Consimworld goes to pay subscription

Brian W

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Consimworld, a large formerly free wargame discussion board is going to a pay for view format. MMP is quite active on Consimworld (much more so than here or the ASLML). Check out the story at http://www.consimworld.com
 

sgtono

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I would hope for more discussion here also, but I am afraid the depth that is covered in the company support forum on Consim will not make it here from MMP.

Keith
 

Brian W

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ktodd said:
I would hope for more discussion here also, but I am afraid the depth that is covered in the company support forum on Consim will not make it here from MMP.
It would be interesting to know how many people are going to pony up the $15/20 per year. Someone mentioned that there are 15k member currently and they estimated that that number would go down to 5k on a subscription basis. Sounds like high estimate to me. Still, at $15 that is $75,000 a year. Not bad for running a wargame bulletin board. No benefits though :) (except that he gets a free copy of every game published by game companies with support forums)
 

Reepicheep

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I think they'd be very lucky to get 5000 members at those rates... I don't think it's a positive move. If they need a few extra $$ to pay for the service they're providing, I would much prefer to see the game companies who are partners of ConSim covering the costs.
 

Loquitor

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I won't subscribe for now. I hope the information we need will be posted here too. Keith usually posts in both places.
 

Klaus Fischer

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Sad News

This is really sad news, and I wish (just like Brian) that John would've contacted the Game Companies to step up - as we did here with the Forum.
IMHO it would be more appropriate to charge the companies for their platform, than to charge the end-customer, looking for information, updates etc.
OTOH, Keith and Brian are allready posting most of their info here, so even the customers not subscribing to Consimworld, will find the information and will be able to participate (at least in some) discussions.
I think it is now up to us (customers) to carry the traffic from Consimworld over either to the Forum, the ASLML, or the platform you prefer....just let the others know where you are :wink:

Klaus
 

Gunner Scott

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Why would I want to pay to plow through a few hundred baseball, Ron Mosher, and other goofy postings? I go to CSW looking for info on the latest ASL releases and what not. I can tolerate the off topic posts but I'm not gonna pay to put up with 100's of off topic posts.

Anyway, I'm starting to realize that the only thing that is coming out from MMP this year will be ASLSK#2 and J6, I dont think MMP plans on publishing much on ASL in the future, just looking at their P# page, there are just two ASL products up there and they have been up there for close to two years. Quite sad indeed.

Scott
 

Nat Mallet

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Here's my questions about this: Why is ConsimWorld the place folks get information about ASL releases from MMP? Doesn't MMP put new release information out on their site?

I'd think companies would put new release information out on their own website, with a (obvious) link to the orders page.

Nat
 

sgtono

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Nat,

MMP does put release information on their site. But there are many requests to know the "status" of each product in its particular stage such as is it at the printer, is it shipping, etc, and what product that is in design is next for P#.

MMP had a status link that would send an e-mail that would give this information, but it is broken. So now on the MMP support forum folder they list the various "statuses".

Keith
 

Pitman

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MMP rarely updates their website, and they don't have any "live" features, such as a forum.

I don't mind paying for Consimworld--I have been donating to it for several years--but if I am required to pay for it, I would expect professional moderation and more customer service (other than customer service for wargame companies).
 

Gunner Scott

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The biggest problem I find is if you ask about the status of any ASL projects, your automatically branded a trouble maker by the peanut gallery as well as MMP and your post is deleted.

Scott
 

Countertroll

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That is not true Scott. If you constantly troll and make snide comments in the same posting that you are requesting, then you get the peanut gallery attack.

Kenn
 

Chas Argent

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I would like to see this handled like an annual fundraising drive; many will contribute more than they need to, and those who can't won't have to, much like National Public Radio does every year.
 

WesN

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I wonder why they just suddenly announced it with no seeming discussion. I signed up for it anyway 15 bucks for a year is not that big of a deal. I just wonder how many people will be sticking around. I also wonder if the game company people have to pay for a sub as well.

Wes
 

Pitman

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Scott, you have to admit you were trolling. After all, you later said you knew the answer to the question before you asked it.
 

Matt Romey

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IMO, Consimworld was a snore until the ASLML went down. Now that it will be pay-per-view it will probably be snoozeville again, so I won't be paying for it. For me that leaves the Forum and the SoCal yahoogroups. Shrug.

Scott, if you are interested in new ASL products, we are aiming for an ASLOK release for Melee Pack 2. No gaurentees, but there's really only one scenario left that needs work, so we think we can make it.
 

asloser

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Janked said:
I wonder why they just suddenly announced it with no seeming discussion. I signed up for it anyway 15 bucks for a year is not that big of a deal. I just wonder how many people will be sticking around. I also wonder if the game company people have to pay for a sub as well.
I just paid too. However I'm very sceptical how it will turn out - if even half of the most proficient posters stay it will be worthwhile, but I seriously doubt that.

One thing I wonder is how on earth are they going to get new members? How do you market a web based discussion boards when there are several availble for free? :?
 

WesN

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Between here or Consim, I'd rather pay for these forums.

IMO, that Consim interface is really god awful.
If you only play or care about ASL then this forum is ok. There are more official MMP posts on CSW and if you play other games then the forum here helps you little or none.

When I first started at CSW the interface threw me off for awhile, now that I use it a lot it works just fine.

Wes
 
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