i'm as much a "superfan" as the next guy (girl, alien, "thing"), but since i can't afford to pay, i don't get in.

ok, fine

add that to the anti-PC/anti-M$ vibe and resentment going on i keep seeing being posted and well...

No stars upon thars!

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all kidding aside, please don't feel left out. Look at it this way, ...thankfully there are some great people out there able and willing to help keep us keep on geek'in. And you benefit from it too.

YIKES!!

The accepted reality is that when you go to the cafe, you don't expect them to give you a free coffee and snack. You have to buy your coffee and biscotti. How long would they be in business if they gave everyone free coffee and cake? They'd be running off their feet, scrambling to serve everyone! Let's say they were actually able to serve free coffee, because a milk company sponsored them for a month with large "got milk" ads on the walls instead of art. They'd still have trouble being able to run the business. Imagine the milk company soon stopped sponsoring the cafe because they didn't sell enough cartons of milk at the cafe and the owners, still wanting to serve free food and coffee were instead selling coffee mugs and managed to sell about 20 mugs a day. You can see that they still will be in peril!

Snaggy and I are like the cafe owners, we love our clientelle, but the reality is, we're running a business, and we'd like it to be successful. We're still giving away free coffee (Joy of Tech, AY2K), selling coffee mugs (T-shirts, posters, etc), but we're charging for the cake and biscotti and opened a special room with couches and a fireplace for customers who buy the snacks (SuperFan Memberships with the private forum). We understand that some people won't be able to afford the muffins, biscotti, and chocolate chunk cookies but will be hungry, and look longingly at the snack counter, maybe even asking for a free cookie. Or they want to see what's in the private room, who's in there. But, as much as we'd love to, we can't start giving away the food, or the little extra perks.

We're trying desparately to make Geek Culture a successful business because we love it. We enjoy our work, and we love our fans. But, at the end of the day, it's a business, and we want to be successful like anyone else with a business. The internet is still finding its path for businesses, and just like everyone else, Snaggy and I are thinking of everything we can to keep the business running. I suppose we'll be ruffling some feathers, but we're not closing shop, and we're not closing the free forums or free cartoons. Nothing has been taken away, we're just adding special things for members.

If you're having a hard time understanding my cafe analogy, just replace cafe with neighbourhood pub and coffee and snacks with beer.

quote:

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Originally posted by ZorroTheFox:
I'm not exactly sure what a Tibit is Snaggster

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I'm sure he meant "Timbit". (Mmmmm ... Timbits ...)

I fear that the business imperatives of GeekCulture.com are coming into conflict with the atmosphere of this place.  It's like the difference between commercially-run media conventions and volunteer-run literature conventions; the media cons make money, but you find most of the interesting people at the volunteer affairs.

I'm not the kind of person who'll buy lunch from the Starbucks in the Barnes & Noble either.  I'll buy books and newspapers there, but when I want food or atmosphere I go elsewhere.  Unfortunately for Nitrozac and Snaggy they aren't selling their main product and have to make money off the tie-ins, and I already have drawers full of T-shirts and a shelf of hats.

Maybe I should take the hint.  I can find much harder-core geek conversation on certain mailing lists, where people like ESR amuse me with their talk of striking out in the nightclubs of Vilnius (yes, he really did).  The traffic level is rapidly evening out too.

If you're leaving the forums because we're too commercial, well, I really didn't want to give the impression that Geek Culture is an "organisation" that relies on gov't grants and things, I thought it was quite obvious that we're your average, little, capatalistic shop.

Please post to the "I'm leaving" thread in the confession booth, as I'm sure a lot of people would like to wish you well on your search for the ultimate online community (myself included). If you stay, then, that's cool too.

LMAO!!!!

... I don't really think the issue is about making an Elite Group .....

Having spent 3 years living primarily on Ramen Noodles (which I now refuse to eat), it's nice to have sufficient income to eliminate the need for eating tree bark, crickets, and earthworms for dinner.

Disclaimer: warning, I may or may not be a hypocrite ........

There aren't many sites that I feel are irreplaceable, but this is definitely one of them. That said, I think that people need to recognize that Nitrozac and Snaggy do very little obtrusive marketing. I'm not pounded by popup ads visiting this site, nor are there constant pitches everywhere I look. There could be a mandatory sig on every post linking to products in the webstore, you know. There is just a subtle banner at the top of each page, and usually to things I find interesting or relevant.

So please, either buy a subscription or suck it up and quit whining. The site you enjoy is still here.