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LWN status update
After a few quiet weeks, we actually have some news to report: we have
finally been able to set up a new merchant account which will allow us to
accept credit cards. Hopefully we'll have better luck with the new bank
than with the old - which is still holding a portion of the
donations from last July.
What this means is that, finally, we will be able to go forward with our subscription offering, at which point we will truly find out if there is enough support out there to keep LWN going on a sustainable basis. There is still some frantic code-bashing to be done; if all goes well, we should be able to start taking subscriptions next week. Next week's LWN Weekly Edition will be free to all readers; thereafter it will be available to subscribers only for an initial period (which will probably be one week). On another front, our new mailing list mechanism is up and running. The first list is called "Notify;" it simply receives a message once a week when the new Weekly Edition is available. This list thus replaces our old lwn-notify list, which has been running since the beginning - almost five years ago. Other lists, mostly providing access to our content via email, will be available shortly (and mostly limited to subscribers). Mailing list subscriptions require a (free) LWN account, and can be controlled through the "MyAccount" link in the left column. Thanks, yet again, for your support through this interesting period. (Log in to post comments)
Yes, it has been interesting... Posted Sep 19, 2002 4:51 UTC (Thu) by leonbrooks (guest, #1494) [Link] ...watching a bank get slashdotted. Welcome to the 21st century, bank. (-:
LWN status update Posted Sep 19, 2002 12:37 UTC (Thu) by bluetea (guest, #1108) [Link] This is good news. Any idea how much the subscriptions will cost?
Subscription costs Posted Sep 19, 2002 14:05 UTC (Thu) by corbet (editor, #1) [Link] Still working on that - we'll get the info out before too long. Nominal cost for a regular subscription, I think, will be on the order of $5/month.
credit card Posted Sep 19, 2002 12:56 UTC (Thu) by Trav (guest, #2170) [Link] Any chance I can subscribe without owning a credit card, plus living in Europe?
credit card Posted Sep 19, 2002 14:07 UTC (Thu) by corbet (editor, #1) [Link] We will have paypal as an option. European-style direct bank transfers will be harder for us to arrange in the near future; at some point I guess we'll have to figure out a way to make those work.
credit card Posted Sep 19, 2002 15:10 UTC (Thu) by walter (guest, #799) [Link] Please note that bank transfers from Europe to the US usually impose an additional fee of about 10 USD.How about accepting cash (Euro?), sent by letter?
credit card Posted Sep 19, 2002 16:16 UTC (Thu) by smoogen (subscriber, #97) [Link] I would think that the cost of them running over to a bank, paying the conversion fees, etc etc.. would outway the money for the subscription.It was the reason that Telsa G wouldnt accept out of England money for the penguin donations.. it cost more than it was worth. Unless LWN wanted to have a +30% fee for cash transactions that is.
no credit card Posted Sep 19, 2002 22:30 UTC (Thu) by KeineHeimat (guest, #2154) [Link] why do not watch your log files and open an account at a (american) bank somewhere in the euro-zone from where most of your euro-readers seem to come from?so for all 's, transfering money wouldn't be extraordinary expensive.
paypal (credit card) Posted Sep 20, 2002 12:37 UTC (Fri) by Trav (guest, #2170) [Link] Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, it is not possible to use paypal without a credit card: From their Help page: Q: Once I have opened an International PayPal account, what will I need to do to use it? A: For membership confirmation purposes, PayPal will charge your credit card a $1.95 membership fee. The charge will accompany a unique, randomly generated 4 digit Member Number. "International" here means outside usa. Interestingly, they do not expect to have more than 10,000 international members (unique 4 digit member number!)
Old bank still holds some funds Posted Sep 19, 2002 13:12 UTC (Thu) by Max.Hyre (subscriber, #1054) [Link] Dear LWN: Would it be possible to tell us who the old bank is? Or if you've mentioned it before, could someone point me toward it? I'd really like to know whether any of that money is mine, so I can hold their feet to the fire---close to the fire. I've certainly received no notice of such a holdup from my credit-card issuer, even during the ``almost everybody's funds are frozen'' period.
Best Wishes,
Old bank still holds some funds Posted Sep 19, 2002 13:39 UTC (Thu) by Odinson (guest, #1402) [Link] Obviously this is no fault of your own.Your old bank is acting very irresponsibly. If I am going to pay interest on my donation the least they can do is give it to you. At some point the fraud detection becomes fraud itself. A month and a little should be plenty of time for all cardholders to get their statments and protest if necessary.
Old bank still holds some funds Posted Sep 19, 2002 14:11 UTC (Thu) by corbet (editor, #1) [Link] "Would it be possible to tell us who the old bank is?The word from the bank is that the remaining funds will be released in September. If they stick to that, our preference is very much to take the money and run, and not create further difficulties. We've almost put this thing behind us, and behind us is exactly where I want it to be. In any case, there's no real way to say if it's "your" money that they are holding - it's just one big pile at that point. And no, neither you nor anybody else has seen this holdup on your side - at one point they were talking about forcing us to refund all of the transactions, but it didn't come to that.
LWN status update Posted Sep 19, 2002 16:42 UTC (Thu) by kent (guest, #3834) [Link] Regarding subscriptions: Will there be some kind of site-licenseavailable for universities, e. g. based on network addresses?
LWN status update Posted Sep 21, 2002 11:45 UTC (Sat) by chicks (guest, #3877) [Link] I can think of some businesses that might go for a site license as well. You might even throw in a few banner ads to sweeten the deal. :)
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