such as quotes, portfolios, email), I have to wonder how many people subscribed only becaused they liked the "butterscotch" (as some of us kindly called it) accent colors the Heritage version of the interface favored, and felt ripped off when this version had no such color on it.
Anyway, my rambling 2 cents. |
