An open letter

Hello Chess.com mods and dictators,

This is BestKidInSchool, just trying to live a nice life here.  What I don't understand is your constant desire for money.  Why do you make us pay for tactics and lessons, when we can just get the same experience FREE at [ ]?  I do a lesson here on Chess.com, only to see a pop-up telling me that I have to get the diamond membership in order to continue.  I explore an opening here at Chess.com, only to see a pop-up telling me that I have to get the diamond membership in order to go beyond five moves.  Also, I see computer analyses, only to see that the only one available to me is the "quick" one (which is usually not that good). Give me at least three reasons why I should stay here instead of moving.

Hello BestKidInSchool,

The money you pay to the site pays for the developments that keep it growing and improving, as well as funding things that allow the site to promote the game overall, such as the Speed Chess Championship and the Pro Chess League. You're more than welcome to play chess here as a basic member and participate in the forums, and you can often get very good advice there. To access the more advanced learning tools, Chess.com would like you to pay for them - if you don't want to do that, that's your choice; if you think you can get just as good experiences elsewhere for less, then please use those - Chess.com would argue that we have the best set of learning tools exactly because people are paying for them and we therefore have a much greater incentive to make them as effective as possible. You can go even further and join the Chess.com Prodigy Program, which costs more money but is a much more serious teaching course - we see it as providing a spectrum of offerings that people can choose what works for them.

Unlike a dictatorship, you do have a choice and can leave or stay, as you choose, at any time. Have a think about how a little bit of humility can help in your life choices and how you express yourself as well.

Cheers,

David, moderator

 

Very well said David.

David - thanks for what you and the other Mods do. I enjoy this site

Thirded

Great comeback, though your punitive, though well stated, ending comment, was, in my opinion, a sacrifice of your own dignity. I know this site has been up and running for many years now, as when I found it, I already had a player name, telling me I had signed in long ago, before I went from a computer to a pad. And, of course, it costs money to provide the lessons, which have been most helpful...I tend to get nervous and retreat when I am threatened. Forcing me to make moves counterintuitive to my way of thinking through the lessons I view, has increased my confidence and decreased panic when a Bishop parks near my King, but has no real power by itself. It’s a great site, and I recommend it to any chess aficionados I encounter, and feel my investment was a good one. I was able to afford the gift to myself. I know $100 can be a great amt of $ for many folks...it was a stretch for me. Maybe a payment plan can work, giving access to the higher levels of lessons as the debt is payed down. Just a thought...
Respectfully, Donna Goldner

Just leave you won't be missed here anyway

what if i want to know the website name they censored

Milton Friedman wrote Free to Choose.

At Chess.com you essentially have freedom to shop.

Simple enough?  And Cheers to All.  

The ony thing I don't like about chess.com is the censorship against another chess websites. We can't even say their names and the thread is closed or blatantly censored (name removed). I would like to see a deep discussion about that.

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Some of those commenting seemed to feel that the posting guidelines don't apply to them.  Coupled with the sense that this thread had already started on its downhill slide from the initial post,  I made the decision to end it.