Power-Up Membership Testing

[VideoGameCritic]

Over the next few weeks I'll be rolling out the new Power-Up Membership option. For a payment of $10 (via paypal) you get ad-free access to the site for a year. Of course, it's really not so much about the ads as it is supporting the site. New features may be added in the future but for now the only difference will be the ads.

I've been working on this every night trying to make sure it's going to work right. I need some of you to do me a favor and help me determine if what I have done is working by checking the main page (videogamecritic.com) while logged in.

If you are a normal member you should see "Logged in: [your username]" on the right side of the screen. You should also see this on other pages on the right side of the menu bar. There should be ads on all the pages. This goes for the mobile pages too.

If you are a moderator, you should see a mushroom next to your username indicating you have the power-up membership. Below that it should say "Expires: Never". You should not see ads on any of the pages (including mobile and message boards).

If a few of you can provide some feedback to let me know I'm on the right track, I'd appreciate it. And if anything looks messed up please feel free to bring it to my attention (be sure to specify your browser).
Thanks!

[Sut]

I 95% of the time use the mobile site.
It confirms I am logged in and the ads are appearing as usual.

I'm using safari on iOS.

[bluenote]

I gotta say, I really hate this idea. Right now, it's $10 for no ads, then it's a slippery slope to $10 for the right to post messages, or $10 for an advance preview of the latest review, etc. I see this so often with Youtubers constantly using Patreon.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to pretend that I know the costs associated with running this site. I have no clue. I just can see this as being the beginning.

And, perhaps this is the way the internet is going. I am a scale modeler, and one of my favourite modelling magazines insists that you have a paid magazine subscription in order to view articles on their website. If you don't have a paid subscription, then the articles are locked. Maybe we are used to viewing websites and articles on line for free and now people are realizing that they can make more money by restricting certain features. Heck, most newspapers now are only allowing access to their site if you have a subscription!

Just my 2 cents. I have been visiting this site for more than 10 years and really enjoy it, but I'm not going to start paying money to visit my favourite sites. (I know the $10 is just for no ads, but you get my meaning).

[velcrozombie]

I'm currently using Opera on a PC. When I click on the main page it just says -

Logged In: Logout

- without my user-name in-between. However, when I click on a review page and scroll to the top, it does include my user-name the way you described. Not sure if something minor like that helps, but there you are.

[Rev]

I gotta say, I really hate this idea. Right now, it's $10 for no ads, then it's a slippery slope to $10 for the right to post messages, or $10 for an advance preview of the latest review, etc. I see this so often with Youtubers constantly using Patreon.

I definitely can understand your concern I think you made some great points. I think the main goal of this is not to actually remove ads but to provide readers with the chance to support the site. Yes, there are incentives but I can't see Dave ever making the forum Power-Up members only or something like that.

[VideoGameCritic]

bluenote:
I hear what you're saying, and all I can ask is that you take my word for it that I have NO plans to go the slippery slope route. This new feature is NOT taking away any content. It's just a convenience.

I'm no fan of ads, but they do help pay for the site. More people are using ad blockers these days so I don't want to depend on ads. However I think even people who use the blockers might consider signing up if only as a show of support.

To the rest of you: thanks for the feedback so far! Keep it coming!

[Gleebergloben123]

Bluenote,

Just to follow up on what Rev and VGC said, I've been coming to this site since the early 2000's, and if the VGC says he's not going to tack on additional fees, I trust him. I can't say the same about an anonymous YouTube user if he or she makes the same claim.

[VideoGameCritic]

Thanks for showing some faith guys! I'd like to think I've built up some goodwill in the past 17 years or so. I'm definitely not out to make a quick buck, that's for sure!

I did a lot of testing tonight, fixed some bugs and tested on several browsers including Opera, IE, Firefox, and Chrome (my browser of choice).

Keep the feedback coming!

[bluenote]

bluenote:
I hear what you're saying, and all I can ask is that you take my word for it that I have NO plans to go the slippery slope route. This new feature is NOT taking away any content. It's just a convenience.

I'm no fan of ads, but they do help pay for the site. More people are using ad blockers these days so I don't want to depend on ads. However I think even people who use the blockers might consider signing up if only as a show of support.

To the rest of you: thanks for the feedback so far! Keep it coming!

That's great to hear Critic! Thanks for the reply.

[LuckyMan]

I don't know if it's related, but I've been having trouble getting the back page key to work when I'm using the forums. I often have to hit it several times before it will register. I'm using IE11.