Pocket PC Thoughts Subcriber Services Launched

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/subscribe.php' target='_blank'>http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/subscribe.php</a><br /><br /></div>The moment I've been waiting for is finally here: <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/subscribe.php">we've launched our subscriber services!</a> Let me give you a little sense of history so you can understand why I've taken this step…<br /><br />Pocket PC Thoughts was first launched as a personal blog back in October of 2000. The Pocket PC had just come out in April of that year, and I was riding the Pocket PC wave. I was writing full time for PocketPC.com, and managing a team of writers - it was a career for me (Microsoft pays well, what can I say?). Pocket PC Thoughts was a little side project I started where I could be more opinionated, more open, and basically blather on about whatever I wanted. I started Blogging before it was the "in" thing to do. ;-) It was inadvertently funded by Microsoft in a way, because when I wasn't writing articles for them, I was working on Pocket PC Thoughts. That freedom allowed me to spend an insane amount of time working on the site, and it gained a reputation for being frequently updated. And people seemed to like it. :-D<br /><br />When the site started, it was a one-man show created and updated using Blogger, hosted on a shared server along with my other personal and business sites. The only cost I had was my time, which was under-written by that well-paying gig from Microsoft. The next phase came when I started doing trade shows for Microsoft – I was away from my PC for days at a time, so I brought on Marlof to help me. Eventually we outgrew Blogger – it wasn't stable enough, so I switched over to Greymatter. It took a lot of time to set up, but it was still hosted on a shared server and the only cost was time.<br /><br />The site continued to grow in popularity, and once I received my first $300 bandwidth bill from pair.com, I looked for a new host with more bandwidth. I added more team members to keep up the pace and cover for things like…sleep. The new team members added new points of view, and the site got better and better. I jumped over to a new host (West Host), but their "unlimited bandwidth" was a marketing lie – I paid a few hundreds bucks in excess bandwidth bills there, then moved on to a new host. More people kept coming, and while it was exciting, it was putting a financial strain on me. I jumped hosts for a while, always running out of bandwidth as more and more people visited the site daily (hourly?). For a while the generous Sonic Mobility was hosting me, but I needed certain things they couldn't provide. I eventually settled on Rackshack, and a dedicated hosting solution. I think somewhere along the way I added a single banner to the top of the site, and I might have made $50 a month on it. It was a big step, commercializing the site, and I was initially very reluctant to do it. But as the hosting costs grew, I knew I needed to at least break even. I loved what I was doing, and I didn't want to stop.<br /><br />During this time (early 2002), the writing work with PocketPC.com dried up (all good things must end, right?). Being completely self-employed, it was quickly time for me to find something new to pay the bills. I wrote and edited a couple of books, did some consulting on the side, but my real passion was writing for Pocket PC Thoughts. I loved the freedom of expression, the thrill of doing something I enjoyed, and evangelising a platform I was passionate about. It was then I decided to try and make a career out of it, and the Fabrizio-designed (what a genius!), fully commercialized Pocket PC Thoughts was born in late 2002. My hobby turned into a job – and there is nothing else I'd rather be doing.<br /><br />There's a line where a hobby has to either be curtailed, or it becomes a career. I've chosen my primary career as running Pocket PC Thoughts and other Thoughts Media sites. With any luck this little enterprise will grow and I'll be able to hire some people and give them careers too. :-)<br /><br />The real cost of Pocket PC Thoughts has never been the hosting – it's the time. We're now paying about $300 US a month for hosting, which is manageable. The real cost is the time it takes for me to work on the site. I'm a full-time employee (the only one right now), and I need to draw a full time salary from this. I have mortgage and heating bills to pay, just like most of you. The team I work with is made up of volunteers, but each year I buy them gifts because I appreciate their enthusiasm for the site so much. Then there all the costs of running a business: computer, business cards, etc. The point is, there are real costs involved with doing this. While the advertising market is starting to pick up, the reality is that Pocket PCs are a niche within a niche (PDAs). No one is getting filthy rich writing Pocket PC software, and this means that no one is handing me ten-thousand dollars advertising cheques. Yet. ;-)<br /><br />And so we come to the subscriber services. The last thing I wanted to do was take away what we've always offered for free and start charging for it (you'd all revolt!), so my team and I created a system whereby we'd make being a subscriber something valuable – something worth a couple of bucks a month. We'd give you new ways to access the information and community you enjoy, and work with vendors to get you discounts and special offers. We'd let you turn the site into whatever you wanted it to be – stripped down and fast, or huge and content rich. And we'll continue to add services and benefits to being a subscriber.<br /><br />Have you ever saved money from a deal we posted? <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/subscribe.php"><b>Subscribe and get them faster.</b></a> Have you ever found a solution to a problem you were having? <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/subscribe.php"><b>Subscribe and support the work we do</b>.</a> Have you ever been bored sitting in the doctor's office? <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/subscribe.php"><b>Subscribe and get access to our mobile forums</b></a>, so you can tap into the awesome Pocket PC community we have here anywhere, anytime. Have you ever made a buying decision based on a review you read here? <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/subscribe.php"><b>Subscribe and support the time it takes to write them.</b></a><br /><br />I won't make silly predictions about us shutting down unless we get "x" subscribers – I'm going to keep this site going for as long as I can. That's not what this is about. But if you want to support the work we do (I hope you do!), and if you want to help us grow and get better, please consider being a subscriber. The advertising market goes up and down, but with a strong subscriber base I can take this site to the next level. We've worked hard to make it worth your while, and your support will ensure that we stick around for a long time to come, taking you wherever the Pocket PC platform goes in the future.<br /><br />I thank you for your support.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br /><br />Jason R. Dunn<br />Executive Editor<br />Pocket PC Thoughts<br /><br />PS - Now that subscriber services have launched, the free mobiles forum trial is over. I hope that those of you who have enjoyed using the mobile forums will sign up for one of our subscriber packages!

[JonnoB]

Finally! I am subscribed and have access to the mobile forums...

[Jason Dunn]

Finally! I am subscribed and have access to the mobile forums...

You're the very first one - we haven't even technically launched them yet. :lol:

[Newsboy]

Congrats Jason (and team)!

[carphead]

Hop on Baby! :rock on dude!:

[ChristopherTD]

Are you planning to support any other means of payment - PayPal is incredibly difficult to use if you don't reside in the USA. It took me weeks to get my card authorised and as it is now expired I can't face going through it all again...

It is generally easier to send a few US$ notes in the post!!

[PR.]

I'm in the UK and signed up with Paypal no problem. I'm subscribed :)

Keep up the good work

[nj_lee]

I am in the UK, i have never found paypal to be any problem at all.

How come you are having a problem?

I'd offer advice but since i've never had a problem i don't really know what to say!

nick

[nj_lee]

wow, two replies on the same subject within one minute of each other!

coincidence?

or something more, sinister...........?

[ChristopherTD]

I will try to re-activate my account (hopefully without having to fax copies of my card to the USA).

I would like to subscribe!

[madbart]

Are you planning to support any other means of payment - PayPal is incredibly difficult to use if you don't reside in the USA. It took me weeks to get my card authorised and as it is now expired I can't face going through it all again...

It is generally easier to send a few US$ notes in the post!!

I agree. Being is AUST using pay-pal is a pain in the butt.
Also with the contest will there be worldwide support for the contestants or like 99.9% of sites and limited to residents os the US & Canada? :?

I would have loved the Vaja promo a month ago as i just bought a billfold case for my spanking 5450!

[ChristopherTD]

I am in the UK, i have never found paypal to be any problem at all.

The "magic" number that they add to the spurious $1.95 charge doesn't always appear on foreign credit card statements. So you can't complete the "Add a Card" process without going through a great rigmarole to prove who you are.

Once the card is activated they are, of course, no problem to use.

[GoldKey]

I'm a man of my word. Activated the lifetime subscription. Let's run some contests now while the odds are really good!

[blusparkles]

Are you planning to support any other means of payment - PayPal is incredibly difficult to use if you don't reside in the USA. It took me weeks to get my card authorised and as it is now expired I can't face going through it all again...

It is generally easier to send a few US$ notes in the post!!

I agree. Being is AUST using pay-pal is a pain in the butt.
Also with the contest will there be worldwide support for the contestants or like 99.9% of sites and limited to residents os the US & Canada? :?

I would have loved the Vaja promo a month ago as i just bought a billfold case for my spanking 5450!

I don't have any problems using PayPal with my ANZ credit card.

Just signed up as a subscriber - congratulations Jason and the rest of the Pocket PC Thoughts team! I know so much about Pocket PCs thanks in a large part to you guys. You've continaully fuelled my enthusiasm about Pocket PCs in the couple of years that I've had one, and I'm just glad that I can now give back in some way. Hurrah for Pocket PC Thoughts subscription services! :clap:

[MR_E]

ChristopherTD,

I would advise against faxing photocopies of your credit card. I was asked to do so once, consulted my bank beforehand, and was advised strongly NOT to send copies of my credit card period.
I have registered two credit cards with Paypal, and never had any problems (moved twice, updated one expired card). And all that whilst living in continental Europe :)

[ChristopherTD]

Hurrah for Pocket PC Thoughts subscription services!

I echo this! I promise not to mention anything further about Paypal.

I am a firm believer in subscription services, where the subscriber either gains access to faster servers, no advertisements, or extra services (i.e. Mobile) - or all of the above!

Well done Jason for getting this off the ground and I wish you every success.

[clinte]

Will it still be possible to read (and not post on) the forums when you are not a subcriber?

[GoldKey]

I believe you will still have full access read and post to the forums. Just not the mobile forums (ie optimized for your PPC screen).

[slinger]

I've checked your site daily for months. Best "magazine" subscription I have, period. Latest breaking news, and inside stories, instantly. Love it. :D

[FredMurphy]

We'll I've signed up with a PayPal account from the UK just to use the subscriber services. (Remembered about your affiliate link after it was too late - sorry. :oops:)

Let's see if activating my credit card is a problem or not. Maybe if I sell something on eBay to get some PaylPal credit..... OMG! 8O I'm selling my posessions to pay for my PPCT addiction!

Fred

[Trokair]

All signed up. :D


Say, Jason, if I want to switch from the Full Mbbile yearly plan to the Lifetime one at some point, do I contact you, or just resubscribe?

-Kyle

[Kangaroo]

I have subscribed because this is by far the best place to pick up the latest happenings in the Pocket PC world.

Keep up the good work Jason and the team.

Cheers,
Kenny

[TopDog]

Yeah baby yeah!!!

I'm now a subscriber. Never used PayPal before, but it only took a couple of minutes, and I live in freakin' Norway :way to go:

[ChristopherTD]

The PayPal link doesn't seem to actually take any money yet (I guess that you have your 2 week trial first).

So I (and other folks who have newly registered credit cards with PayPal) have two weeks to sort out authentication with them...

Phew!

[agyger]

Pocket PC Thoughts is one of the few sites I visit every day! Keep up the good work! :clap:

Adrian

[madbart]

So i guess we are creating 2 groups of citizens within this forum community.

The tagged and the untagged! :? by the i support this site logo underneath your avatar!

[gorkon280]

So i guess we are creating 2 groups of citizens within this forum community.

The tagged and the untagged! :? by the i support this site logo underneath your avatar!

I think the image under the avatar is not needed. It's going to create classes among the users. Better for us to not know when someone is a subscriber. I mean if they want to stand right out and say it, fine, but the site advertsing it on every post from a member? Plus how can you say a non-subscriber does not support the site? Maybe that non-sub does not have a credit card....maybe they don't want to use paypal. It would be much nicer if we had a SSL'd credit card page to pay for it. As soon as I get up the gumption though, I will get my paypal setup and get subscribed.

Also, I think you may want to look at doing what Web McDeb has done and start a store. Not sure how she did it without having to have inventory and things like that, but you could do a CafePress.com site and sell PocketPC Thoughts T-shirts, mugs, mouse pads, polo shirts..... I'd buy a PPC Thoughts mug! :)

[ipaq-PHD]

I'm in !

[tospappy]

I suppose that since I cancelled my newspaper subscription because I get up every morning and read this site (along with others) it is only appropriate to take that money from the LA Times and put it here.

[piperpilot]

I went for the whole ball o' wax! I love the degree of control over the site, not to mention the $20 Vaja coupon. Thanks for making the subscriptions so enticing.

[Eos]

Jason, guys,

We, here, like your work...

I have informed Pocket.co.il readers about Thoughts new services, and recommended joining to anyone that wants it all, and wants it now !
Sorry for Jason's outdated picture, that's what we had in our archives..:-) re: http://pocketpc.pocket.co.il

My own personal subscription follows (re: secd. mail).

Keep up the good work.

Shalom from Israel.

Saar Avigour
Editor at Large - Mobility
====================
a.s.i.p./ channel 3
The Hi-Tech News Channel
Pocket.co.ilIsrael Digital Life-Style Portal
MS PocketPC Forum - Tech Support
e-mail: [email protected]
Web: http://www.pocket.co.il

[Vincent M Ferrari]

No-brainer for me. The site that keeps me on the platform definitely deserves my support

Hope you get lots of subscribers, Jason...

Congratulations! :beer:

[CTSLICK]

ANTE UP...I am in baby :rock on dude!:

[msprague]

Well done :!:

[msprague]

Any plans for a sig for mobile forum posts? I am not sure why you don't include it, maybe a customizable mobile post sig? Keep up the good work and I hope all continues to go well with your career!

BTW, I subscribed from my Pocket PC and noticed that your subscription pages don't have a Pocket PC version and the "Customize" link doesn't work at all from Pocket PC.

[Oleander]

Oh this is just great....

I made a paypal account to be able to subscribe. After having fulfilled the registration they tell me that i have to use the 4-digit number from my credit card statement.

Guess what?

I dont get that kind of statement. All mine says is something like "VDK 17.00 USD"

Oh well..... :roll:

[Loren]

I'm in!

Couldn't stand having good things suffer. Keep the good work up.

[piperpilot]

I made a paypal account to be able to subscribe. After having fulfilled the registration they tell me that i have to use the 4-digit number from my credit card statement. Guess what? I dont get that kind of statement. All mine says is something like "VDK 17.00 USD"


Actually, I think they are talking about a 3-digit "security" code on the back of your credit card, but even if you don't have that, you should be able to register your checking account.

[beq]

Uh oh, I think I made a dumb error. As I was navigating the PayPal site after payment, I pressed the browser back button and when prompted I clicked to refresh the page by resending the info. I did this twice (it was like whoops maybe I should print that previous order confirmation page.. nah, that's OK I'll just click the browser forward button now, but hey it's asking me again to resend info to refresh the page, I guess I'll do that again).

So anyway when I clicked on PayPal account overview page, it showed 3 separate PPCT (lifetime) subscriptions. I cancelled the last 2 subs right away -- so is this all I need to do?

[Ken Mattern]

Jason,

I've been reading this site daily since you opened it. Thanks for the excellent work.

I used me new Nokia 3650 to access the site to show off the phone. Both the site and the phone blew people away. :lol:

I just signed up for the lifetime membership and I know it is money well spent.

Keep up the good work.

If you are not Jason and you are not a subscriber and you are reading this... What are you waiting for? :twisted:

Ken

[drop]

To show that I believe in you, your team and the Pocket PC platform :rock on dude!: , I sign up for 5 years.

I really like the customization, cool!

[GoldKey]

Are the Vaja GC's stackable? I am just thinking those that already have a case from them or don't want one, could give/sell them to other members at a discount. 3 of the $20 GC and you could pretty much get a free case.

[Oleander]

Actually, I think they are talking about a 3-digit "security" code on the back of your credit card, but even if you don't have that, you should be able to register your checking account.

No, that part i have fulfilled succesfully. The part that's failing is what they call my PayPal Member Number. Its needed to activate my account (apparently) and it should be on my credit card statement.

Do any of you know if i will be able to use my account without activating?
..I really don't want to put money into my account without being able to use them.. :(

[tonyv]

I used Paypal for ebay until I reached the arbitrary $2000 limit they had for credit card usage. After that, they demanded I give them direct access to my savings account. According to their site, this was ONLY so they could take advantage of my banks' authentication services, but after I allowed them in, they started sucking funds directly form my account, allowing no more use of credit cards. NOBODY gets access to my bank account, especially a company as disreputable as Paypal.

Have you ever tried to get a problem straightened out with them? Their security sucks -- someone was posing as me for a couple months, registered with my credit card. They don't post their contact phone number anywhere -- I had get the number from some "paypal sucks" third-party web-site.

[tmulli]

Jason-

I would have no hesitation supporting this site except for the limitations in payment options. Is there or will you have other forms of payment to subscribe or is paypal it? I prefer not to have a paypal account.

Great site!! Blows everything else away. :rock on dude!:

[TopDog]

No, that part i have fulfilled succesfully. The part that's failing is what they call my PayPal Member Number. Its needed to activate my account (apparently) and it should be on my credit card statement.
The member number they are talking about will show on a note you get in the (snail)mail from VISA/MasterCard/whatever... and you don't need that yet, so don't worry about it, and just sign up ;-)

[PJE]

Congratulations!

I'm just posting to see if the support box comes up! :wink:

Keep up the good work.

PJE

[GoldKey]

Jason said back in this thread http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=128618

that Paypal was the PRIMARY method. They are going to accept checks and Money Orders also. So for all of you that have Paypal problems and said you would love to pay if only you could do something other than paypal, I am sure you will get your chance.

[GoldKey]

Congratulations!

I'm just posting to see if the support box comes up! :wink:

Keep up the good work.

PJE

Actually, it gets added to all your old posts too!

[thanos255]

I'm in.....

Thanks
Thanos

[snowlion]

hope this subscription works out...

but if it doesn't - i suggest that you make the main web-site subscription based.

subscribers get access to current news + contests immediately as posted. rest get it 24 hrs later.

i think this will really increase the membership because - i bet most people do not access the internet using their pda...period and also in a consistent manner.

[fgarcia10]

I wonder how many people will subscribe in the first 24 hours... :)

[piperpilot]

I wonder how many people will subscribe in the first 24 hours... :)


. . . and at what level of subscription. I would be interested in seeing the breakdown.

[willkess71]

I am really grateful for all the info and insights I get from the Thoughts Team! Congrats on what you have been able to do so far and I look forward to seeing what you will do in the future. And I have to say I love the mobile forums. It makes me think my 2032sp is now even more useful!

[msprague]

i bet most people do not access the internet using their pda...period and also in a consistent manner.

but it is so much more than mobile forums! :frusty:

[Birdman]

I'm in!

[blang]

I am confused. I do not have access to the internet from my pda. Is is worth me becoming a member or does it just really benefit the wireless member?

[GoldKey]

Blang,

Even if you are not going to use some/all of the features, you can still subscribe to help pay for the stuff that they give you for free.

It is just a way to help pay the costs of keeping up a great site.

[blang]

Goldkey,

Yes, I understand that and that is why I probably will sign up. However, I still would like to know how a subscription service will benefit me as a non-wireless user.

Is the customization for only the pda or can I do it from my desktop and can I still get email notification.

Thanks

[Reza]

Hey Jason, I may have missed this but are you planning some kind of an upgrade policy for the subscription services? Let say one has signed for the Mobile Lite service and wants to go Lifetime, how would that work?…

[Reza]

Oh, and the other idea is to add a simple side-by-side feature comparison of the different plans/services. That would help decide (not that I’m hesitating myself, I will go lifetime ASAFP :D).

ASAFP = as soon as financially possible. :D

[GoldKey]

Blang, you can pretty much customize the content you get on the front page for your desktop connection as well. For example, I now have it set so I get the max number of news stories on the front page. There are alot of other things to set that I have just not played with yet.

[topps]

Congrats - wish you well with this endeavour.

One small thing I noticed - after I configured my profile, the front page seems to take significantly longer to load (on my tablet, not on the PPC).

I set it to 10 items per page, 5 pages, 5 days. Not that much I thought.

Maybe it's the content filter - perhaps I should turn this off since I'm pretty happy with most of the content here.

Hope this continues to grow - took the Lifetime sub to show support.

[garrans]

Blang, with the right subscription level you can also get the email blast !!! Which would be great for offline viewing.

Steve.

[msprague]

I am confused. I do not have access to the internet from my pda. Is is worth me becoming a member or does it just really benefit the wireless member?
I recommend you go here (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/subscribe.php), read the details and click on the detail details links inline in the details. It is much more than pretty pda formatting for the forums. :ppclove:

[blang]

Thanks everyone for clarifying....I just subscribed!!

[Janak Parekh]

So i guess we are creating 2 groups of citizens within this forum community.
I don't think you're going to be treated differently whether or not you subscribed -- we are fully aware that either (a) people don't always have the financial means to support Jason and/or (b) they're not addicted to this site to need the additional features (yet ;)). However, if you seriously have concerns about the logo, send an email to Jason. I'm sure he'll take your arguments into account.

As for the payment, I do believe, as Goldkey said, that other methods will be set up, but give Jason some time... he was up till 4AM EDT! 8O Even I was fast asleep...

--janak

[garrans]

Jason, also wanted to congratulate you on your excellent site !!!

It Rocks ! :werenotworthy: :rock on dude!:

[pocketpcdude1024]

I wonder how many 'enterprise' subscriptions Mr. Dunn will get - they're a hefty $1200 per year! 8O

[T-Will]

Awesome Jason and Thoughts team!

Got one question, do we need to check the Auto Renew checkbox if we subscribe to the "Mobile Deluxe Lifetime Subscription"?

[Jason Dunn]

Are you planning to support any other means of payment...

Yes, that's the one thing we forgot to include! I guess that's what we get for launching at 2 AM. :roll:

If you'd prefer not to use PayPal (or can't), you can subscribe by sending a personal cheque (allow two weeks to clear) or an international money order (remember I'm in Canada!) to:

Jason Dunn
45 Tuscany Springs Circle NW
Calgary, Alberta
Canada
T3L 2R8

Be sure to include which subscriber package you're signing up for, and of course your username. All prices are in US funds.

I'll integrate this information into the subscriber page today.

[Jason Dunn]

Also with the contest will there be worldwide support for the contestants or like 99.9% of sites and limited to residents os the US & Canada? :?

It will be open to everyone in the world. :D I expect to get some nice postcards from exotic places! Remember though if you're a subscriber, you're automatically enrolled in our system.

[Jeff Rutledge]

Thanks for the opportunity to finally support this site in a meaningful (tangible) way.

-- A lifer...

[msprague]

Awesome Jason and Thoughts team!

Got one question, do we need to check the Auto Renew checkbox if we subscribe to the "Mobile Deluxe Lifetime Subscription"?
You probably don't want to Auto Renew for lifetime subs, it might automatically charge you again in 5 yrs.

[tmulli]

Thanks for the snail mail info Jason. Mailing right now. Now, go back to bed. :sleeping:

[Jason Dunn]

Will it still be possible to read (and not post on) the forums when you are not a subcriber?

Correct. Nothing will change for non-subscribers - you'll still have access to everything you had two weeks ago. I still value all Pocket PC Thoughts readers, regardless of whether or not they subscribe, so I'm certainly not going to take access to anything away from you. The subscriber services are enhancements to what we offer now: mobile forums, customization, email blasts, etc.

[Jason Dunn]

Say, Jason, if I want to switch from the Full Mbbile yearly plan to the Lifetime one at some point, do I contact you, or just resubscribe?

We technically can't "stack" subscriptions, so the best thing would be to wait until your current subscription expires, then sign up for the lifetime. Thanks for your support! :way to go:

[Janak Parekh]

I wonder how many 'enterprise' subscriptions Mr. Dunn will get - they're a hefty $1200 per year! 8O
They're intended for organizations where you might have many users subscribing, and where a package makes more sense administratively and cost-wise. e.g., maybe Microsoft will subscribe for their Mobile Devices group? :lol:

--janak

[bdeli]

Way to go - Keep up the good work!

Now I can check ppcthoughts every hour without feeling guilty... :rock on dude!:

[JTWise]

Congrats on the subscription model. Glad to be able to contribute to help cover the costs of all the bandwidth I have eaten over the years.

Love the site and best of luck. Maybe being a subscriber will encourage me to post more ! :lurking:

[piperpilot]

I just posted a poll about the level of subscription you purchased. It's in "Just Chattin'," so check it out.

[disconnected]

Since I seem to live here, I figured I might as well go for the lifetime subscription (non-recurring). :) And now I have a good excuse to get a Vaja case for the 5550 I'm contemplating.

I visit several PPC sites, but if I could only have one, this is definitely it. For me, it has the most interesting news and best information; I really like that the front-page posts are written by several people, in their own styles, rather than in some kind of weird third-person chirpy journalese.
I used to read the news here and the forums elsewhere, but now I think the forums have caught up too, and are generally both helpful and entertaining.

[Jerry Raia]

Ok...I'm in. :mrgreen:

[Mexico]

$$$ for Pocket PC Thoughts! :alfdance: You've earned every single freakin' penny, Jason! :rock on dude!: I wish you nothing but the best.

M

[Dazbot]

Well I'm signed up now, £22 per year isn't bad.

When is the first contest? :wink: I want an iPAQ 2215, way too expensive in the UK :cry:.

Having a few problems with the frontpage, the top 10 posts are at the bottom of the screen on the left

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/darren.wardle50/PocketPCThoughts.htm

I've got 30 posts, 1 page, 7 days setup, no ads, plus a few other options

[Jason Dunn]

So i guess we are creating 2 groups of citizens within this forum community. The tagged and the untagged! :? by the i support this site logo underneath your avatar!

Well, yes. It's the truth though, right? The people with the "tag" have stepped up to the plate and said they value this site enough to support the work we do here with a financial contribution. And for that, they get to wear a badge saying that they support us. :way to go:

The others, well, haven't said that. I'm not slamming anyone, but it's true - I'm not under the delusion that everyone was going to sign up! :-) I knew that some people would see value in at least one of the enhanced services, and the bulk of the others would continue on here as before, getting everything for free. I expect that, and I'm not going to look down at someone who doesn't subscribe - instead I'm going to work hard to enhance the subscriber services in order to win those people over. :D

For what it's worth, we're going to add the ability for people to turn that badge off if they don't want to display it, so soon enough you won't REALLY know who supports this site and who doesn't. ;-)

Brighthand implemented something similar to this several months ago, and I haven't heard any serious problems with it. :-)

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me!

[Zensbikeshop]

Just signed up!

Love the ability to customise the site to my liking - great value!

The best PPC site just got better!

How do I access the mobile forums?

[Jason Dunn]

I think the image under the avatar is not needed. It's going to create classes among the users. Better for us to not know when someone is a subscriber. I mean if they want to stand right out and say it, fine, but the site advertsing it on every post from a member?

We're going to add the ability for people to turn it off, but I think most people will leave it on. And why not? They should be proud of the fact that they're supporting this site and the work we do! Contrary to popular opinion, not everything on the Internet can be free all the time. :wink:

Plus how can you say a non-subscriber does not support the site? Maybe that non-sub does not have a credit card....maybe they don't want to use paypal. It would be much nicer if we had a SSL'd credit card page to pay for it. As soon as I get up the gumption though, I will get my paypal setup and get subscribed.

I know a credit card system would be better, but it's not something I was prepared to do just yet. It is something I'm looking into though! And people can pay via cheque & money order - I just forgot to include that information. :oops:

Also, I think you may want to look at doing what Web McDeb has done and start a store. Not sure how she did it without having to have inventory and things like that, but you could do a CafePress.com site and sell PocketPC Thoughts T-shirts, mugs, mouse pads, polo shirts..... I'd buy a PPC Thoughts mug! :)

Been there, done that. You know how much money we made off our Mobile Planet store in the first month? $50. Affiliate programs, by and large, suck. I've tried SO many of them, and while the various ones we have now (Handango + Pricegrabber + Mobile Planet + Amazon + State Street Direct + a few others) do add up together to something nicer, it's sporadic, unstable, and not something we can rely on. FWIW, we are going to launch a Café press site, but we're probably going to sell things there are zero profit - their prices are already so expensive, I feel bad adding on a profit and making them even MORE expensive. We'll see what happens. :-)

Ultimately subscriber services are only part of the mix - we're going to continue to work with site sponsors (advertising), affiliate programs, and anything else that can keep us going strong!

[Jason Dunn]

How do I access the mobile forums?

Point your Pocket PC or Smartphone at www.pocketpcthoughts.com and it will redirect you to our mobile site. Log in. From there, when you click on a comment, you'll go into the mobile forums. You can also browse, post, etc.

[Jason Dunn]

Sorry for Jason's outdated picture, that's what we had in our archives..:-) re: http://pocketpc.pocket.co.il

Thanks for your support! I think posting my photo might cause people to NOT want to subscribe though. :lol:

[Corn Bread]

Bummer, I can't subscribe. Paypal does't accept Credit Cards from the Philippines and I don't like the idea of sending a cheque from here to Canada.
I hope Jason can implement a Credit Card system soon.

Congratulations anyway, you guys rock!

[joechen]

There's something attractive about this site. I need to check it every other hour. I have no problems supporting this site. Keep up the good work everyone!

[spg]

Thanks Jason! Glad to subscribe and support your work, this is one of the first sites I visit everyday (after my site of course :D). Nice work!

[Jason Dunn]

Any plans for a sig for mobile forum posts? I am not sure why you don't include it, maybe a customizable mobile post sig?...BTW, I subscribed from my Pocket PC and noticed that your subscription pages don't have a Pocket PC version and the "Customize" link doesn't work at all from Pocket PC.

1) Sigs were excluded on the mobile site for two reason: right now we don't have a way to exclude graphics, so I don't think you want to download some guys 20 KB banner over GPRS. Since many GPRS users pay for every KB of info they download, I don't know that seeing a sig is something most users will want to see. Maybe we'll do a poll and see what people think. Remember that the "web" icon shows up, so you can link your Web site through there.

2) Yes, people need to subscribe and customize their experience from the desktop - it would be very, very difficult to take that massive configuration interface and cram it onto a Pocket PC screen. Never mind the fact that it's based on DHTML (I think) and the Pocket PC doesn't support that fully.

Thanks for your suppport!

[palmsolo]

Is the Vaja case certificate transferrable? I already have cases for everything, but my Nokia 3650 and can't really use the certificate. I wonder if they will make a 3650 case? I think the membership is worth it even without the Vaja certificate and plan on buying a subscription as soon as I finish the transaction from selling my Newton 2000 I just sold on ebay.

[bdeli]

1) Sigs were excluded on the mobile site for two reason: right now we don't have a way to exclude graphics, so I don't think you want to download some guys 20 KB banner over GPRS. Since many GPRS users pay for every KB of info they download, I don't know that seeing a sig is something most users will want to see.


Jason, I have to agree with you on this after receiving a very nice bill from FIDO for GPRS usage this month!

[davidm]

I have been following this site since its inception, although I am not sure when I first registered. Thanks for all the great info.

Dave

[Jason Dunn]

So anyway when I clicked on PayPal account overview page, it showed 3 separate PPCT (lifetime) subscriptions. I cancelled the last 2 subs right away -- so is this all I need to do?

Yes, that's correct - you can cancel your subscription and when the trial period ends on the two you didn't cancel, they'll disappear from your PayPal account and you'll end up having one subscription.

[Jason Dunn]

I just signed up for the lifetime membership and I know it is money well spent.

Thanks for your support Ken! It's cool to see my longtime friends supporting the site like this. I'm blown away by the number of you signing up for the lifetime subscription - wow! 8O The bulk of you are in the "Mobile Full" category, which is what I expected, but you lifetime guys are hardcore. :mrgreen:

[GoldKey]

The bulk of you are in the "Mobile Full" category, which is what I expected, but you lifetime guys are hardcore. :mrgreen:


How bout a special "Lifetime Supporter Banner"? That way we can have three classes of users rather than just two! :wink:

[Jason Dunn]

Are the Vaja GC's stackable? I am just thinking those that already have a case from them or don't want one, could give/sell them to other members at a discount. 3 of the $20 GC and you could pretty much get a free case.

I don't know the answer to that unfortunately - I'll ask Vaja and get back to you.

[Jason Dunn]

I would have no hesitation supporting this site except for the limitations in payment options. Is there or will you have other forms of payment to subscribe or is paypal it? I prefer not to have a paypal account.

If you'd prefer not to use PayPal (or can't), you can subscribe by sending a personal cheque (allow two weeks to clear) or an international money order (remember I'm in Canada!) to:

Jason Dunn
45 Tuscany Springs Circle NW
Calgary, Alberta
Canada
T3L 2R8

Be sure to include which subscriber package you're signing up for, and of course your username. All prices are in US funds.

[Jason Dunn]

Yes, I understand that and that is why I probably will sign up. However, I still would like to know how a subscription service will benefit me as a non-wireless user. Is the customization for only the pda or can I do it from my desktop and can I still get email notification.

The Mobile Lite package is really mobile forums + badge, that's it. It's aimed at people who want mobile forums for their wireless device, and nothing else.

Mobile Full is mobile forums + badge + site customization + email blasts + $20 Vaja coupon. I think you'll find a lot of value at this level, even without a wireless device. :D

[Jhokur2k]

How bout a special "Lifetime Supporter Banner"? That way we can have three classes of users rather than just two! :wink:

Yeah, make the smiley have a tat like lifers in prison :lol: j/k...

[Jason Dunn]

hope this subscription works out...but if it doesn't - i suggest that you make the main web-site subscription based. subscribers get access to current news + contests immediately as posted. rest get it 24 hrs later.

Nah, I don't ever want to do that. I don't want to lock away the content and say "Hey, only you people paying for it will get it". The pepole who aren't subscribers will simply leave and go to a new site.

No, the subscriber services will always be about adding value to what we already do for free. Free + value = better. :-)

[icatar]

$3/month? No brainer! That's less than the cost of a cup of coffee! I can find that in loose change in my sofa! Awesome! :mrgreen:

[Jason Dunn]

Hey Jason, I may have missed this but are you planning some kind of an upgrade policy for the subscription services? Let say one has signed for the Mobile Lite service and wants to go Lifetime, how would that work?…

We technically can't "stack" subscriptions, so the best thing would be to wait until your current subscription expires, then sign up for the lifetime. Thanks for your support!

[Jason Dunn]

Oh, and the other idea is to add a simple side-by-side feature comparison of the different plans/services. That would help decide.

Great idea! I'll work on that this week...

[Jason Dunn]

One small thing I noticed - after I configured my profile, the front page seems to take significantly longer to load (on my tablet, not on the PPC). I set it to 10 items per page, 5 pages, 5 days. Not that much I thought. Maybe it's the content filter - perhaps I should turn this off since I'm pretty happy with most of the content here. Hope this continues to grow - took the Lifetime sub to show support.

Thanks for your support David! Regarding the slowness, that shouldn't be happening since you're making the same number of SQL calls per page. Hmm. Please let me know via email if you find a common factor - if it's the filter, we might need to tweak our code.

[Jason Dunn]

Got one question, do we need to check the Auto Renew checkbox if we subscribe to the "Mobile Deluxe Lifetime Subscription"?

No, you don't want to do that. :D Lifetime is really lifetime with Thoughts Media, so un-check that box and just remember that you're a lifetime subscriber. :mrgreen:

[Chris Edwards]

Hey Jason, I may have missed this but are you planning some kind of an upgrade policy for the subscription services? Let say one has signed for the Mobile Lite service and wants to go Lifetime, how would that work?…

You can modify which subscription you are currently on by going to your forum preferences page and clicking the paypal modify button beside the subscription.

The changes will take place at the next billing period (which currently would be when the 2 week trial ends).

[Jason Dunn]

I wonder how many 'enterprise' subscriptions Mr. Dunn will get - they're a hefty $1200 per year! 8O
They're intended for organizations where you might have many users subscribing, and where a package makes more sense administratively and cost-wise. e.g., maybe Microsoft will subscribe for their Mobile Devices group? :lol:

Correct. I think the primary advantage to companies will be the permission to re-broadcast the email blast to an unlimited internal email alias. For companies in the Pocket PC industry, having critical news show up in their inbox 60 seconds after we post it gives them a tactical advantage and keeps them in the loop. It's sort of like they're hiring us as research consultants, we find information for them, and they benefit from it.

I don't expect more than a handful of companies to sign up, but I thought it was important to offer this sort of subscription. It's also an excuse for the OEMs to support a site dedicated to their products. :D

[Skitals]

Hey Jason! Affiliate programs dont suck at all man! You gotta learn how to play the game though. I use to run a PDA website and I was on some affiliate programs... site never caught on and I never made enough money to even cover domain registration for the ~2 years. Hosting was free thanks to PocketMatrix :way to go:

BUT I lived and learned from that site and over the summer last year made an Xbox hacking/emulation website for my new found hobby (wayyy to many hobbies... pda's, xbox, reptiles, cars, etc). It was sorta like this site but about xbox hacking and homebrew development... powered by phpBB and everything. Maybe I knew what I was doing, or maybe I was just in the right place at the right time but I hooked up with a few companies (affiliates), and from writing ONE product review I have made about $1,200 a month. I had relations with the only three companies in the world that sold that product, and they all linked to my review on the product page. So anyone who has ever bought it had to face a link to my review :D

Going back, I have been here since your site first started (I dont know how long I've been registered, and I obviously dont post much). I remember when your attitude was "no no no, I will never put advertising on the site." I really respected that (in fact, I dont have any advertising on my xbox site at all and am still making $1200 a month). I knew it was only a matter of time before you changed your mind.

I don't know how I like the subscription idea. I'm not going to subscribe, only because I hardly come to any PDA website anymore. A year and a half ago I would have been all over this 8) Commercialism and such tends to really screw up communities though. I just dont want to see this site go the way of Brighthand though. When money is involved things become corrupt.

Seeing the response just from this thread, it looks like things are going to work out for you though. Congrats on how far you have come with the site :werenotworthy:

[gorkon280]

[quote=gorkon280] going to launch a Café press site, but we're probably going to sell things there are zero profit - their prices are already so expensive, I feel bad adding on a profit and making them even MORE expensive. We'll see what happens. :-)

Ultimately subscriber services are only part of the mix - we're going to continue to work with site sponsors (advertising), affiliate programs, and anything else that can keep us going strong!

More expensive?? I just got a shirt with custom artwork (done by myself of course) for 19 dollars from cafepress. 19 dollars is fair. I have priced this work elsewhere and it was pretty pricey. Granted, this is a base price for a 2 xl shirt. I have priced this elsewhere and found it out of my league (at least for doing custom artwork....if I took what they did it was cheaper). I typically pay around 25 bucks for a embroidered hat with just text on it (callsign and name). Now i know it costs more to do what you'd have to do. In any case there's my opinion ! :)

Personally, from my standpoint, I do not CARE to know if someone SUPPORTS the site. I think it's cool that they do, but from a forum standpoint, I would not like to know this as I don't want to judge it by who is a member and who isn't. Non site supporters have valid points too. Non paying members also make a contribution to the site by posting in the forums! These are things that should be thought through too. Personally, if you wanted to do a badge, I would have made something a little less in your face. Plus what's to say that I can't copy this badge and use it as my avatar?? I wouldn't, but I can make an avatar that says I support the site also. I just feel that it polarizes things too much. I DON'T read brighthand because, well, they suck in my opinion compared to you guys. TOO much Palm stuff being discussed and not enough content in their stories. I kind of like the way Slashdot has done their site subscription.....they will never have pop-ups and they do have bigger ads then they did in the past. What they did do is add features (like you did) and allowed you to block ads on certain pages. This allowed them to get ad revenue they did not previous get with the old style banners and allowed folks who hate the new large banners to get rid of them. They talked about adding a badge like you did but I don't think they have done this yet or if they did, it is a subtle one and not a in your face one. Maybe if it was a bit different. I think a green button for a non payee and a gold one for a supporter...you know, something subtle would be better. That way you can tell if you really want to know someone supports the site and you can ignore it if you don't. Right now, it's a bit large! :) I hope that this helps you out Jason! I will subscribe soon.

[pocketpcdude1024]

Well, yes. It's the truth though, right? The people with the "tag" have stepped up to the plate and said they value this site enough to support the work we do here with a financial contribution. And for that, they get to wear a badge saying that they support us. :way to go:

Of course there are some (namely myself) that have modified their avatars to fake support. :mrgreen:

I would support if I could, but unfortunately I can't. :( No, I'm not dirt-poor - I just don't have a credit card or checking account. Do you take American $$$ in the mail, Jason? :?

[GoldKey]

I agree with Gork that maybe a more subtle "suppot" banner might be nice. Maybe something like a colored frame around the avatar with a different color for each membership level. Also something that can't be faked as easily.

[surur]

Ive been waiting for the subscription thing, and the prices seem quite fair. I had however never used paypal before, and when I signed up for Paypal, on the very last page, I discovered I had to wait for a code on my credit card bill. That may be a whole month away!. So I'm waiting now....


and waiting...

Surur

[pocketpcdude1024]

Also something that can't be faked as easily.

Faked? Who would do such a thing? :wink:

[Jason Dunn]

Having a few problems with the frontpage, the top 10 posts are at the bottom of the screen on the left...

Whoa! 8O We'll look into that - looks like a coding bug. Thanks for bringing it to our attention!

[Hyperluminal]

Jason, the subscriber services look great. They're not too expensive, and they give a lot to the subscriber, without forcing people to subscribe, or punishing those who don't (like Salon).
Unfortunately, for various reasons (money problems, as in, I don't have enough) I can't subscribe right now. Honestly, I'd love to support the site, but I can't. :( However, if you'd be interested in giving me access to the subscriber services in exchange for my writing reviews or such for the site, let me know... ;)

[pocketpcdude1024]

By the way, NONE of the top ten posters (save Jason, of course) have subscribed at this point. These are people like Foo, kati, Pony, even Ed, Janak, Steven, and Brad are all currently unsupportive at this point. :|

[GoldKey]

Half the top ten are admins. I would hope Jason would not allow them to pay. They work for free as it is. They should at least get all the site benefits. Remember, it has only been up for about 10 hours. Some might not have checked in yet. Plus, as some of the other posts indicated, if you did not already have a Paypal account, you can't do anything until your account is authorized.

Jason, you wan't to provide us with any stats about the number of members at each level. I completely understand if you don't as the income/expenses you incur are really none of our business.

[spg]

By the way, NONE of the top ten posters (save Jason, of course) have subscribed at this point. These are people like Foo, kati, Pony, even Ed, Janak, Steven, and Brad are all currently unsupportive at this point. :|
Oh they aren't unsupportive, they are not subscribed. Big difference there... I know they all really heavily support Jason and this site. This is the type of thing that comes into play with that badge being there...

[JonnoB]

By the way, NONE of the top ten posters (save Jason, of course) have subscribed at this point. These are people like Foo, kati, Pony, even Ed, Janak, Steven, and Brad are all currently unsupportive at this point. :|

How many of the top-ten non-admin posters have subscribed? Also, this was just made live late last night (North America) and some may not have even connected to the site yet.

[Janak Parekh]

By the way, NONE of the top ten posters (save Jason, of course) have subscribed at this point. These are people like Foo, kati, Pony, even Ed, Janak, Steven, and Brad are all currently unsupportive at this point. :|
How many of the top-ten non-admin posters have subscribed? Also, this was just made live late last night (North America) and some may not have even connected to the site yet.
There's that, there's some administrative tasks yet to be done with the news team, there's the fact that not everyone can budget the money... let's not go discriminating people, now. ;)

--janak

[Foo Fighter]

By the way, NONE of the top ten posters (save Jason, of course) have subscribed at this point. These are people like Foo...

Just fashionably late, my good man. :wink:

[PeterLake]

There don't seem to be many benefits for wireless-less users, but I check this site more often than I do any other printed media. If a subscription helps keep it going with the same quality it has always had, sign me up!

[Icekilled]

Silly question: but will the users who subscribe get to "REMOVE" the ads from the site?
Achille

[CTSLICK]

There don't seem to be many benefits for wireless-less users, but I check this site more often than I do any other printed media. If a subscription helps keep it going with the same quality it has always had, sign me up!

I disagree...I have used the site before and after the mobile template was put in place. The mobile template alone is worth the price of admission for wireless users in my opinion.

[PeterLake]

There don't seem to be many benefits for wireless-less users, but I check this site more often than I do any other printed media. If a subscription helps keep it going with the same quality it has always had, sign me up!

I disagree...I have used the site before and after the mobile template was put in place. The mobile template alone is worth the price of admission for wireless users in my opinion.

By wireless-less, I meant those who lack wireless capabilities on their PocketPC and therefore don't need mobile forums. Sorry for the confusion.

[JonnoB]

Silly question: but will the users who subscribe get to "REMOVE" the ads from the site?
Achille

Yes, you can remove some of the front page ads, etc.

[pocketpcdude1024]

How many of the top-ten non-admin posters have subscribed? Also, this was just made live late last night (North America) and some may not have even connected to the site yet.

Whether or not you count Steven Cedrone as an Admin, only 3 (Foo, Jonno, and Paragon) out of the top 10 posters have signed up. 8)

[GoldKey]

I think that is pretty impressive. Especially 12 hours after launch. If 30% of the 10,000+ members subscribed, I would consider this venture quite successful. Plus, you are assuming that the amount of value someone gets from this site is directly proportional to the number of posts. I am sure that there are probably lurkers that get tons out of this site that will register and subscribe.

[PetiteFlower]

I think an upgrade plan really needs to be implemented. I selected Lite because I figured I can always upgrade later...now you say I'm stuck for an entire year? I can't just pay another $12 and get upgraded? That's rather inconvenient, especially since you are only giving yearly billing options rather then monthly or semi-annually.

I also think that if you subscribe to the Full membership then the next year you decide to go to lifetime, you should have the $36 deducted from the price, and if you subscribe for 4 years in a row you should automatically be upgraded to lifetime. That seems fair to me anyway, so no one has to pay much more then $120($36 * 4 = 144, not too bad) and people aren't penalized for not wanting to make a lifetime committment right away or not having the cash all at once.

[msprague]

Also something that can't be faked as easily.

Faked? Who would do such a thing? :wink:
You can tell if it is fake by checking to see if it is a link to the subscribe page. :wink:

[PetiteFlower]

I'm not in the top 10 but I'm in the top 20, does that count?

[davidm]

I love you guys, but now that I have subscribed I have received many e-mails with product pitches. I looked for a way to unsubscribe to your e-mail list, but no way to do it jumped out at me. Please advise.

Cheers

Dave

[GoldKey]

PetiteFlower


At your current pace I would say you will be by the end of the year.

[GoldKey]

David,

Those are the e-mail blasts of news stories that are on the front page. Go into your preferences and shut it off. Jason, maybe those should be off by default?

[piperpilot]

I've been getting via e-mail the top news stories as they have been posted but no product pitches. Perhaps because I shut the ads off on the site?

[davidm]

Goldkey:

You are right. The e-mails are news blasts, not product pitches. My mistake, sorry.

Thanks for the fix.

Cheers.

Dave

[Pat Logsdon]

Ok, I ponied up. I even decided to leave the ads on - I'm used to them now, and they HAVE been helpful in the past...

I think the way this subscription works is great, and very affordable. If other sites did it the same way, we'd get better content, because the writers could afford to do it full time.

[pro_worm]

But seriously now, Jason.
This might well be my last post on this site if those support pic's stay. I understand you want to give some merit to the good people who help support your site - but those images are too much. I support your site; I buy through your affiliate links when I can. But, like some of the people here, I don't have the ability to subsribe at this point. But the "I support this site" pics seem to imply that, by not possesing the picture, I "do not support this site." Which is false.

I can see it already - "who cares if you don't like the iPAQ 6515's dpad? You haven't even subsribed to Jason's website."
Or, better yet,
"Why can't you shelve out a couple bucks for a site you've posted to for so many months?"
Will that be the question every non-subsriber has to answer when he is one of the two or three on a page that hasn't subsribed? Like a previous poster wrote, you are going to create an ugly little caste system on your site.

Those banners under the avatar are simply nasty - you should definitely reconsider their prominence.

[PeterLake]

But the "I support this site" pics seem to imply that, by not possesing the picture, I "do not support this site." Which is false.

Perhaps a badge stating "Supporting Subscriber" or the like would be more appropriate. The badge should still be prominent to drive subscriptions.

[Reza]

A crazy idea: how about representing the subscription level similarly to a credit card membership?
Lite = Blue
Full = Gold
Lifetime = Platinum

Simply replace the large “I support this Site” picture with a small icon or smiley of the proper subscription level color. What do you say?

[Jeff Rutledge]

There don't seem to be many benefits for wireless-less users, but I check this site more often than I do any other printed media. If a subscription helps keep it going with the same quality it has always had, sign me up!

I disagree...I have used the site before and after the mobile template was put in place. The mobile template alone is worth the price of admission for wireless users in my opinion.

I'll take it one step further. Before the mobile template was available, I almost NEVER used my iPAQ at home on my WiFi network. Now I'm on it daily. For me, that alone was worth the price.

[Paragon]

But seriously now, Jason.
This might well be my last post on this site if those support pic's stay. I understand you want to give some merit to the good people who help support your site - but those images are too much. I support your site; I buy through your affiliate links when I can. But, like some of the people here, I don't have the ability to subsribe at this point. But the "I support this site" pics seem to imply that, by not possesing the picture, I "do not support this site." Which is false.

I can see it already - "who cares if you don't like the iPAQ 6515's dpad? You haven't even subsribed to Jason's website."
Or, better yet,
"Why can't you shelve out a couple bucks for a site you've posted to for so many months?"
Will that be the question every non-subsriber has to answer when he is one of the two or three on a page that hasn't subsribed? Like a previous poster wrote, you are going to create an ugly little caste system on your site.

Those banners under the avatar are simply nasty - you should definitely reconsider their prominence.

I think there are thousands of people who support this site. Some by posting answers to questions. Some by making purchases using links. Some by posting opinions, and ideas. Some by telling their friiends about the site, and countless other ways. Paying 2-3 bucks a month is only one small way of supporting. I know that by issuing the support banner is meant to be positive, but I can see how some see it as a bit of a class division.

Dave

[beyondallcom]

Jason,

I don't have paypal, but I know someone who does, can they use their account to pay for the subscription?

In regards to pro_worm's comments.. I think you should get rid of the image and just have a image that says "PPCThoughts Subscriber" and below that Since: __Date__

[rlobrecht]

lifetime with Thoughts Media

Does this imply that if I subscribe, I will be subscribing all of the upcoming Thoughts sites with this one small subscription, or was it just a slip of the fingers?

[Jeff Rutledge]

Having a few problems with the frontpage, the top 10 posts are at the bottom of the screen on the left...

Whoa! 8O We'll look into that - looks like a coding bug. Thanks for bringing it to our attention!

More info on this. I found that it occurs if I change my character length for the Last 10 posts and Top 10 Stories to 100. After a few visits to the forums, then back to the homepage, it's fixed, but the character length is back to default. If I go back to my Customize screen - modules - and reset it to 100, the problem comes back.

[beq]

Got one question, do we need to check the Auto Renew checkbox if we subscribe to the "Mobile Deluxe Lifetime Subscription"?

No, you don't want to do that. :D Lifetime is really lifetime with Thoughts Media, so un-check that box and just remember that you're a lifetime subscriber. :mrgreen:

Uh oh, I'd left the auto renew checked. Should I cancel and re-sub? You'd mentioned our lifetime sub would be automatically extended for free every 5yrs, and I just figured checking the auto-renew is the mechanism to do that...

[Jacob]

I can't imagine people refusing answers, questions or opinions on PPC hardware or sofware due to their status as subscribers.

Brighthand changes your title to "Contributing Member" and noone mentions it at all.

I also would think it would help prevent the growth of the site if that were to happen.

[Sunnyone]

Bitequator, I did the same thing. To fix I checked upgrade button from the subscription page and tried to change, but since the package chosen wasn't different (still Lifetime), I had to make the change in 2 steps. I first "upgraded" to the Mobile Lite package then upgraded again to the Lifetime package and made sure the recurring box wasn't checked. There may have been an easier way :wink: but this one worked for me.

[beq]

Would I have to do this too?

Great first I somehow added 3 lifetime subs, now I have to pay them again in 5 yrs? :mrgreen: &lt;j/k>

P.S. I'd also prefer to disable the badge (which Jason said is coming). I don't even have avatar, just like to blend in the background inconspicuously...

[nz0eBoy]

I think my company should be paying my subscription since I am now going to be so much more productive with the e-mail blast system. :wink: Instead of checking PPC Thoughts every 20 minutes for new stories I only need to visit to look at something that interests me more.

You never know it might even save Jason some bandwidth.

I was happy to subscribe to the site, even with the exchange rate the value I get from the site is more than covered by my subscription. If nothing else at least I have the chance of winning one of the competitions that I don't even qualify for at other sites as a New Zealand resident.

Keep up the great work team.

[Sunnyone]

I'm not sure how Jason's system will handle the Lifetime subscriptions after 5 years. I would think that since they're "lifetime" he wouldn't charge us multiple times :? . But to be safe, I went through the process I described above to make sure I wasn't required to pay again. As far as signing up multiple times 8O - Wow! You're a great supporter! But I think you can just cancel twice and you'll be OK.

[Hyperluminal]

Personally, I don't think people will specifically not answer peoples' questions if they don't have the "I support this site" badge, although it could make people subconciously think worse of someone if they don't have one. Anyway, I have an idea. How about, under the Location, Post Count, and Registration Date section, you just have another line saying "Registered Member" or the like, maybe even make it a small picture with the same :way to go: guy as before.
When I first saw that badge, I didn't think about a caste system, I just thought it was too big for the size of the table. In my opinion, having a smaller one will not only look better, but by being less obtrusive, it'll probably reduce the chances of creating a "caste system" also...

[Jason Dunn]

Of course there are some (namely myself) that have modified their avatars to fake support. :mrgreen:

Unblievable. 8O You have absolutely no shame do you? Is there anything you won't try to get into and mess up? For the record everyone, this is the same guy who, through brute-force URL guessing, nearly ruined our January 1st contests because he was posting BEFORE the contests went live. I know you think you're having "innocent fun" but it's always at the expense of my sanity. We had to spend almost an hour going in and manually changing the posting dates of all the contests so you couldn't find them again, and then we had to design a new security system to stop you from doing it again. WASTED RESOURCES! :evil:

I've gone into your account and deleted your avatar, and now Fabrizio has to waste precious development time coming up with a way to prevent someone like yourself from doing this again - instead of spending his time fixing other things that need improvements. You don't think your actions have any consequences, but they do.

Your account is locked for 48 hours, and I hope you'll ponder how difficult you make things for us when you do things like this. If you do ANYTHING else like this EVER again, your account will be permanently locked and you'll be banned from this site. :evil:

I would support if I could, but unfortunately I can't. :( No, I'm not dirt-poor - I just don't have a credit card or checking account. Do you take American $$$ in the mail, Jason? :?

If you can't become a subscriber, that's ok. As I've stated many times, NOTHING WILL CHANGE for non-subscribers. You can still post in the forums, read all the news, etc. I'm not trying to screw any of the non-subscribers - everything they could do a month ago, they can do today.

There's no reason for you do to what you did here today.

[Jason Dunn]

By the way, NONE of the top ten posters (save Jason, of course) have subscribed at this point. These are people like Foo, kati, Pony, even Ed, Janak, Steven, and Brad are all currently unsupportive at this point. :|

Do you really think I'd asky my own team members to PAY? :roll: They devote their spare time to helping me run this site, so I'm certainly not going to ask them to pay for any of the enhanced features. Ditto for my review team - they all get free subscriptions too.

As for the others, it's up to each person to decide if the cost/benefit ratio is right for them. Of course I'd like to see everyone subscribe, but I'm not going to pressure anyone into doing so. They have to see the value in it for their needs.

[Jason Dunn]

There don't seem to be many benefits for wireless-less users, but I check this site more often than I do any other printed media. If a subscription helps keep it going with the same quality it has always had, sign me up!

There are definitely benefits, but I'll try harder to articulate them. :-)

[Jason Dunn]

I love you guys, but now that I have subscribed I have received many e-mails with product pitches. I looked for a way to unsubscribe to your e-mail list, but no way to do it jumped out at me. Please advise.

I'm confused - why would you perceive them as "product pitches"? This is Pocket PC Thoughts coming to you...which means you won't have to visit the site as often, and you'll always have the latest news waiting for you (100% advertising free I might ad!). I thought that was a good thing. :D I'd like to hear more feedback from you on this, because if it isn't obvious that these are news posts, then we're doing something very, very wrong. 8O

Regardless, you have the ability to turn this feature off - the problem is that the "off" function is broken right now. :oops: We're working on fixing it now, sorry for the hassle (please see my front-page post on the topic).

[Jason Dunn]

lifetime with Thoughts Media

Does this imply that if I subscribe, I will be subscribing all of the upcoming Thoughts sites with this one small subscription, or was it just a slip of the fingers?

Oops, uh...no, just Pocket PC Thoughts. Trying to offer a multi-site subscription would be way to crazy. :wink:

[pro_worm]

As I've stated many times, NOTHING WILL CHANGE for non-subscribers. You can still post in the forums, read all the news, etc. I'm not trying to screw any of the non-subscribers - everything they could do a month ago, they can do today.

Ah, but something has change - now I don't have a big thumbs under my avatar, and 90% of the active posters seem to have one. Which is great for them - and congrats to you on launching what is possibly the least-criticized new subscription service on the Internet. But for the rest of us...

Let me frame it this way; personally, the features for paying customers haven't won me over yet. Mobile forums? I can [force myself to] wait until I get home. E-mail updates? Hotmail's inbox is too small as it is. So as you see, I have already gone through the cost-benefit issue, and the cost isn't worth it. By comparison: my domain provider wants to charge me an outrageous $1.99 per month simply to change the meta information (i.e. the title) of my site. That seems more useful, to me, than the current Thoughts package - but I haven't bought it either. Because money is money; I can't just jump on the bandwagon and hand over $24 right now, neither to you nor to my domain provider.

And here's the problem - unless I do, my current Internet home/community just simply isn't comfortable because of those the chastising "I support this site" banners (see my previous post, one page back, for more about why I'm against them.) The way it is, it is not cricket. Like another poster said, they are disproportionally large compared to the size of the forums. And the yellow smiley stands out on every post.

Ugh.

[Jason Dunn]

But seriously now, Jason. This might well be my last post on this site if those support pic's stay. I understand you want to give some merit to the good people who help support your site - but those images are too much. I support your site; I buy through your affiliate links when I can. But, like some of the people here, I don't have the ability to subsribe at this point. But the "I support this site" pics seem to imply that, by not possesing the picture, I "do not support this site." Which is false. I can see it already - "who cares if you don't like the iPAQ 6515's dpad? You haven't even subsribed to Jason's website."
Or, better yet, "Why can't you shelve out a couple bucks for a site you've posted to for so many months?" Will that be the question every non-subsriber has to answer when he is one of the two or three on a page that hasn't subsribed? Like a previous poster wrote, you are going to create an ugly little caste system on your site. Those banners under the avatar are simply nasty - you should definitely reconsider their prominence.

You're acting like someone who has been made to feel very guilty, or someone who has been hassled for not subscribing. Has either of these happened? I suspect not. I truly don't understand your vocal objection to this - the badges are meant to be a POSITIVE thing for people. If you can't afford to be a subscriber, so what? It's not like I'm not going to answer your questions or help you, and I'm a little pissed off at your accusation that non-subscribers will somehow be discriminated against. Where do you get off making such ugly statements without a shred of proof?

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, we're going to give people the ability to turn off the badges. I'll look into whether it's possible to give people a choice of what type of badge they want to display. The fact that these badges are hyperlinked isn't an acident - I want people to see them, wonder what they are, click on them, be exposed to the subscriber services, and hopefully sign up if they like what they see offered.

Give me a week or two to come up with some alternatives here, and if you still don't like it, you're more than welcome to leave and look for a new site.

I don't feel I have anything to apologize for - the support badges are cool. :way to go:

[GoldKey]

Proworm,
I for one can say, I would not treat a poster any differently if they were a member or not. And having been here a while, I don't think most anyone else would either.

Jasons been pretty clear that if you don't see the value in the additional content for you there is nothing forcing you to pay.

If the best critism we all can come up with is we don't like the membership banner in the forums, then I must say Jason did great.

I doubt I will use most of the features I paid for. To me, I have gotten so much value out of what they provide for free, it was no big deal to give something back.

[Sunnyone]

Pro_worm, why do you see the banners as "chastising"? Yes, I did choose to subscribe. But, it was my personal choice. No one made me subscribe. :wink: If you can't subscribe at this time because of the cost, I'm sure that you won't be viewed any differently. People are at different stages in their lives, financially and otherwise, and while several years ago I wouldn't have been able to afford to subscribe, now I can. I certainly won't treat anyone differently in terms of how I choose to respond (or not) to their posts. I really don't think anyone else will be less helpful, either. Maybe I'm naive, but I think that most of the people viewing (and actively posting) to this site won't hesitate to be as helpful as always. There are always some people who aren't as generous with their help as others. :devilboy: Those people won't change. I don't think the banners make any difference.

[Jason Dunn]

Let me frame it this way; personally, the features for paying customers haven't won me over yet.

That's fine - then don't subscribe. As I've stated over and over, I'm not under the delusion that *everyone* will want to subscribe. Some will subscribe because they find the enhanced features benecifial. Others will subscribe because they enjoy the site and work we do, and want to see it continue. You fall into neither category, which is fine - NO ONE IS FORCING YOU TO SUBSCRIBE. I don't know how I can make this any more clear...!?

And here's the problem - unless I do, my current Internet home/community just simply isn't comfortable because of those the chastising "I support this site" banners...

I think you need to go talk to a therapist about why you feel "chastised". Who has chastised you? Has someone sent you an angry message asking you why you don't have the support badge? Why do you feel this way?

I think this is an emotional issue you need to sort through, not something that deserves to be dragged into the public light like this. :|

[PetiteFlower]

I have to say I'm not a fan of the badges either. I don't necessarily want to advertise that I did or did not spend money on the site, and conciously or not it will affect how we think about the other posters. It almost like advertising about giving to charity or something like that. I'm going to turn mine off as soon as that's implemented.

[The fact that these badges are hyperlinked isn't an acident - I want people to see them, wonder what they are, click on them, be exposed to the subscriber services, and hopefully sign up if they like what they see offered.

Ah so you WANT the subscribers to advertise for you.....nope still don't like that idea.

I DO like the mobile forums and I wanted to be able to enter the Big Contests, but is that anyone else's business? Or is it mine if they didn't want the features or couldn't afford them? It seems like it will make non-subscribers feel as if they have to defend themselves for not "forking it over" so to speak. My 2 cents :)

[Paragon]

....on the positive side.....Jason, you have just launched a feature to your site that others have tried and failed, or simply didn't have what it took to do it. In doing that the most negative response has only been about the avatars. I would say that says....WELL DONE.!

I don't particularily like them either, if it makes some people feel out of place, but it's no big deal,

Dave

[Jason Dunn]

Let me just add that I agree with the general principal that people who answer questions, buy through affliate links, and generally contribute to the community we have here certainly ARE supporting the site, even if it's not with direct $$$.

I appreciate EVERY PERSON who reads, posts, visits, clicks, whatever. The intention of the subsriber badge was not to subtly criticize those who are not subscribers.

In light of this, at the very minimum I'm going to have the badge changed to indicate the user is a subscriber, not a "supporter". I hope that will quell some of the hellfire brewing in some of you. :wink: :lol:

[Hyperluminal]

Jason, I change my mind from what I said a few posts back. I agree with you, the badges are nice. I don't think they would create a caste system, and especially not a situation where people don't respond to those who didn't subscribe. But beyond that- I don't think they really are that obtrusive; once you get used to them, they do kind of blend in (though I don't think having slightly smaller ones would be a bad idea, although you said you're going to give people the choice, so I can't complain).

[scargill]

So i guess we are creating 2 groups of citizens within this forum community.
I don't think you're going to be treated differently whether or not you subscribed -- we are fully aware that either (a) people don't always have the financial means to support Jason and/or (b) they're not addicted to this site to need the additional features (yet ;)).

Unfortunatly I am in (a) - I hate to admit it, and I hate to be using this site for free....but nothing the subscription will give me I will actually use on a regular basis. I WOULD subscribe out of principle for this being (by far) the best PPC website on the net. But I'm a student, and a poor one at that...and until this time next year I can't even afford the $2/month package (I LITERALLY wouldn't beable to afford a lifetime subscription, even if my life depended on it)
So this is just a I'm sorry....but keep up the good work
0X

[danmanmayer]

I decided i should post seeing as this has 170 posts now... Is this the largest responce ever to a single story? I mean tons and tons of posts. I feel bad that currently i dont know if i will subscribe yet, I love the site, but i am a poor college student. So for now i will have to play wait and see.

[pro_worm]

I think you need to go talk to a therapist about why you feel "chastised". Who has chastised you? Has someone sent you an angry message asking you why you don't have the support badge? Why do you feel this way?

I think this is an emotional issue you need to sort through, not something that deserves to be dragged into the public light like this. :|

Don't worry I'm quite stable 8) And stable enough to know that getting into a personal flame war with a site's webmaster is not good times, so I'll stop there.

you're more than welcome to leave and look for a new site.


:(

[Jason Dunn]

I don't have paypal, but I know someone who does, can they use their account to pay for the subscription?

You'd have to do it manually by sending the PayPal money to "paypal at thoughts media dot com" (broken up for spam protection). Give me your username, what you're signing up for, and make sure I have your email address so I can email you the Vaja coupon or whatever else I need to send you. :-)

[PeterLake]

Jason, you should get some sleep or go out to dinner. Leave the PPC at home.

[gpspassion]

As someone who spends a lot of time answering GPS questions for "free" helping people save big $ in the process, I do understand the move. The "GpsPasSion Club" has helped me keep the site going, but I don't think I'd want to single out members and non-members with a logo in each post. As several have posted here, it's a private decision that shouldn't reflect on anyone else. Clearly, people who don't have that logo are singled "out". Also, I wonder whether 'affiliate" purchases shouldn't go towards the subscription too to some extent?

Still, the main thing is that the PocketPC Thoughts team will be encouraged to keep this great site going and that the true value of the web IMHO, i.e. "sharing the information" still remains at the "heart" of the site.

PS - What happened to the pocketpc.com project/team you mention in your FAQ?

[davidm]

I love you guys, but now that I have subscribed I have received many e-mails with product pitches. I looked for a way to unsubscribe to your e-mail list, but no way to do it jumped out at me. Please advise.

I'm confused - why would you perceive them as "product pitches"? This is Pocket PC Thoughts coming to you...which means you won't have to visit the site as often, and you'll always have the latest news waiting for you (100% advertising free I might ad!). I thought that was a good thing. :D I'd like to hear more feedback from you on this, because if it isn't obvious that these are news posts, then we're doing something very, very wrong. 8O

Regardless, you have the ability to turn this feature off - the problem is that the "off" function is broken right now. :oops: We're working on fixing it now, sorry for the hassle (please see my front-page post on the topic).



I hope you saw my reply to Goldkey. I noted that I was mistaken. However, to answer your question, I get a lot of e-mail, as I presume most of the users and contributors to this site do. As a result, I only skim most commercial e-mail, i.e, e-mail not from a person, a client or another person in my firm. The e-mail blasts I saw, while written to advise as to some new item, also had sales enticements ($s off) or other language pitching the benefits of the new item. Hence, they seemed to be product pitches.

OK. Now I know what I am seeing. But there is the explanation. :D

Great site, and I was happy to subscribe, if for no other reason than to pay you back for all the advice over the last few years.

Cheers,

Dave

[Hyperluminal]

Jason, by the way, I really am sorry about not being able to subscribe here- you have an excellent site, by far the best PPC site I've seen so far.

For what it's worth, I did recommend your site to a friend, who as far as I can tell comes here pretty often now... :D

[scargill]

Jason, you should get some sleep or go out to dinner. Leave the PPC at home.

LOL! I can just imagine him going out for dinner, making sure the Resteraunt has WiFi and just sit there throughout the meal browsing!

I REALLY mean no offence by anything I'm going to say now, these are my opinions and mine only

I half agree and half disagree with whats been said about the buttons, I think that theres no problem with having buttons, but I think it should say "PPCT Subscriber" or something, I FULLY support the site (and Jason, and ALL the subs they get) but I just can't afford to pay right now, saying I support PPC Thoughts does seem to make me feel abit outcast.
However to be honest it doesn't matter, Jason can make a button on all non subs saying "Tight git" and this will still be the best PPCT site in the world :-D

[Jeff Rutledge]

This is ridiculous. Jason is doing something great here. It helps him continue to provide this outstanding service to us. It's obvious that we value what he and his team provide by the passion in which people are responding.

As far as the badge goes, one of the first things listed on the subscriber page tells you about the badge. If you didn't want one, you shouldn't have subscribed. You should have clicked "Back" and then informed Jason that you don't like the idea of the badge. He could then make an informed decision on what to do next. If he makes it optional, you could decide to join then if you like.

Regardless of what's decided, I just can't swallow the claim that the presence or absence of this badge will segregate the community. Like someone else has pointed out, Brighthand has done this for ages without issue. It's a simple choice, nothing more: You decide to subscribe (knowing it includes the badge) or not to subscribe.

Either way, I'm proud to have purchased a lifetime subscription and can only hope that - whatever Jason decides to do - it includes the option to keep a big bright badge right under my avatar.

[Jason Dunn]

Unfortunatly I am in (a) - I hate to admit it, and I hate to be using this site for free....but nothing the subscription will give me I will actually use on a regular basis. I WOULD subscribe out of principle for this being (by far) the best PPC website on the net. But I'm a student, and a poor one at that...and until this time next year I can't even afford the $2/month package (I LITERALLY wouldn't beable to afford a lifetime subscription, even if my life depended on it) So this is just a I'm sorry....but keep up the good work 0X

Never apologize for being broke man - we've all been there at one point or another. Subscribe if you can, when you can, or not at all - I don't want ANYONE to feel guilty about not being able to subscribe. You can contribute in other ways by answering questions, telling other Pocket PC owners about the site, clicking on a banner every time you come visit, helping people that know less than you, etc. Putting the "I support this site" on the badge was a mistake - I admit that - because there are lots of ways you can support this site. :mrgreen:

[Jason Dunn]

Jason, you should get some sleep or go out to dinner. Leave the PPC at home.

I can't, because when I'm away I use my Smartphone to access these forums. :roll: :lol:

[pschultz]

Jason, I have to say, AWESOME work with the subscriber services. I plan on subscribing once my checking account is verified with PayPal.

One thing, though, about the badges, I think they are great. People can show off that they pay money to this site because it is so awesome. They may be a little too much though. I know that people will be able to turn them off in the future, but my suggestion is that right below where it says your current status at Pocket PC Thoughts ("Pocket PC Sage, Pocket PC Intellectual, Pocket PC Pupil, etc."), put "Contributing Member." Therefore, this doesn't stick out as much, yet it still shows that people contribute to the site. Just my 2 cents.

[scargill]

Never apologize for being broke man - we've all been there at one point or another. Subscribe if you can, when you can, or not at all - I don't want ANYONE to feel guilty about not being able to subscribe. You can contribute in other ways by answering questions, telling other Pocket PC owners about the site, clicking on a banner every time you come visit, helping people that know less than you, etc. Putting the "I support this site" on the badge was a mistake - I admit that - because there are lots of ways you can support this site. :mrgreen:
Cheers Jason!
I've already brought at least 2 pieces of s/w from your affiliate links (for one you was saving ME money too) and I'll try supporting the site in any way I can, don't know many PocketPC owners, but I certainly told my old company about the site when we were building PPC sites!
I def think you should have something! Just maybe not that wording, but I shouldn't complain....I'm not paying! :-p
Cheers for everything Jason and keep up the good work!

[Jason Dunn]

...(though I don't think having slightly smaller ones would be a bad idea, although you said you're going to give people the choice, so I can't complain).

Well, for what it's worth, the maximum avatar size is 75 x 75 pixels, so for aesthetic reasons we just made the badges that wide. The real problem is all the people with avatars less than 75 x 75 - you're ruining the mojo! :lol:

[Dave Beauvais]

Stop posting, people! I can't keep up! I wasn't able to read this thread during the day, so when I sat down to read it tonight, it was up to sixteen pages. As I write this, it's reached nineteen. Stop the insanity! :lol:

Congrats, Jason! You should be very proud of what you and your team have accomplished in releasing these subscriber services. I can't imagine the amount of work involved behind the scenes to make all this work. I'm also very impressed by the response from the Thoughts community; honestly, I'd expected a lot of complaining and whining about, "oh, the Internet and everything on it should be free, blah, blah, blah..." Does that make me jaded? I think if the sheer number of posts to this thread is any indication, you've got a great thing here! It's my pleasure to be part of your team as a reviewer!

Keep up the excellent work folks!

--Dave

[spg]

Jason, you should get some sleep or go out to dinner. Leave the PPC at home.

I can't, because when I'm away I use my Smartphone to access these forums. :roll: :lol:
You are a lost cause Jason... a lost cause. :lol:

[gorkon280]

You're acting like someone who has been made to feel very guilty, or someone who has been hassled for not subscribing. Has either of these happened? I suspect not. I truly don't understand your vocal objection to this - the badges are meant to be a POSITIVE thing for people. If you can't afford to be a subscriber, so what? It's not like I'm not going to answer your questions or help you, and I'm a little pissed off at your accusation that non-subscribers will somehow be discriminated against. Where do you get off making such ugly statements without a shred of proof?


Actually Jason, his shred of proof is that it is a popular subscription and there are tons of little :way to go: dudes on every page in the forums. What are non subs supposed to think? I am not saying because of this I won't subscribe at some point or that I won't read the site.....but some will. I am ALL for websites making money and surviving. I do not agree with those who say everything should be free. I do not agree with those who use pop-ups on their pages. I DO think that a smaller badge would be nicer (maybe without the text) and also let the subscriber turn it off. Personally, I don't remember seeing any of this being asked anywhere on the site(a simple post with Ideas). Granted, I could have missed it that day! :) Like I said....I want PPC Thoughts to be around. I want them to survive. I want subscribers to get a little something for thier money but I also would like to see non-subscribers not be discriminated against. Sure, you say it won't happen but the fact is, as it stands, it CAN happen. I also don't think it's right that you suspended that one account (forget the name of the guy) because he changed his avatar to the subscriber badge. Having the web dude try to prevent people from doing this won't work. You can disable right clicking so they can't get the little badge, but then all we have to do is dig through our cache (disabling right clicks is STUPID). You can scan for file names, but that won't work (just change the filename). Only way to do this is to MANUALLY search each and every post for a person using the badge as a avatar. The basic point is, it's going to make those who can't or don't have the ability to subscribe feel guilty everytime they see the I support the site dude. Like I said...I ain't against ANYONE making bucks to support thier site and trying to have some things be free. It can be done. But you don't want to alienate people who are thinking about it and that can be done with these badges. The ways this could be fixed maybe something like letting the user set the text under the username (where it says Executive Editor on yours). I could put, for example, PPC Praetor or PPC GOD or PPC fan or PPC Operator or something like that. Point is, it DOES have the ability to make those of us who have not subscribed(in my case YET) guilty every time we are in the forums, plus it can lead to I am a subscriber you are not flame wars and that is stuff I just don't want to see mPPC Thousghts degenerate to. AGAIN I don't want to sound like I am disagreeing with you making money Jason. I want that as much as the others. I WANT PPC Thoughts to BE HERE! :werenotworthy: But I also would like to see an environment where we it seems we are being pushed to pay up! I want a peaceful environment where subscribers and non-subscribers can get along! :hippy: And with the badges, I don't see it happening. Sure, it MAY be ok now, but I can forsee this happening :| I KNOW YOU SAID NOTHING HAS CHANGED and for the most part your right. Something has changed a little that can be used for things it was never intended (fuel for flame wars... :onfire: )

I know....I FEEL for ya bud. You just wanted to do something cool for usI want you to be able to have the bucks for your 5555 too! :) That's why I will be supporting you soon! (Just waiting for a payment to credit to my card.....leave me a skosh more room if you know what I mean! ;) )

[GoldKey]

Jason, you should get some sleep or go out to dinner. Leave the PPC at home.

I can't, because when I'm away I use my Smartphone to access these forums. :roll: :lol:

Maybe one of the other admins could do you a favor and "accidentally" ban you for a few hours.

[Jacob]

I think the subscription options are great and I'll consider going for one of them. I have no problem with the icon below the avatar - I can't imagine anyone punishing anyone else for having or not having it.

[Posted edited by moderator because it was referencing offensive comments that have since been deleted, so it no longer made sense.]

[GO-TRIBE]

I'm in.

PPCTs is the best PDA site on the web, hands down!
0X

[Jason Dunn]

...I wonder whether 'affiliate" purchases shouldn't go towards the subscription too to some extent?...What happened to the pocketpc.com project/team you mention in your FAQ?

1) Neat idea, but given all the different affiliate systems we have in place, and that we don't know who buys what (nor would I want to) that would be impossible to track.

2) PocketPC.com underwent a metamorphasis and now has different sorts of content than it did in the past. I learned a lot from my work with Microsoft there, and I have nothing but good things to say from that experience.

[JonnoB]

the support badges are cool. :way to go:

They are cool! I like them - they add character.
I will display the badge proudly and hope that when possible others find this site worth it. Not everyone can afford to drive a brand new BMW, that doesn't make them a lesser contributor to a car driving society.

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

I'm in... I get more use out of this site than nearly all other sites combined!! Great admins... great community... great site!

...and that badge!!! I want to blow that up and stick it on my forehead!!

[pro_worm]

Bye Everyone!
:olympic:

[Jason Dunn]

...but my suggestion is that right below where it says your current status at Pocket PC Thoughts ("Pocket PC Sage, Pocket PC Intellectual, Pocket PC Pupil, etc."), put "Contributing Member." Therefore, this doesn't stick out as much, yet it still shows that people contribute to the site. Just my 2 cents.

That's what Brighthand does, and to be honest, I think it's totally boring. :mrgreen: Ideally, I'd like to have a system where people can chose from:

1) big bright badge
2) subtle badge
3) text link
4) nothing at all

That should make everyone happy right? The problem is the devleopment time - Fabrizio really sacrificed himself for this project, and I can't promise anything just yet, but please know that I'm thinking about it...

[JonnoB]

Jason, you should get some sleep or go out to dinner. Leave the PPC at home.

I can't, because when I'm away I use my Smartphone to access these forums. :roll: :lol:

I don't yet have my SmartPhone (getting developer kit) .... do the forums format for that device as well?

[PeterLake]

Forget making the badge less combative. How about THE MOST OFFENSIVE BADGE contest!?

I see Jason loftily standing on a mountain, arms crossed and spitting on those who don't pay.

I see Andy at his computer, a look of disdain on his face as he wants to -- but will not -- respond to a post from a college student who sold his meal card to buy textbooks.

I see Janek stepping on a book on the freedom of speech.

I see...

And then the LEAST OFFENSIVE BADGE contest!

I see a single light blue pixel, two frequencies to the left of "forum blue".

I see a symbol so abstract that people must click it.

I see...

[Crystal Eitle]

I think the current badge is perfect in terms of graphics. I like the little thumbs-up guy. But I agree that a change to something that involves the word "subscribe" rather than "support" would agitate folks less. We all support the site just by being part of the community (as Jason pointed out).

Although, if you're one of the people getting all het up about the badge, all I have to say is, be thankful if that is the biggest problem in your life right now, and take a moment to realize how lucky you are.

[Jason Dunn]

I don't yet have my SmartPhone (getting developer kit) .... do the forums format for that device as well?

Yes, VERY well. We need to have a smaller logo, but other than that, they look excellent.

[JonnoB]

I don't yet have my SmartPhone (getting developer kit) .... do the forums format for that device as well?

Yes, VERY well. We need to have a smaller logo, but other than that, they look excellent.

Awesome! I am glad I ordered the SmartPhone developer kit when I did. I just have to get my team writing apps for it now.

[Janak Parekh]

Gorkon,

First off, thanks for your polite post. We always welcome suggestions -- as long as they're asked nicely. Jason has already agreed to tone the default badge down somewhat, and give people the option. However, it's also nice to publicly "thank" people, if they don't mind, by having a badge. We're trying to balance everyone's opinions here. :)

What are non subs supposed to think?
Depends on how you read into it. :lol: To me, it's a great sign of support that the readership really appreciates this site, nothing more. I've talked to a couple of people who agree the text should be changed, but overall it doesn't really bother them. But to each their own -- which is why some subscribers will be given the option to change it. (Give it a few days though -- we're going nuts just stabilizing everything.)

I also don't think it's right that you suspended that one account
We're assuming, of course, that was the start and end of the story. Rarely is it that simple. ;) By the way, I've already talked about better ways of setting up the badge with Jason, and it will happen.

The ways this could be fixed maybe something like letting the user set the text under the username (where it says Executive Editor on yours).
Unforunately, phpBB doesn't allow this. :cry:

--janak

[gorkon280]

I think the current badge is perfect in terms of graphics. I like the little thumbs-up guy. But I agree that a change to something that involves the word "subscribe" rather than "support" would agitate folks less. We all support the site just by being part of the community (as Jason pointed out).

Although, if you're one of the people getting all het up about the badge, all I have to say is, be thankful if that is the biggest problem in your life right now, and take a moment to realize how lucky you are.

He said that? Really? Well, the posts have been flying so I must have missed it. Seriously though, I support the site and will subscribe. The single most hard thing for people to accept is that sites like this must make money to exist. For the ones, like Jason, who truely enjoy babbling about Pocket PC's and being able to make some money off of it at the same time it's even harder. Making a change to help bring some money in is even harder. You don't want to alienate the users you got and you'd like to bring more in at the same time. You'd like as would I to have a job you absolutely love. At some point, you need to make hard choices. Some of these have been made. Like I said before, I don't remember alot of things being asked about ideas for subscribers. It seems, to me, that things such as these should have been thought about before a change was made. Like the ideas Jason has for selectable Subscriber icons. This is a basic tenant in System Analysis that must be followed or you get what you got! :) Seriously man, I support you bro and I will further by subscribing (later tonight). But if I am going to be a paying customer, you need to treat me with more respect than Toshiba did...bad example....you do treat us with more respect then they did....but it's the only thing I can think of! Damn one track mind of mine :grumble: while I wait for the 5550! :D But again, the relationship has change even if but only a tiny bit. Nothing but love for ya bro! The thing I REALLY hate about this? This damn story is the one with the most posts on it! :D On the other hand, I think the subscriber thing is going well and it will help out! :) I hope I hope I hope!

[Kevin C. Tofel]

Just wanted to say "Congrats" to Jason and everyone else involved with this site......got my subscription taken care of a few minutes ago.

It's nice to see that something of value to the PPC world can also bring some financial value in return to you! Best wishes on continued success and thanks for providing a thoughtful (no pun intended!) subscription package....it's evident how much planning and consideration for the community went into the concept! (Bill Gates, are you taking notes?!?!?)

:way to go:

KCT

PS - Jason: when you decide on an IPO for PPCT, drop me a note... :D

[bmceachen]

I see Jason loftily standing on a mountain, arms crossed and spitting on those who don't pay.

I see Andy at his computer, a look of disdain on his face as he wants to -- but will not -- respond to a post from a college student who sold his meal card to buy textbooks.

I see Janek stepping on a book on the freedom of speech.

After spending way too much time reading that entire thread... the above was the best entry. I was crying.

Thx

[Theo]

That's what Brighthand does, and to be honest, I think it's totally boring. :mrgreen: Ideally, I'd like to have a system where people can chose from:

1) big bright badge
2) subtle badge
3) text link
4) nothing at all

That should make everyone happy right? The problem is the devleopment time - Fabrizio really sacrificed himself for this project, and I can't promise anything just yet, but please know that I'm thinking about it...

Jason,

Don't worry about the badges - what we need is a quick "jump to last read message in thread" facility - keeping up with this one is real difficult!

Sponsor / subscriber and proud :D

Congrats PPCTs Team

Theo

[Richard S]

Wow, what a thread. I posted here like 5 times but have checked the site 3 times a day for a couple years now. Great discussion, good news and tips, can't ask for much more. I'll be signing up soon as a way of saying thanks for all the hard work.

As far as the badges, sheesh, it's such a minor thing. We're all big boys and girls and can handle it.

Rock on Jason. :rock on dude!:

[gorkon280]

Massive snippage!

I agree. You should thank your subscribers. I think you should be able to, but why does it have to be in the forums? Thanking them by adding a badge to make them feel "special"? Do they really need that???? Anyway, thanks Janak for addressing that! :) I am for ever humbled in your (and Jason's) presence! :werenotworthy: :werenotworthy: Now lets get down to talking more about these awesome WM 2003 machines now starting to come out! :D

[Janak Parekh]

Thanking them by adding a badge to make them feel "special"? Do they really need that????
Does one ever need anything? Does one need a rank? Does one need an avatar? ;)

Seriously, I personally feel it's not obtrusive -- just IMHO. Those subscribers that do will be able to change it, and we'll be tweaking the default logo anyway.

Now lets get down to talking more about these awesome WM 2003 machines now starting to come out! :D
Indeed. ;)

--janak

[beyondallcom]

All done Jason, a Lifetime of PPC enjoyment is on my way :) I asked my co-worker to put my username and email on the subject of the payment and he sent it a few minutes ago. Do I not need to do more?

Thanks,
Kevin


You'd have to do it manually by sending the PayPal money to "paypal at thoughts media dot com" (broken up for spam protection). Give me your username, what you're signing up for, and make sure I have your email address so I can email you the Vaja coupon or whatever else I need to send you. :-)

[gorkon280]

Besides....I need help getting a new Vaja case for my new 5550 when they frickin come in! :) Never had one and I think the new PPC deserves it....could not wait for the check to credit! ;)

[Eitel]

I need to wait fo rmy next paycheck to be able to subscribe. In the meantime, I'll be in the corner feeling left out.

The worst part is that I used to love to read the forum in the bed with the PPC. Now I need to wait one more week to keep doing it. :cry:

Jason, any chance to make a one-time monthly based subscription? You can make it like a one time $5 for just one month. It will help to those people that don't really know if they will need/want the extra services.

[Jeff Rutledge]

Jason, any chance to make a one-time monthly based subscription? You can make it like a one time $5 for just one month. It will help to those people that don't really know if they will need/want the extra services.

Eitel, I believe you can trial it for two weeks. If you sign up now, it's free for two weeks then it charges you. You can cancel it anytime within that two weeks and you won't be charged.

I'm pretty sure that's how it works anyways. You might want confirmation from an admin.

[Chris Edwards]

Eitel, I believe you can trial it for two weeks. If you sign up now, it's free for two weeks then it charges you. You can cancel it anytime within that two weeks and you won't be charged.


Yes, that's correct. The first two weeks of each of the subscriptions are currently a free trial. Give it a try; you've got nothing to lose.

[Eitel]

My main problem is that the bank account that I use for paypal (secondary account, just in case) is in the low $20's right now and I don't want put anything else on it until payday (that way I don't spend what I can't :) ). If there's no charge to paypal for the first two weeks, that's more than enough time to have the money to cover it. :D

[Maverick]

I wonder if the ethics of the writers will improve now that the site has officialy become a business. :?:

[msprague]

Any plans for a sig for mobile forum posts? I am not sure why you don't include it, maybe a customizable mobile post sig?

Sigs were excluded on the mobile site for two reason: right now we don't have a way to exclude graphics, so I don't think you want to download some guys 20 KB banner over GPRS. Since many GPRS users pay for every KB of info they download, I don't know that seeing a sig is something most users will want to see. Maybe we'll do a poll and see what people think. Remember that the "web" icon shows up, so you can link your Web site through there.

I guess I am confused here. When viewing the mobile forums the sigs for posts with sigs are displayed. But a mobile post doesn't give the option to include your sig. That does not match up with your reasoning. Your reasoning is valid and, in fact, I agree with that intent, but I don't see how the current set up accomplishes it. :oops:

[Kati Compton]

I wonder if the ethics of the writers will improve now that the site has officialy become a business. :?:
I haven't noticed a problem with it in the past.

[Dave Beauvais]

I wonder if the ethics of the writers will improve now that the site has officialy become a business. :?:
As someone who writes for this site, I've gotta ask... what exactly do you mean by that? :?

--Dave

[Jeff Rutledge]

If there's no charge to paypal for the first two weeks, that's more than enough time to have the money to cover it. :D

That's right, no charge at first. Here's a couple quotes from my Paypal email after I signed up:

You have successfully signed up for a subscription
to Mobile Deluxe Lifetime Subscription using PayPal.

Your first subscription payment, for $0.00,
has already been sent to Thoughts Media.


...and then...

Subscription Terms:
Free for first 2 weeks
Then 120.00 U.S. Dollars for 5 years


At the end of your introductory period stated above, you
will be charged a single payment based on the terms unless
you cancel prior to the end of the introductory period.


And I just double checked that all levels are free the first two weeks.

HTH.

[Jeff Rutledge]

I wonder if the ethics of the writers will improve now that the site has officialy become a business. :?:
As someone who writes for this site, I've gotta ask... what exactly do you mean by that? :?

--Dave

Don't fall for the flame-bait... :onfire:

[Steven Cedrone]

I wonder if the ethics of the writers will improve now that the site has officialy become a business. :?:
As someone who writes for this site, I've gotta ask... what exactly do you mean by that? :?

--Dave

Don't fall for the flame-bait... :onfire:

Maverick seems to have a problem with this site. I wonder why he even bothers to come here. Please don't bother to respond to his posts...

Steven Cedrone
Community Moderator

[pschultz]

I want to (and plan to) sign up for the subscriber services, but I am still waiting for PayPal to verify my bank account. :evil: Is there anyway to speed up this process? I registered it today about 5:00 P.M. CST. Do you think it will be done tomorrow? I hope so because I leave Friday and won't be able to access my computer for a week! O well if it's not verified by then. :(

[Janak Parekh]

Guys, you do realize you can do the PayPal transaction without verifying against your bank account, right? Verified accounts are only needed for larger transfers...

--janak

[pschultz]

How? With a credit card? I would, but my dad has the only credit card registered under his email address and PayPal account.

[Jason Dunn]

I guess I am confused here. When viewing the mobile forums the sigs for posts with sigs are displayed. But a mobile post doesn't give the option to include your sig. That does not match up with your reasoning. Your reasoning is valid and, in fact, I agree with that intent, but I don't see how the current set up accomplishes it. :oops:

Neither do I. :oops: I need to talk to my development about how this works. See, they do a lot without me. :wink:

[ctmagnus]

I wanted to subscribe but I now see the "PayPal Subscribe" button at the bottom of the second page. So I won't be clicking on that, and I'll be sending Jason a check.

imo, PayPal needs to make the setup easier for non-americans.

[Jerry Raia]

PayPal is a pretty good idea though. I mean in concept.

[TheWolfen]

Well, I'm glad the subscriber services have been launched. I've relied on this web site for some time now for my Pocket PC news and information, and I am happy to support the site. It's even nicer to get cool, new features with the subscription. Keep up the great work!!

[dmr54]

I will try to re-activate my account (hopefully without having to fax copies of my card to the USA).

I would like to subscribe!

I to use paypal and have never had a problem registering cards etc, just off to subscribe to this site now :)

[Janak Parekh]

How? With a credit card? I would, but my dad has the only credit card registered under his email address and PayPal account.
Well, if your dad doesn't mind, I think Jason posted the instructions on using someone else's PayPal account earlier in this thread...

--janak

[BugDude10]

First: Jason, excellent work on the announcement post. Concise, informative, and persuasive.

Second: Jason and Team, excellent work on the site. Simply the best Pocket PC site there is, and probably the best non-officially-sponsored news & reviews site on any product/issue.

Third: Add my vote to the support-banner-is-fine category. I think the people concerned about being shunned for not being paid supporters are worrying too much about it. Jason has made it very clear that he has no intention of discriminating against anyone on this site (except assh*les, of course), and he hasn't let us down yet. And while I don't profess to be a PPC wizard who offers as much substantive input as others, I know I won't think differently of anyone without the banner. And being a frequent visitor at Brighthand's forums, I can't say that I've seen any apparent, let alone overt, discrimination against non-paying visitors. (Actually, I think the banner is kinda neat: it's tastefully done, it lets subscribers advertise their financial support, it gives everyone a quick-link to the subscriber information page, and it lets everyone see how many site visitors value the site enough to contribute cold, hard $$$ to its growth and survival. It's been pretty cool seeing how many of the banners appear in this thread.)

Finally: I'll be subscribing shortly. (My opinion is this: for the price of a good tech magazine subscription or two, I'm getting at least as much valuable information, if not substantially more, and more current information, for the price.)

Just my $0.02.

B.D.

[dmr54]

(My opinion is this: for the price of a good tech magazine subscription or two, I'm getting at least as much valuable information, if not substantially more, and more current information, for the price.)


That was exactly my reasoning for subscribing I used to buy loads of tech related mags but as mentioned you get far more from forums like this, worth every singel cent.

[Sunnyone]

Just noticed the new banner. Looks great!

[Paragon]

This whole banner thing seems to have unfortunately overshadowed the success of this event........but, looking back over this thread it looks to me like WE have looked at the way WE see it, the way WE think it should be, and the way WE feel about it. Instead of the way others see, think and feel about it, and that is the feeling of being outside the loop. Some I think are embarrassed that they can't do it, others just don't see the value, and through no fault of their own feel that they may be judged by that fact. Whether or not that is a fact has nothing to do with feeling that way. It's unfortunate that a silly little banner like that can have that effect but it does. I don't think any of us want anyone to feel like that intentionally........


Hey Marlof, is that Sam the Eagle enough for you. :D

Dave

[Foo Fighter]

This whole argument is silly, IMO. If you want to subscribe, do so. If not, then just go about your business. Nothing has changed really.

[Janak Parekh]

Just noticed the new banner. Looks great!
Have you tried hovering your mouse over it? :D I keep on playing with it. :lol:

--janak

[pschultz]

SWEET!

[Foo Fighter]

Have you tried hovering your mouse over it? :D I keep on playing with it.


Can you adjust it to flip the bird to all those who are complaining about subription pricing? :grumble:

[Crystal Eitle]

Have you tried hovering your mouse over it? :D I keep on playing with it.


Can you adjust it to flip the bird to all those who are complaining about subription pricing? :grumble:
8O :lol: :rofl:

[Sunnyone]

Janak Parekh said:
Have you tried hovering your mouse over it? I keep on playing with it.

I hadn't noticed that. :mrgreen: I love it!

[PetiteFlower]

I think "subscriber" is a lot more descriptive then "supporter" :) And flash is cool!

For 2 more of my cents, I don't think the guy who faked the logo was doing it to actually convince anyone he'd really subscribed--why would he have blatantly announced it if he was trying to fool anyone? Seems like he was just trying to point out it could be done so that the admins would know and maybe so they could fix it?

Of course maybe I give people the benefit of the doubt too much too :)

[Janak Parekh]

Of course maybe I give people the benefit of the doubt too much too :)
Possibly -- there's more than one person who did it... and at least one other person "updated" their hacked version about 5 minutes after we put the new banner... on the other hand, the first person publicly admitted what he did. Still, I'm not a big fan of doing such things...

--janak

[raleigh1208]

I'm pleased to have subscribed for a lifetime subscription. Since I first started using a pocketpc a year and a half ago, I quickly found that this site is the best. Over the last 18 months, I've viewed numerous pda and pocketpc sites, and this one remains the best. Even if I stopped using my pocketpc tomorrow, I'd still be glad I subscribed for a lifetime subscription as a way to recognize and reward Jason and his team for a job well done!! :D

[ctmagnus]

I'm pleased to have subscribed for a lifetime subscription. Since I first started using a pocketpc a year and a half ago, I quickly found that this site is the best. Over the last 18 months, I've viewed numerous pda and pocketpc sites, and this one remains the best. Even if I stopped using my pocketpc tomorrow, I'd still be glad I subscribed for a lifetime subscription as a way to recognize and reward Jason and his team for a job well done!! :D

My cheque for $50CDN (close enough to $36USD) just headed to the post office. :way to go:

[theon]

Okay... I'm in. You got me! I just check this site out too often to not support you guys. Good job team! Sold my life out to my PPC already. Sigh... :lol:

[theon]

Oh this is just great....

I made a paypal account to be able to subscribe. After having fulfilled the registration they tell me that i have to use the 4-digit number from my credit card statement.

Guess what?

I dont get that kind of statement. All mine says is something like "VDK 17.00 USD"

Oh well..... :roll:

They actually do issue a 4-digit number when you sign-up. It's a note that is indicated from the payee to be added if I'm not mistaken. So don't worry! :wink:

[theon]

The bulk of you are in the "Mobile Full" category, which is what I expected, but you lifetime guys are hardcore. :mrgreen:


How bout a special "Lifetime Supporter Banner"? That way we can have three classes of users rather than just two! :wink:

Yeah! But do I really want people to know that my PPC owns ME and not the other way around? :oops:

[msprague]

In the mobile forums does the "last 10 post" link work for you? It doesn't for me. :(