If I want to upgrade, I will seek that out. Sending me an email every week and flooding my inbox with random "suggestions" to upgrade will only piss off your user base. If anything, it'll get me to stop coming here rather than push me to upgrade my account.

 

It's annoying, it's obnoxious, and it isn't "friendly".

 

You've got a good site. I love the redesign. Don't screw it up by trying to force subscriptions down people's throats.

Dear Free Members:

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

'Nuff said.

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Not true Nytik. Knuckle sandwiches for annoying threads should be plenty free.

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 When I read 'Not true Nytik' I just sighed and prepared to make a response detailing rights of the 'consumer', but nevermind.

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Erik Upon Reading This:

"Oh dear, we don't want you to stop coming here! If you stop, we'll lose mon-- never mind, feel free to leave."

 

* NOTE: Erik may not have actually said this.

It's once every 20 days to be exact. I'm sorry if it's too overbearing for you to be gently nudged once every 3 weeks to consider spending a few pennies per day to be a member.

If 10 seconds per 20 days bugs you, I can't imagine how you watch TV or listen to radio. They interrupt every few minutes for several minutes, taking up roughly 30% of your total time spent watching or listening. Our reminders take about 0.02% of your time.

Let me know when you get out of school and finally take a job - I hope it's a company that shares your values and NEVER advertises...

:)

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 Ooh yeah! You go girl!

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'Nuff said.

Erik is in Bravo mode again. Watch OUT  

Flipperbw has his point too. Just keep it civilize peopleeeeeeeeee

I am surpised how little they do to nudge us.

BTW I love the dig about "I hope it's a company that shares your values and NEVER advertises..." classic

We are in the age of We deserve Everything.

Ah, it's called 'advertising.' If chess.com didn't advertise their memberships, they would go broke faster than you can say, 'gee, this global financial crisis is terrible isn't it,' because hardly anyone would know about them. Sure, it's annoying, but I would rather that than this:

BUY A MEMBERSHIP! BUY MEMBERSHIP! BUY ONE!!! 

It's sort of in your face, don't you think...especially if it repeats every day...

(Note that the red text should be size 36)

Good gracious! a little defensive!

 

I'm trying to give you some feedback, something site admins are usually pretty happy to receive. I know it's not "you're amazing keep up the good work!" but in order to run a business, you have to be willing to accept and analyze good and bad feedback.

 

I even said that I enjoy the site and you've done good work with the redesign. I've seen all too often sites that I like go under because people move on to free, unobtrusive alternatives and I'm just doing my part to "nudge you" in what I feel is the best direction.

 

We're in a new age where businesses don't just generate revenue from subscriptions and paid memberships. Some actually care about their free customers.

 

Do you think Google would respond the way you just did?

Do you really think Google would care? Google has done some pretty cool things but you're sadly mistaken if you think a business of that size will actually change direction because of one suggestion... As for chess.com, it is also a business. Businesses advertise. Chess.com isn't a free lunch although there are many free features that no other sites will give freely... Fact is the point of the free membership is to try out and subscribe, and since you haven't you will be reminded. A small price to pay for all of the free things you already have. Not to mention a thread already made for your suggestions: http://www.chess.com/forum/view/community/chesscom-feature-request-and-wishlist-6 I for one am suprised we get even half the stuff we get here for free and I for one am not complaining. Now I'm sure paying members could care less since they actually deserve the stuff on here because, well - they pay for it... You have nothing to realistically complain about.

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not defensive, just answering with similar level of redonkulousness as your post. :) dish it and take it, right? :)

in some business ad revenue works. in others it doesn't. if we relied on ad revenue, we wouldn't have this site. what drives me crazy about complaints like the one you made is that you will tolerate 3 cruddy senseless ads per page on every page you visit, but then get irritated with us for sending the one message that matters - that we need subscribers - and we send it once per 3 weeks. if you considered for one second what it would be like to be in our shoes - trying to build the best site we can and struggling to make our little startup work - maybe you would understand why it rubs wrong when somebody complains about a once-per-3-week message. seriously. try to really imagine it. 

and no, google doesn't respond. they don't even respond to me and i pay them actual real money.

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I think the response you have recieved would be similar to Google's had you complained about their Pigeon Rank system for bringing up search results. There's no need to give you a serious answer if you don't actually have an argument! 

Yeah, once every twenty days is fine. I've never had a problem with it; I realise that they need to make money, and twenty days doesn't seem all that often. If it were every day I would agree with you, every week I don't think I'd agree, but I'd see your point, but every twenty days doesn't seem bad at all. Hopefully this recession will turn around fairly quickly and my financial situation will improve enough to let me join.