Chris, I think it's terrific what you are doing here for all of us on this
site. This is a great site and I'm thankful for it. That being said,
however, I would like to weigh in with my opinion about charging a
subscriber fee. I wish you and Russ or the powers that be would
charge something for the use of this site. For me, the reasons are
both emotional and practical. I read all the posts from everyone
calling for people to ante in what they can and I have a strang
reaction...It's similar to what I feel when deciding on giving to
charities. Some charities I'll give $50 or $100. Some I'll give more.
But I always feel guilty when I turn one down. And I still feel guilty
sometimes when I give $50 and think perhaps I should have given
more. I would prefer to just be charged a fair price for the service you
guys give me instead of proactively donating something that I feel
is "appropriate."
And from a practical stand point, there are volumes of reasons for
charging...It will solve your financial concerns/constraints; you can put
more money into the site to make it even better; It will deter people
from using fake nicks; it will keep the number of users down to those
that really use the site (if they don't, after one year their names are
removed) And as for the people who can't spend $10 or $20 a YEAR
for use of this site, they probably shouldn't be spending too much of
their time playing chess! Perhaps that sounds heartless, but my point
is there are about 229,838,383,991,382,001 ways to make $20 over
the course of a year.
And beyond all these reasons...you guys DESERVE it!
...That's my 2 cents. If I do that 500 more times, I've paid for a
year's subscription!!🙂
Franklin
I know where your coming from, but can't agree. Part of the beauty of
this site it that it's free until you want to pay. I know that if I hadn't
been able to start for free I wouldn't have joined in the first place, and
look what I'd be missing out on.
And I think it's a little unfair to say that people who can't spend $20 a
year for using the site should be here - it's like you're suggesting they
should go out and work harder, but there's plenty of examples of
people who can't do that eg. kids such as rogers (14) who don't earn
and who's parents wouldn't pay for him - do we want to exclude the
young?
You say you feel guilty because you don't have a set amount your
asked to donate, which I can understand. But there are plenty of
people who, if they payed $20 here would have to not spend $20
elsewhere, such as bills, rent, their family etc. Imagine the guilt they'd
feel at paying. I know it's extreme, but I used to be in the situation
that $1 was a lot of money, and I'd have to think hard where to spend
it best.
I'm not trying to be argumentative, just trying to let you see the other
perspective.
Man, this post got long, sorry,
Freak (another 498 2 cents left to go)
Somehow I developed a "right wing" mentality even while growing up
in a liberal household. The problem w/ my line of thinking is that I
always come off sounding cold or unsympathetic. Perhaps I am to a
certain extent. I do appreciate what it's like to struggle financially.
Believe me, I've been through tough times as have many here. But I
think rogers could earn $20 somehow if he had to in order to play
here. He might not be able to and then that would be unfortunate.
And yes, he would then not have been able to play here and would be
missing out on a lot of fun. But my opinion stands...I'll respectfully
agree to disagree with you on this one.
How about a game before we use up all of our cents?
Franklin
I know what you mean about giving to charity, but what I've found in the UK is this (I don't
know about other countries): Many charities have an advertising campaign which says things
like "£10 a month will pay for medical care for an African child suffering from this terrible
disease", and then when you look at the donation form, they have £10 a month as the
recommended amount, and then a box if you want to donate a different amount. The idea is
that you don't feel mean by only donating the recommended amount, but you can donate
more if you want to.
So, what I think is that RHP could have a recommended annual donation, but they should
make it possible to donate more or less, as they wish. You might find a lot of people who,
for whatever reason, won't pay $20, might pay $5 or $10 rather than nothing, which is what
they pay now.
Finally, some people on this site only play occasionally, such as myself, as I currently only
have one game in progress. It would be unfair to force these people to pay $20 a year, and
unreasonable, similarly, to make people pay as soon as they join.
Again, this is all just my opinion.
I would like to become a Pawn Star but when I try I am confronted by
2 problems
1. The fee is in dollars (If you convert to pounds that would be easier
for me)
2. Payment methods. I don't have a credit card, so a cheque would be
the preferred method of payment, but where do I send it?
In a nutshell, if you let me know how much to make the cheque out
for and where to send it I will gladly become a Pawn Star. Every
year!!!
- Joined
- 08 Jul 02
- Moves
- 165436
Tim,
I think what you started here is great! I am not yet a pawn star, but I
will be as soon as I can pay for it. After quitting my business in 1997
for health reasons, I'm now facing a potential third layoff in as many
years...feels like I'm never going to settle in. I just joined Red Hot
Pawn this summer, and it's the best chess thing going. In fact it's one
of the best web sites I use anywhere. We definitely should support it.
I will by the end of the year if I have to use money I receive for
Christmas
Russ, Chris, Thanks for a wonderful experience!
Coyote
if you want that star, and honestly are short on cash, play me... I'm
not that good. Challenge me to 2 games (1 white, 1 black). If you get
1 1/2+ points, I'll buy that star for you. If you don't, we can play again
until you do.
nb. if coyote takes me up on this, I'll need instructions how to pay in
proxy
- Joined
- 08 Jul 02
- Moves
- 165436
Sounds more than reasonable! However, you will need to start the
challenges since I already have ten games active, and the new rules
are that non-Pawn-Star players may not initiate new games beyond
ten. We can accept challenges, though.
Many thanks for the opportunity! (And I doubt that you're not that
good.)
- Joined
- 08 Jul 02
- Moves
- 165436
I ended one of my games today, and attempted to create the first
challenge to belgianfreak, only to be rejected by the system. It gave
me a notice that said this opponent could not be successfully
challenged for an unknown reason (or some such verbiage). I'll try
again tomorrow, and let you know what happens.
Coyote
