This idea is something similar to something via DeviantART, though idk if DA still does this or not.
So. One way to get a lot of character slots is by purchasing Epic Membership. But people like me, cannot afford the $10 a month (I think it's ten) for epic membership. And some of us cannot even make a purchase of the one or 5 permanent character slots. I got lucky during Christmas to buy a Dragon's Tooth, but I haven't been able to since. And my birthday isn't until July.
In comes the idea from DA. DA has a day where you can get journal skins for free, and use them on your journals without having to pay for them, or having DA's version of Epic Membership. Now. I'm aware that the reason character slots are purchase required, is it is a way to keep the site funded. But I thought this might be nice to do.
The slots, of course, could be capped, say 5 or 10 (example ONLY), and then once you hit the capped number then you're done. HOWEVER! The characters don't get locked once the freebie day is over like they would if you couldn't pay for your Epic Membership. Because locking a character and not giving access to them unless you delete character's not locked, is kind of sad. That's just my OPINION on that part.
This could be done like DA does the journal skins, which is one day a year, or could be as often as deemed. Such as however many times the site has Epic Week in a year if it's more than one. I've not been on the site long enough to know how often Epic Week comes to DA.
Anyways! That's just my thought.
-Winter
Edit: I am fully aware, as mentioned above, that this site runs on funds. This was simply a suggestion. One that I am seeing wasn't fully thought out. Anyways. I get it, I got it.
So. One way to get a lot of character slots is by purchasing Epic Membership. But people like me, cannot afford the $10 a month (I think it's ten) for epic membership. And some of us cannot even make a purchase of the one or 5 permanent character slots. I got lucky during Christmas to buy a Dragon's Tooth, but I haven't been able to since. And my birthday isn't until July.
In comes the idea from DA. DA has a day where you can get journal skins for free, and use them on your journals without having to pay for them, or having DA's version of Epic Membership. Now. I'm aware that the reason character slots are purchase required, is it is a way to keep the site funded. But I thought this might be nice to do.
The slots, of course, could be capped, say 5 or 10 (example ONLY), and then once you hit the capped number then you're done. HOWEVER! The characters don't get locked once the freebie day is over like they would if you couldn't pay for your Epic Membership. Because locking a character and not giving access to them unless you delete character's not locked, is kind of sad. That's just my OPINION on that part.
This could be done like DA does the journal skins, which is one day a year, or could be as often as deemed. Such as however many times the site has Epic Week in a year if it's more than one. I've not been on the site long enough to know how often Epic Week comes to DA.
Anyways! That's just my thought.
-Winter
Edit: I am fully aware, as mentioned above, that this site runs on funds. This was simply a suggestion. One that I am seeing wasn't fully thought out. Anyways. I get it, I got it.
I can't support this as RPR needs all the revenue it can get and I imagine character slots as well as epicness are two of the biggest earners. This idea basically gives people free character slots since you can still edit them even when they run out. Sp this idea would be taking away money that RPR needs for operation costs as servers are not cheap.
Katia wrote:
I can't support this as RPR needs all the revenue it can get and I imagine character slots as well as epicness are two of the biggest earners. This idea basically gives people free character slots since you can still edit them even when they run out. Sp this idea would be taking away money that RPR needs for operation costs as servers are not cheap.
That's the whole idea of my post...
And again, as mentioned before, I am aware the site needs money. But as I've also said, not everyone can afford things. Which is also a reason some don't want the Age Verification Badges...
I don't believe that this could work, as despite the slot being available for free just the one day of the year, they'd benefit from it permanently. That would encourage people thinking of purchasing an extra slot to just wait until the free period rather than give the site any money. For a day's free trial it would need to be something temporary for that specific day only.
Now the epic profile/ character page themes... i think it could maybe work to have a free trial day of those. People could see what the potential for their pages to look like through epic membership for a single day, and have a chance to see the features of epic membership before committing, if funds are tight. I'm not sure how much of a hassle that would be to code, though.
A single character slot really isn't that much when you compare it to a starbucks coffee (or similar). So in that light I think it comes down to the individual to prioritise what they'd rather spend their money on.
Now the epic profile/ character page themes... i think it could maybe work to have a free trial day of those. People could see what the potential for their pages to look like through epic membership for a single day, and have a chance to see the features of epic membership before committing, if funds are tight. I'm not sure how much of a hassle that would be to code, though.
A single character slot really isn't that much when you compare it to a starbucks coffee (or similar). So in that light I think it comes down to the individual to prioritise what they'd rather spend their money on.
Elerra wrote:
I don't believe that this could work, as despite the slot being available for free just the one day of the year, they'd benefit from it permanently. That would encourage people thinking of purchasing an extra slot to just wait until the free period rather than give the site any money. For a day's free trial it would need to be something temporary for that specific day only.
Now the epic profile/ character page themes... i think it could maybe work to have a free trial day of those. People could see what the potential for their pages to look like through epic membership for a single day, and have a chance to see the features of epic membership before committing, if funds are tight. I'm not sure how much of a hassle that would be to code, though.
A single character slot really isn't that much when you compare it to a starbucks coffee (or similar). So in that light I think it comes down to the individual to prioritise what they'd rather spend their money on.
Now the epic profile/ character page themes... i think it could maybe work to have a free trial day of those. People could see what the potential for their pages to look like through epic membership for a single day, and have a chance to see the features of epic membership before committing, if funds are tight. I'm not sure how much of a hassle that would be to code, though.
A single character slot really isn't that much when you compare it to a starbucks coffee (or similar). So in that light I think it comes down to the individual to prioritise what they'd rather spend their money on.
Your point makes sense.
And while a single character slot is isn't that much to pay for, the thing is for ones like me, every dollar counts. I'm already strapped in trying to keep the internet since nowadays bills need to be paid online.
The same can also be said for the upkeep of the website, however, so you need to keep that in mind also.
I fully appreciate that money can be tight, especially when you throw bills on there. Believe me I know. But I don't believe the prices of things on RPR are unaffordable, if you budget accordingly.
I fully appreciate that money can be tight, especially when you throw bills on there. Believe me I know. But I don't believe the prices of things on RPR are unaffordable, if you budget accordingly.
Elerra wrote:
The same can also be said for the upkeep of the website, however, so you need to keep that in mind also.
I fully appreciate that money can be tight, especially when you throw bills on there. Believe me I know. But I don't believe the prices of things on RPR are unaffordable, if you budget accordingly.
I fully appreciate that money can be tight, especially when you throw bills on there. Believe me I know. But I don't believe the prices of things on RPR are unaffordable, if you budget accordingly.
When you're living off of one paycheck, and also with food stamps, it is not something that is an easy thing to simply budget in a luxury like character slots. Because not only is there rent and bills, there is a necessity like toiletries and such to buy.
I don't personally see this being a thing to do. While I am one to love and appreciate free stuff, I don't think it would help the site to create a free slot for users just because it's a day to get one. Everyone would just end up waiting for that day and never pay for one again and then one of the huge pieces of revenew for this whole site completely takes a fall. It would hurt the site from my perspective.
I'd rather see ways that you could participate in an event for free and have a chance to win something. On deviant art you get to use that journal cover 1 time for free. Not 1 time forever and continue to play with it. That just doesn't work in a marketing scheme. It's acting like a free sample of food. You get to try it one time. You don't get to keep sampling it over and over. They want you to BUY it and actually make money from it.
I also understand how budgeting is a HUGE deal when you're basically struggling to get by, but Kim already let's us use this site for free forever. We don't have to pay into anything we don't want and yet we can still roleplay unlimitedly and even are allowed and encouraged to make slots that have more than one character on them. This is huge and amazing. I don't think we deserve to just get amenities for free.
I'd rather see ways that you could participate in an event for free and have a chance to win something. On deviant art you get to use that journal cover 1 time for free. Not 1 time forever and continue to play with it. That just doesn't work in a marketing scheme. It's acting like a free sample of food. You get to try it one time. You don't get to keep sampling it over and over. They want you to BUY it and actually make money from it.
I also understand how budgeting is a HUGE deal when you're basically struggling to get by, but Kim already let's us use this site for free forever. We don't have to pay into anything we don't want and yet we can still roleplay unlimitedly and even are allowed and encouraged to make slots that have more than one character on them. This is huge and amazing. I don't think we deserve to just get amenities for free.
Winters_Fury wrote:
When you're living off of one paycheck, and also with food stamps, it is not something that is an easy thing to simply budget in a luxury like character slots. Because not only is there rent and bills, there is a necessity like toiletries and such to buy.
What I personally do is that I create a profile for multiple characters, only allowing my favorites to have their own profiles ^^ there's still ways to compromise.
I agree with everyone else on here, this just wouldn't work, nor be fair for those that do pay. I think having character slots that lock after the free day or free week would be alright, maybe, but keeping them unlocked would be very unfair to the people who buy slots and who get the epic membership and then have their characters locked if they can't afford another month of epic membership. I realize them being locked is 'sad' but as long as people get all the necessary information on the character profile in time, I see nothing wrong with the whole locked thing.
In general, I understand the whole not being able to afford epic membership or character slots; but, that is a personal problem and not really an issue that should be remedied by Kim in my personal opinion - not to be crass. Epic membership is only $4.95 a month or $14.95 for three months, which compared to most other subscriptions of any kind, is low.
I stopped drinking coffee, and lowered my water bill a little in order to have $5 extra to pay for my epic membership. It's not incredibly difficult to save $5 a month, and if it is, then maybe saving $15 over three months would be much easier. I get it, it took me some money roping to save enough money, but, that's kind of part of being an adult (or just mature in general regardless of age) and using a site that gives you plenty of free character slots and simply asks for the others to be paid for, along with epic templates that are worked very very hard on - yet still gives great free templates -.
I also use the app slidejoy, which is a screen lock app for your phone, and you get
'carats' for unlocking your phone which can be transferred to paypal as money. I make about $2-$3 a month using the app, which I use for when I wasn't able to save quite enough during the month for my epic membership. There are plenty of us who have to scrape the bottom of the barrel to pay for our epic memberships and character slots, and some months I can't justify paying for it at all so several of my characters are locked, but that is just the deal.
In general, I understand the whole not being able to afford epic membership or character slots; but, that is a personal problem and not really an issue that should be remedied by Kim in my personal opinion - not to be crass. Epic membership is only $4.95 a month or $14.95 for three months, which compared to most other subscriptions of any kind, is low.
I stopped drinking coffee, and lowered my water bill a little in order to have $5 extra to pay for my epic membership. It's not incredibly difficult to save $5 a month, and if it is, then maybe saving $15 over three months would be much easier. I get it, it took me some money roping to save enough money, but, that's kind of part of being an adult (or just mature in general regardless of age) and using a site that gives you plenty of free character slots and simply asks for the others to be paid for, along with epic templates that are worked very very hard on - yet still gives great free templates -.
I also use the app slidejoy, which is a screen lock app for your phone, and you get
'carats' for unlocking your phone which can be transferred to paypal as money. I make about $2-$3 a month using the app, which I use for when I wasn't able to save quite enough during the month for my epic membership. There are plenty of us who have to scrape the bottom of the barrel to pay for our epic memberships and character slots, and some months I can't justify paying for it at all so several of my characters are locked, but that is just the deal.
Winters_Fury wrote:
Katia wrote:
I can't support this as RPR needs all the revenue it can get and I imagine character slots as well as epicness are two of the biggest earners. This idea basically gives people free character slots since you can still edit them even when they run out. Sp this idea would be taking away money that RPR needs for operation costs as servers are not cheap.
That's the whole idea of my post...
And again, as mentioned before, I am aware the site needs money. But as I've also said, not everyone can afford things. Which is also a reason some don't want the Age Verification Badges...
No it wasn't. Those free slots that you can edit are essentially the same as ones you can buy meaning people who want more slots will just wait for those freebies rather then buy them as as Elerra said. That was the point I was trying to make though clearly I didn't do a good job of it.
Sorry, I can answer definitively that we will not be offering this. We already offer 10 free character slots, and there's no reason for us to offer more.
I totally get not having the money for more digital playthings. I have many times been in that situation!
But the idea of "free slots" is sort of a misnomer, because they're only free for you -- they're not free for me. I pay a little bit for every character that's here, in the form of bandwidth and storage costs. So I've drawn the line at 10 being the amount of characters I'm willing to/can afford to pay for per person. I personally think that is fair and generous!
Epic member slots and permanent slots are based on the premise that users who use more than the average number of resources from the server should pay for that privilege -- As of this writing, the average user has 2.34 characters on their account. And no, that figure does not count people who have created accounts but haven't made any characters. That figure is active users only.
That means that a user with 11 characters is using about 450% more resources than the average user.
Of course, not everyone goes Epic because they want more characters. In fact, the vast majority of people with Epic memberships never make over ten characters -- other reasons for going epic run the gambit of things like being able to customize the look of their player profile, or because they want the ads gone from their profiles, or because they think custom profile colors is super fab, or simply because they want to help support the site.
I understand you might not want to have to pay forever, or maybe you just want the extra character slots but not all the other extra things -- for those people we offer permanent character slots that can be purchased à la carte. These are pricier than a single month of Epicness because they are intended to cover the lifetime cost of housing those characters, but are still pretty affordable as they don't come with all the extra stuff. People who buy à la carte are also doing something to keep the site open and free for everyone, and they absolutely have my undying gratitude, but it is not the same as the support Epic Members provide for the site.
I also think it's generous that extra characters continue to be housed on the site at all when a user is no longer paying for the privilege of having extras. The other option I looked at was having surplus characters be outright deleted after a grace period of non-renewal. Economically speaking, we should do that, because the storage adds up and forces us to upgrade to better hosting plans regularly. Do you know you can still post on the forums and send PMs as locked characters? I bent over backwards to not disrupt people's RPs, even after they were no longer paying for those characters.
TL;DR: Since the site is not free to run and would have to close its doors tomorrow if it couldn't pay for itself, I ask that people who are getting the most use out of the site also help to keep it open by purchasing upgrades for their accounts. "Affordable" is relative, and it may just not be possible, at all, for you to kick in money to the site right now. That is totally fine and I believe you that this is the case. But as you will not die or suffer serious hardship without more character slots, we are not obligated to offer you more than the 10 we already give for free, which is 7.66 more slots than the average user will ever need.
I totally get not having the money for more digital playthings. I have many times been in that situation!
But the idea of "free slots" is sort of a misnomer, because they're only free for you -- they're not free for me. I pay a little bit for every character that's here, in the form of bandwidth and storage costs. So I've drawn the line at 10 being the amount of characters I'm willing to/can afford to pay for per person. I personally think that is fair and generous!
Epic member slots and permanent slots are based on the premise that users who use more than the average number of resources from the server should pay for that privilege -- As of this writing, the average user has 2.34 characters on their account. And no, that figure does not count people who have created accounts but haven't made any characters. That figure is active users only.
That means that a user with 11 characters is using about 450% more resources than the average user.
Of course, not everyone goes Epic because they want more characters. In fact, the vast majority of people with Epic memberships never make over ten characters -- other reasons for going epic run the gambit of things like being able to customize the look of their player profile, or because they want the ads gone from their profiles, or because they think custom profile colors is super fab, or simply because they want to help support the site.
I understand you might not want to have to pay forever, or maybe you just want the extra character slots but not all the other extra things -- for those people we offer permanent character slots that can be purchased à la carte. These are pricier than a single month of Epicness because they are intended to cover the lifetime cost of housing those characters, but are still pretty affordable as they don't come with all the extra stuff. People who buy à la carte are also doing something to keep the site open and free for everyone, and they absolutely have my undying gratitude, but it is not the same as the support Epic Members provide for the site.
I also think it's generous that extra characters continue to be housed on the site at all when a user is no longer paying for the privilege of having extras. The other option I looked at was having surplus characters be outright deleted after a grace period of non-renewal. Economically speaking, we should do that, because the storage adds up and forces us to upgrade to better hosting plans regularly. Do you know you can still post on the forums and send PMs as locked characters? I bent over backwards to not disrupt people's RPs, even after they were no longer paying for those characters.
TL;DR: Since the site is not free to run and would have to close its doors tomorrow if it couldn't pay for itself, I ask that people who are getting the most use out of the site also help to keep it open by purchasing upgrades for their accounts. "Affordable" is relative, and it may just not be possible, at all, for you to kick in money to the site right now. That is totally fine and I believe you that this is the case. But as you will not die or suffer serious hardship without more character slots, we are not obligated to offer you more than the 10 we already give for free, which is 7.66 more slots than the average user will ever need.
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