Erik posted in
this topic about CaravelNet going separate ways from JtRH. I don't want to start a flame war or appear as if I am some sort of microeconomics expert, and I hesitate to even start this thread, but I
do wish to sensibilise the dev team to a topic which I think is important to the community as well as to DROD itself. This thread is explicitly not meant to discuss the values of CaravelNet or the monetary equivalent to its ideal and labour-derived value. I think everyone here knows that it represents a lot of work, past and future, and probably all of us enjoy its features. That said....
I like CaravelNet... well, it would be more accurate to say, I appreciate it and am looking forward to the new features planned, since a lot of it is not yet implemented. However, you may wish to consider two things. Firstly, please don't forget that lots of potential customers and even forumites are not US/Canada residents and have a hard time making payments into the US. While I would be willing to pay for the subscription per se (I mean, it's only $1 per month!), the difficulty of making the payment is somewhere between annoying and prohibitive. The effort was worth it to get an original first-run JtRH-CD, but I would think twice before getting a second subscription to CaravelNet.
Secondly, I
would be willing to pay, I dunno, $20 extra for a life-time subscription. Of course, that amount may also be prohibitive for some, but (a) it is not certain how long CaravelNet will be in existance and how much content it will offer, (b) for those who it is too high a price, they can select consecutive subscriptions at the standard price, albeit at a higher total price, (c) a two-month subscription inclusive would be a good chance to convince the player that it is worth paying for, and the result of his decision lies largely in the hands of the DROD team, (d) you may be of the opinion that the price is too low for a life-time subscription, in which case, consider (a) and set the price as you see fit. I suppose substituting the words "
three to five year"
for "
life-time"
would serve the same purpose, because, heck no-one plans longer than that anyway. I mean, the Comet'o'Death[tm] may be on its way as we speak. (To put it in perspective, two years is certainly enough time for a standard DRODer to finish all the holds currently available.) You can really only harness the large potential for internet marketing if you try to remain as internationally compatible as possible.
The forseeable knee-jerk reactions are going to be something like "
What about paypal?"
and "
If you really want it, borrow a credit card"
. To the first, I would have to say that I've gotten along without it for the past thirty years, and really don't have the time and leisure to worry about it just for one payment every 12 months, to the second I would have to say: That is an attitude that less-involved forumites can afford, but not one which is an option for someone trying to establish a business/product line. I don't mean this last part to sound condescending, I just don't think that is a valuable line of discussion. We all just want to remain a big, happy family.
-leroy is just trying to help
____________________________
You can hear happiness staggering on down the street -- footless, dressed in red.
-Jimi Hendrix, "
The Wind Cries Mary"
Disclaimer: I'm Welsh, left-handed, and stupid. 
) put that card on the counter and were stuck. I had 6 cards from two different banks, no avail. In the end my wife had to stay as surety, I ran to the nearest bank, got cash off the card (paying those 2.5%, of course 
), ran back and paid cash. 
