The are two things that bother me.The Wowhead community could turn into a class society, especially because premium members get better connections to staff members. I hope that will not be the case.The other thing is the premium advertisement. Is it necessary to include premium links in every premium member post and the premium upgrade link at the top of the website? I choose not to upgrade and I really don't want to be bothered with it.RegardsISIG
Have no read all comments here (sorry for that) but i want ask why:
Ok, not totally sure if I like this...I use WoWHead as my main source for information and for all the great tools it provides. In that sense, I don't mind supporting this great site. Like many, I'm worried about the "slippery slope". However, unlike many, I know that the potential for a slippery slope is not a sufficient reason to avoid or otherwise dismiss something.So, in that light, you have me as a temporary 3-month supporter. I will give you the benefit of the doubt that WoWHead will continue to be a community driven site and will continue to provide said community with all the free tools, info, and gadgets that you have always provided.I'm really not paying for the benefits that the 'Premium' account affords (although the ad-blocker is nice - yes, there are other ways around it), but because I feel I have gotten a lot from WoWHead over the years and wish to simply show support. Just please remember: my support is for a great community site, and not for a site the heavily favors paying members.P.S. Although the sign-up page has a link to the fact that your membership fee is automatically renewed, I think this should be made a little more clear. There is an option to turn this automatic renewal off, but it is on by default. Unexpected recurring charges can really upset your supporter base.
I've been paying for premium membership on Allakhazam for several years now, so being able to upgrade to premium without having to pay anything extra is a nice perk, however, I'm not a fan of requiring paid forum membership for *any* features.
I dont have a Credit Card, and i use Moneybookers instead of PayPal because my bank doesn't do PayPal..Ah well :)
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
ArgentSun wrote up a pretty detailed response, but in this case I figured that it was important that the answer come from me so you know how we actually feel about the situation.Premium users are not paying for cosmetic changes. They are supporting the website, as they wished before, and are getting something small in return. It is exactly because those changes are not core ones that permitted them to come with the Premium. They are, in the greater scheme, insignificant, but are still a way to show our gratitude beyond a mere smile.About the paying for service... I kind of address this below, but you are thinking backwards. We are not asking for your money so we can give you service. Your support is absolutely voluntarily, and you get the Premium as a token of appreciation. I think many of you may be misunderstanding the reasoning behind the implementation of the Premium service. Premium is not a way for us to say "Here, there are normal users, but they don't get everything. So we have Premium, pay for it, get it all". That's not how we're thinking about it.We knew there are many users out there, both "hardcore" and "casual" who were looking for a way to support the site. Think of Premium as our way to allow you to support us with more than just a "Thank you for existing!" thread/email (although we really love those too). And then, just as we replied with in your thank-you thread, we decide to give you a little something in return, because you are helping us. A thank-you thread deserves a good reply in it. This kind of support suggests we should do a little more than say our thanks - so we gave you Premium. It's not a ground-breaking upgrade from "thank you". It doesn't give you any serious advantage over the other users. It's just our way to return the favor, not our way to force you to pay for Wowhead.
Be gentle with each other. I know this feels like a big scary change for everybody, so it's easy to get anxious and frustrated. But it was a big scary change when Wowhead joined ZAM in the first place too, and I feel like the site experience has only improved from there. I hope you'll give us a chance to prove ourselves to you on this as well. :)
Here's me being skeptical, but what will the direct email accomplish that posting in the site-feedback forum didn't?P.S. Sorry if this was already addressed...didn't want to read through 11 pages.
I will accept and support the premium user changes as long as it stays at the vanity status AND a rift doesnt develop between the free users and premium users. Please accept that if a person does not want the premium status that you should NOT pressure them, it is their decision to make and theirs only. Also that they are just as important as you because they are still using the site and that supports it
@Durinalal, please read Malgayne's post from the previous page? It addresses exactly what you are talking about.