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POLL: Ad-Free Monthly Subscription Option?

1246

Comments

  • VolgoreVolgore Member EpicPosts: 3,872
    At this very moment this site says Members:3,399,920 Users Online:1,101.

    How can this poll only have 114 votes??

    image
  • ScorchienScorchien Member LegendaryPosts: 8,914
    edited October 2016
    Why would anyone pay for something to be blocked that you can filter/block for free.........wtf
  • rojoArcueidrojoArcueid Member EpicPosts: 10,722
    edited October 2016
    I voted Yes.
    Will I subscribe? no.
    Then why did i vote Yes? Because i read what the OP is saying. It is saying it would be an ad-free OPTION.

    That means the rest of us will have the full website for free with ad support like it's always been. People voting no then saying they will leave the site, clearly did not read the content of the OP post. It is not a mandatory sub. If you wish to have an ad free experience, and still support your favorite forums you can always subscribe. My Adblock addons always have mmorpg.com on whitelist unless something really intrusive pops up covering articles.


    EDIT: now, it would be an issue if the free/normal option gets restricted features for being free.




  • Lord.BachusLord.Bachus Member RarePosts: 9,686
    I voted yes.... because i know people will pay..

    But i myself do not mind the current adds, so i will not pay... But if adding an add free sub means spamming the non subbed visitors with huge amounts of adds, then i might be forced to leave the website..  But if you leave the website/add design as it is, a non add sub will be fine...

    Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)

  • MegidolaonMegidolaon Member UncommonPosts: 10
    Running a big website costs money, ads are a way to keep it free to use while generating money. Pretty much everyone on the internet does it anyway, offering an ad free version for a fee is a good way to generate the required money to run the site while remaining purely optional.
  • TatsuyaHirokiTatsuyaHiroki Member UncommonPosts: 108
    Volgore said:
    At this very moment this site says Members:3,399,920 Users Online:1,101.

    How can this poll only have 114 votes??



    I suppose many people cannot be bothered to cast their votes about it or think that their opinion wont matter much in a grand scale (my theory that is)

    image

  • GtestbmGtestbm Member UncommonPosts: 4
    Volgore my thoughts exactly.
  • cameltosiscameltosis Member LegendaryPosts: 3,697
    Its not something I would go for personally. I only really access this site whilst at work and we have ad-blockers installed by default. 

    Additionally, I mainly use the forums where the ads are pretty hidden away. 

    I'm fine if you want to add the option, I'm sure some people would go for it. However, the only way to get me to subscribe would be to write more articles that I'm interested in and to generally improve the site. MMORPG.com has a ton of features that just aren't working well. Some of it is presentation - features, news, reviews etc are badly promoted and a bit hidden away. Some of it is actual functionality / content. The games list really could be a great feature of the site and help to drive people to reviews / news / forum posts but instead it's a mess - tons of non-mmos in there, no decent way to search, wrong genres, far too many filler games etc. 

    Still, costs money / time to get the website up to scratch, both of which are difficult to come by for a smallish community site. I think with the visitors they get and the resources they have, the MMORPG.com staff do a great job which is why I'm still here. 

    The subscription option I guess is a bit chicken-and-egg. I'd get it if the site was worth it, but the site will only become worth it if I subscribe for a while first. 
  • Sassy_Gay_UnicornSassy_Gay_Unicorn Member UncommonPosts: 316
    All for it. In addition to supporting the site a few possibilities:


    • Subscribers get a 24-hour advance chance for beta keys and other goodies.
    • Custom title and/or color, framed avatar. 
    • Subscriber forums that have a higher rate of staff reply. 
    Not that any of these actually interest me, I'd be happy to support just because I use the site. But I've seen similar QoL benefits on other forums. 

    It'd probably be a pain in the ass to have to reassign the sub benefits every month from those that subscribe/drop so maybe offer these for those who pay a year in advance ($25 would be a great price point).




  • AbimorAbimor Member RarePosts: 870
    ha ha my vote put us over the top close the pole and add the service!
  • RenvenarRenvenar Member UncommonPosts: 11
    Some of the suggestions are pretty nice.
    Personally, I'm not spending much money outside of games, so it wouldn't be an option for me - but I find it to be a great idea for anyone who's interested and a nice way to help support the site; so go for it!

  • SovrathSovrath Member LegendaryPosts: 31,892
    Sure! I believe in paying for my entertainment and already pu t a few dollars into some Patreon things. 
    Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb." 

    Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w


    Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547

    Try the "Special Edition." 'Cause it's "Special." https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/64878/?tab=description

    Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo 
  • DreadToothDreadTooth Member UncommonPosts: 150
    Booooo

    Currently Playing:

    Fallout 4 (Xbox One)

    Puzzle Pirates (PC)
    Dreadtooth on Emerald Ocean

    "Dying's the easy way out. You won't catch me dying. They'll have to kill me before I die!"

  • WizardryWizardry Member LegendaryPosts: 19,332
    Total BS and Mike knows why.

    I will however spell it out.This site most certainly want to add ANY means to add more money,integrity or honesty or care about the users has nothing to do with it.
    Every single last question to the user base has been ignored by this site,so why should anyone take the question seriously this time around?I know the reason why,we want to hear a high majority endorse the idea so this site comes off clean for trying to gouge more money from users,even after already dubious standards that NO OTHER site does and that is multiple click through' to get to any article content.
    The standards would be called "exploitation"s this site now wants money to exploit users?Sounds pretty low to me.

    Also how are users,i mean the ones who are very naive,not very intelligent ,going to know if they are getting AD FREE use of the site?This again i will spell it out,this site's agenda and content is already 90% some form of advertising/endorsements.So that would mean your ripping users off with a $3 dollar charge to look at advertising endorsements disguised as non ad content.

    I have said this MANY times,the USERS<<<<are the ones keeping this site both legit and fun to come to.I am pretty sure i am not alone in saying users actually like to read what other users have to say or just enjoy others opinions but reading disguised advertising is NOT FUN.

    Point being,this site should figure some way to reward users for keeping this site legit,reward users for bringing the REAL content without any agenda to cater to sponsors/advertisers.

    Yes i can be harsh and that is because i speak honestly and from the heart,i don't dicker around with BS or any agenda,i know from 50+ years of experience what goes on in this world and what people are up to.

    Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.

  • CakeInItCakeInIt Member UncommonPosts: 1
    @Aori
    You know using adblock doesnt help MMORPG, its probably why they are seeing if people would do this.
  • LemureLemure Member UncommonPosts: 24
    I'd say no. 
  • somersaultsamsomersaultsam Member UncommonPosts: 230
    edited December 2016
    MikeB said:
    Hey everyone,

    We just wanted to take a quick poll to get your thoughts on the idea of us offering a $2.99/month ad-free experience option here at MMORPG.com.

    Is this something you would be interested in us offering as a way to support the site?

    Please vote and share your thoughts with us below!
    Honestly no. A few months ago I would happily pay for you, but you feel a little too corporate these days... Yes... I see my vote above it was made a few months ago. 
  • UmbroodUmbrood Member UncommonPosts: 1,809
    As a person who generally despise advertising in all its forms this is one of the few places were all ads are relevant to my interests in some fashion I really do not mind them as much.

    I still voted yes though, it would be an option for people who wanted it, have no impact on those who do not care, and might bring in more high quality content to the site, I do not see a downside here.

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Originally posted by Jerek_

    I wonder if you honestly even believe what you type, or if you live in a made up world of facts.
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  • BlecodBlecod Member UncommonPosts: 43
    Okay I should have voted yes. While I personaly would never buy something like this, I still thinks its  great idea.
  • IceAgeIceAge Member EpicPosts: 3,115
    MikeB said:
    Hey everyone,

    We just wanted to take a quick poll to get your thoughts on the idea of us offering a $2.99/month ad-free experience option here at MMORPG.com.

    Is this something you would be interested in us offering as a way to support the site?

    Please vote and share your thoughts with us below!
    Don't want to tell you how to do your job ( or whoever is in charge ) , but actually I am gonna tell you that your monetization sucks big time.

    I mean who in the right mind is monetizing his MOBILE website ( with GAMES related news ) with ....... google ads!?

    Plus , you are asking if people agree with a 2.99$ ad free sub. This is also a very bad marketing. You are losing potential revenue. Sure, you might get some stable revenue , but will never actually rise. 

    Anyway , my option will be to register to some exclusive websites which monetize mobile traffic very good. One of the best is : http://www.cheetahmedialink.com/ . They have the best CPI payment. Empire Kingdom for exemple , at some point payed between 1.5$ to 5.17$ for HQ countries traffic. And that only for a user to click the banner, download the game from the app store, and open it. That's it ! Easy money.

    Also , they have a very good random games system from the ones you want. So you pick say 7 games which you believe will do well. They will rotate with each new visit from the visitor ( or you can write a easy php banner rotator , or just google for it ) . 

    With your alexa traffic of 5k ( shit, just check it and it droped to 16k ) , you could easily generate few hundreds or even several hundreds $ daily. 

    Monetizing is everything. So .. good luck !

    Reporter: What's behind Blizzard success, and how do you make your gamers happy?
    Blizzard Boss: Making gamers happy is not my concern, making money.. yes!

  • MMOman101MMOman101 Member UncommonPosts: 1,786
    I am not subscribing to any website.  If the non-subscriber gets too annoying I just won't come here anymore.  The only problem with polls like this is, just because someone says they will subscribe does not mean it is true.  People will always be more likely to spent hypothetical money than ream money.

    You  should move forward with the best business plan for the long term health of the site and forgo the results of this poll.  If you are in the black and don't see the red coming why risk the change.  If you are in the red and need to find away out, do what you have to do. 

    I would highly advise against a change if the site is in the black.  More bad then good can come from it.  If it is struggling, you might want to advertise that before you make the change so that people will understand and not just get pissed. 

    “It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money - that's all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot - it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.”

    --John Ruskin







  • Ice-QueenIce-Queen Member UncommonPosts: 2,483
    edited January 2017
    Maybe if it also had available beta keys and giveaways priority to those paying the subscription. :) Either way not a bad idea to have a subscription to support the site.

    image

    What happens when you log off your characters????.....
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFQhfhnjYMk
    Dark Age of Camelot

  • H0urg1assH0urg1ass Member EpicPosts: 2,380
    edited January 2017
    An option is a choice.  Why would anyone want less choices for their community experience?

    The only issue I would bring up is that if the free, advertisement version, started ramping up the adverts to a higher level, then I don't support this change.  I don't visit some sites with quality content simply because of how they present their ads and exploit my clicks.  

    For instance, if there's a top ten and I have to click next for every single entry on a top ten list, just so their site gets ten+ clicks for ad revenue, then I never visit that site again... I don't care what they have to offer, it's not worth my exploitation for the information.
    Kyleran
  • AmatheAmathe Member LegendaryPosts: 7,630
    I have no objection to you doing it. But I would not be interested. I like your ads. Your ads are things like hot chicks with big boobies in bikinis with swords. Why would I pay money to make hot chicks disappear? 
    Kyleran

    EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests

  • Cybersig211Cybersig211 Member UncommonPosts: 173
    edited January 2017
    adblock is free though....

    maybe a paid option for diehards here and give them some form of noteriety when posting or something...im sure this site still gets dumped a bunch of keys and give aways...just give em to the paid members or something...

    or maybe...you know...clean the site up a bit...and people might wander here for info.

    ive been harping for years to clean your game list up, so i can easily find new mmorpgs, rather than the giant dumpster of ancient and dead mmorpgs, non mmorpgs, and buried in there actual new mmorpgs with little hype...which is why i use to use this site waaay back in the day....and maybe then more people would frequent here.

    that whole ban everyone phase back in 2008-2010 was pretty much the nails in the coffin over here though...that was a bad idea that drove a lot of people away who used the game subforums often.

    As it stands i find steam a better place to discuss most games...though id kill for a website that kept track of active and new mmorpgs that would otherwise fly in under the radar...not saying ditch the dead games and non mmorpgs...just maybe make another tab for them.

    But honestly it take like 1hr to click through your game list and see all the dead games or games with no forum option...or games that have no website anymore ect...

    neglect is hurting this sites functionality, and those past ban waves drove away a lot of the community that made hanging out here worth it...
    Mendel
This discussion has been closed.