omg DUz fulla starz

[Capitalocracy]

So it appears the changes to DU, like all changes, are going to be a bit controversial. But while there are some questions that are quite valid... like the fact that this will make it difficult for people to donate stars for others, something someone just did for my broke @$$ (thank you so much)... I respect the fact that they feel they need to try out a different model. I also think it's great that people discuss it and having discussed it, whatever concerns you have, I'd recommend you write to the admins to make your voices heard... in a polite way, of course. I wouldn't expect them to scrap their plans, but if it doesn't work out according to plan, they'll have a lot of your ideas to take into consideration.

And some of the things people have been saying... I've had stars and not had stars in the past, and I never saw a difference in the way I was treated. I welcome anyone to share their experience if they've had another one, but I think we can all get along pretty well here, stars or no stars.

[dmallind]

1. Would it not be simpler to do away with the outward and visible sign

And leave the inward spiritual grace of donation/membership? Those who manage to restrain their concerns from becoming frothing rage and realize that their access to post and read will be unaffected without paying seem most worried about a visible two-class system. Like you I see very little evidence of this so far on donor status (and I've been on both sides planty too) but it's certainly possible. There certainly is a status attached to post count/tenure so it could shift to donorship I guess.

So why not simply remove the visible distinction? I have no clue if others can see ads or use advanced search etc. How could I, were I so inclined, consider those who cannot to be inferior if I don't know who they are?

[Capitalocracy]

2. There's a massive in-post ad if you're a non-donor

Not a huge deal, that's the most annoying part of it if there is an annoying part. A lot of people have complaints about the nature of the ads... go vegan ads that show gruesome animal slaughter, ads for Republican candidates, ads for dildos... but it's not a huge deal, I think.

I've never run into a problem with how people treat me for not having a star, at least not that I've noticed. The post count thing is true... and even I maybe read people's posts with a little more scrutiny if their post count is in the dozens, because while everyone starts out that way, a lot of times you do see trolls with low post counts. That seems to mostly stop at a couple hundred posts, and once you hit 1000, it's like an off switch, because at 1000+ you have to actually click someone's profile to see how many posts they have.

I don't know, I'm sure they've looked at the numbers and decided this is what they think is best. I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't work out quite the way they want it to, and they discover that a lot of people are donating $10 who can't afford to donate $42, but we'll see what happens.

On edit: About actually removing the stars, I think it might affect how many people donate. Everyone wants to have stars upon thars.

[Lars39]

4. It is a huge deal if you have crappy internet service or have dial-up.

It's akin to trying to watch a movie on ABC....it stretches the ads out so much it takes 4 hours for a 2 hour movie. Quality time is affected.

[hlthe2b]

14. Good point... It may well render DU unviewable (much like HuffPO)

for those on slower ISPs. What's the old adage? The beatings (attacks on the poor) will stop when morale improves. :eyes:

[dmallind]

5. This thing?

It's the same size as a medium post, at the bottom. About half the time I read DU it's not logged-in as a member and I don't see this as a major hassle

[lbrtbell]

8. That's not the type of ad that's problematic

It's the flash-based ones that are. I'm lucky enough to have a faster connection, and I have a Firefox extension that can block such ads. But for people on dial-up, ads like that really slow down the DU experience. :(

[sharp_stick]

11. Not with Chrome and adblock there isn't

I see absolutely no ads, just a blank space with "advertisment" written in it. I usually don't mind having the ads, I don't have a star and considered that a part of the process but the content of some of them caused me to change that opinion.

[Arkansas Granny]

3. There are those who donate for others who don't have stars. Without

the visible distinction, you wouldn't be able to tell if someone needed a star or not.

[dmallind]

7. Fair point that- is the need likely to remain though?

Different things are important to different people obviously but at least in my experience both when somebody first bought me a star and invited ne to a group and when I've bought a couple, the principle driver was group access. I'm not too deep on the details of DU3 but most posts I've seen imply group access is open on it. Would people still donate to stop other's seeing a few ads?

[MineralMan]

6. I like that idea very much. Get rid of the stars altogether.

I don't need to know if someone's a donor or not. It's irrelevant to their contribution to DU, which is always in the form of content. Thanks for suggesting that.

[beac]

9. Agree that no-stars is the way to go.

Stars indicated "I donated." Now that there will be no more fund drives, the stars should expire with them. Can't see that a "I pay not to see ads and get special features" mark is in any way needed.

As for those who would like to give an ad-free year or month to another member, why not a slush fund that people could apply to anonymously and/or a forum or thread where those who were comfortable could ask for help directly.

We have all been members from the beginning. Some of us have been donors and I think that merited recognition-- it said "I believe in DU and I am helping it to grow."

Now some will be paying for a better experience and that's their choice, but not something everyone else needs to know about.

[MineralMan]

12. I like the idea of not being able to tell who donated and who did not.

Even now, I don't assume that a star means that a particular poster donated. Many stars are donated to the DUer by someone else, so you can't really tell. It simply doesn't matter, except to the individual, who may use the additional features available to donors. Many donors, I'm sure, never use any of those features.

[Fumesucker]

10. ...

[Capitalocracy]

13. Yup, that's the one.

:toast: