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LWN Status Update
As of this writing, there are just under 2000 subscribers to LWN.net. As
we had expected, the rate of new subscriptions has dropped off; we are
going to have to work harder to attract more subscriptions at this point.
Nonetheless, we have as a goal the doubling of our subscriber count in the next few months. If we can do that, we'll have a stable base upon which to build the LWN for the next five years. We're still working on just how we'll pull that off; if any of you have suggestions on ways to attract more subscribers, we would love to hear them at lwn@lwn.net, or as comments posted to this article. We sure would like to see some more corporate subscriptions as well; the response from Linux-oriented companies (and others) has, so far, been below our expectations. Meanwhile, we will begin making some other changes to help LWN live within the means available to it. One step in that direction will be the elimination of the "Linux in Business" page starting next week. We will continue to watch press releases for relevant news, and the really interesting ones will show up on the Announcements page. but the big, categorized press release section will be going away. In the long term, it hard to imagine how we can get to where we want to be without top-quality business coverage. But LWN does not have that now, and maintaining a page marked "Linux in Business" does not change things. Readership of that page has been low for years. We are determined that the Linux in Business page will return when we are able to do a high-quality job of it. But, for now, we'll do without. We will also probably be dropping the Linux stocks page; it is a maintenance hassle, and, as traffic on the page shows, Linux stocks just aren't all that interesting these days. We are doing everything we can to maintain and improve our development, legal, and security coverage. There is no end of interesting stuff going on in the free software community, and we want to do an ever-better job of bringing it to you. Stay tuned. (Log in to post comments)
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 16, 2002 16:35 UTC (Wed) by nraynaud (guest, #532) [Link] To attract more people, maybe accepting euro would give you access to a 300M+ person market.As a French student, I just can't afford conversion betwen euro and $.
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 16, 2002 16:44 UTC (Wed) by Manny_Calavera (guest, #2846) [Link] For me it's the same. I'm a German student and have been waiting for weeks for a euro bank transfer.Recommending Paypal is a bad idea because it costs some charge to add money to your virtual bank account and credits card are not very common in most parts of Europe. see you,
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 16, 2002 19:29 UTC (Wed) by mwerner (guest, #4977) [Link] Same thing for me,I really would like to see the option of paying via bank transfer. This would make payment in this part of the world much easier. I for myself would subscribe if I could pay in Euros and via bank transfer.
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 16, 2002 17:12 UTC (Wed) by corbet (editor, #1) [Link] To do that, we'll have to set up a Euro-zone bank account. It's high on our list of things to do, but so are many other things. We will get it done at some point... Europeans make up about 40% of our readership, we certainly do not want to make life harder for them.
looking forward Posted Oct 16, 2002 17:47 UTC (Wed) by Manny_Calavera (guest, #2846) [Link] Thanks! It's great to get that kind of feedback.I'll definitly subscribe. Don't worry, you'll get together enough subscriptions :) see you,
looking forward Posted Oct 24, 2002 12:28 UTC (Thu) by jorginho (guest, #4511) [Link] I also live in Europe and have just recently applied for a credit card. Needless to say that it's taking longer than I expected, but things would be much easier if we could do things with an european bank account or just paying in euros.Cheers,
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 20, 2002 14:11 UTC (Sun) by ecureuil (subscriber, #3507) [Link] Transfering money between eurozone countries is still painful and very expensive. European banks are trying their best not to loose this very lucrative market and have made very little progress.If you open a bank account, target a country where credit cards are not in wide use like Germany. As French, it costs me more to transfer my euros to a German bank account than to pay you in dollars with my credit card. Cheers
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 16, 2002 17:58 UTC (Wed) by rsidd (subscriber, #2582) [Link] I used to live in France, and my visa card ("carte bleue") was accepted on most American sites (the only exception I found was airline sites which wanted a "billing address" in the US). The exchange rate was quite reasonable too - quite close to the market rate of the moment. I haven't tried my carte bleue on lwn.net but I'd be surprised if it didn't work.
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 17, 2002 2:55 UTC (Thu) by chmouel (subscriber, #6335) [Link] Well for myself it did work :)
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 16, 2002 18:09 UTC (Wed) by zorgan (guest, #4016) [Link] > As a French student, I just can't afford conversion betwen euro and $.If you are talking about credit cards, that would really surprise me. Credit cards usually bill 1% extra charge for use in a foreign currency, and offer a good market rate exchange rate. But certainly a Euro-zone bank account would make it easier. Good luck on the way to 4000!
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 17, 2002 15:25 UTC (Thu) by DaveK (subscriber, #2531) [Link] I payed by credit card in $US, but being British I am billed in £Sterling. My credit card company doesn't seem to make a charge at all for the currency transfer, and offers the commercial exchange rate too. I believe this is the norm for credit cards here.If we join the Eurozone it might be nice to pay for LWN in Euros too.
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 16, 2002 16:41 UTC (Wed) by barbara (subscriber, #3014) [Link] You noted in the update that the number of corporate subscriptions were below expectations.Current LWN subscribers could help in this by lobbying the major Linux companies (Red Hat, IBM, etc.) to either subscribe to LWN or take out major ads. Letter-writing campaigns do work. Let's get to work on this! Barbara
Corporate subscriptions? Posted Oct 17, 2002 12:06 UTC (Thu) by ayeomans (subscriber, #1848) [Link] Could you publicise the names of corporate subscriptions? With their permission of course. Should be good advertising combined with a little moral pressure to others.
Corporate subscriptions? Posted Oct 17, 2002 14:26 UTC (Thu) by corbet (editor, #1) [Link] We're waiting until we have enough to publicize, but, yes, that's very much on the list.
Corporate Subscriptions Posted Oct 18, 2002 11:11 UTC (Fri) by tres (guest, #352) [Link] It would help if we who are not employed by a big corporation knew with whom to direct our lobbing efforts. I often write email advocating one thing or another and am willing (and eager) to advocate LWN but I don't know where to start or who to contact.On another note, whenever I post a helpful hint (recently to linuxmanagers.org regarding LVM2 v EVMS) and I got the information for that help from LWN I site the URL of the article in question and then plug LWN subscriptions so that the helpful articles will keep coming. This example worked well because I could say that the information is available today to subscribers and next week otherwise.
Good choice Posted Oct 16, 2002 17:17 UTC (Wed) by rknop (guest, #66) [Link] If something had to go, that was it, I would agree.My own selfish perspective doesn't really care too much about Linux in business. I only care because of the side effects. First, if some Business' adoption of Linux will make a real big deal in promoting Linux and further entrenching Linux (so that it will be more inconvenient to outlaw). Every moderate company that says something about business will, over time, get lost in the noise. Second, I care if business is doing something that will make LInux very, very difficult-- I'm thinking of two main things here, the entertainment business with their "no free thought" campaign, and companies with patents that could spell doom for various key components of Linux. Both of these side effects already tend to show up in other parts of the LWN discussion. The latter, especially, becuase it's a huge and dangerous issue in society at the moment. With the former, it will only make a lot of difference either when something big happens, or when over time a whole lot of small things have built up. That, also, already gets discussed elsewhere in LWN. I, personally, don't need all the details. (I understand that others might want them.) Therefore, I, personally, won't miss that section of LWN as much as I might miss others. The section I miss the most that's already missing is the "this week in history" section. That was always a lot of fun. -Rob
I too miss Linux history Posted Oct 16, 2002 18:01 UTC (Wed) by frazier (guest, #3060) [Link] Just agreeing, the press release extravaganza is probably the best section to cut. I too miss the 'week in Linux history' section, it was nice to get retrospective, and the section was one of the more entertaining ones, since there was many times follow-up commentary. It would be interesting to see stuff like "PHP Nuke / Post Nuke split: 2 years later".If you ever decide to bring back "On the Desktop", consider restoring the history section first!
Ditto on Linux history Posted Oct 17, 2002 5:22 UTC (Thu) by Strike (guest, #861) [Link] The pages that have no real original content, that are just culled articles that are grouped smartly - pretty much always get skipped when I read through the weekly edition. I'd consider those literary driftwood for the weekly edition, just another page I gotta click through to get through the weekly edition. The history page was at least something other than "the flavor of the day", and the sort of perspective it gives can't be found elsewhere (that I've seen). I always loved it and sorely missed it when it vanished.
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 16, 2002 18:15 UTC (Wed) by iabervon (subscriber, #722) [Link] I think that corporate sponsorships will be coming, but coming slwoly, just because corporations move relatively slowly. Working for a company that sells to companies has given me an idea of just how slowly things happen in that world, even when everybody is in favor of something.
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 16, 2002 19:43 UTC (Wed) by ksmathers (guest, #2353) [Link] When you were shopping LWN out for some form of corporate support, I remember you writing that there were several offers on the table but that none of them were attractive due to either conflicts of interest or unpalatable commercialization of the site.You could try contacting those companies again, not to sponsor the news, but to deliver it as syndicated news to their customers. If what they were interested in was new content to keep their site fresh, then there might be interest in republishing your news in syndication.
Linux Weekly Analysis Posted Oct 16, 2002 19:47 UTC (Wed) by josh_stern (guest, #4868) [Link] Just wanted to make the general comment that sites like http://linuxhacker.org do a good job of cycling most all the Linux related news stories, so the focus of LWN should be on it strengths, which, IMO, are technical analysis of what is happening in the community - e.g. the kernel feature is great, and other topics like XFree86 and gcc could benefit from the similar coverage. So please focus on your strengths and sell people on the unique job you do with those.
Linux Weekly Analysis Posted Oct 17, 2002 1:21 UTC (Thu) by da4089 (subscriber, #1195) [Link] i agree -- the thing that keeps me coming back, and paying for, L[DW]N is the analysis. it's top quality, and there's far too little of it around. as always, a job very well done!i realise that it's probably the most expensive thing to do, and that in some ways, the daily news is generated almost as a side-effect of doing the analysis anyway, but it's the analysis that is the core value.
Also One Week Delay is too Little Posted Oct 16, 2002 19:49 UTC (Wed) by josh_stern (guest, #4868) [Link] I think the delay for non-subscribers could justifiably be a bit longer (just in the interests of encouraging more subscriptions).
It won't encourage anyone Posted Oct 16, 2002 21:13 UTC (Wed) by proski (subscriber, #104) [Link] There are many parts in the world where it's hard to send money to the United States. It may be even dangerous. If criminals learn that you send money in US dollars abroad, they may decide that you are too rich.Making the period longer will not encourage anybody. If I could not subscribe, I would be reading other sites rather than even one week old LWN.
It won't encourage anyone Posted Oct 16, 2002 22:48 UTC (Wed) by josh_stern (guest, #4868) [Link] I didn't see the 'hard to subscribe from Europe problem' (which they should fix) having much interaction with the delay issue - if you mean that it would be unfair to delay more until that issue is fixed then I have no quibble. But even for individuals in the US the $60/year rate is high for what is essentially a magazine subscription (most mags cost less per content page), and to the extent that people agree with me that the analysis is the most important part, a one week delay doesn't substantially lessen its value. In any case, it is easy for LWN to analyze how many people are reading the delayed edition, and make a decision accordingly.
It won't encourage anyone Posted Oct 17, 2002 4:56 UTC (Thu) by proski (subscriber, #104) [Link] I recommend you to visit Europe at least once. Then you would not assume that I was referring to Europe when I wrote that sending $60 abroad can attract criminals.Go to Germany and send $60 back home. Then go to e.g. Iran and do the same. Compare results.
It won't encourage anyone Posted Oct 17, 2002 5:58 UTC (Thu) by josh_stern (guest, #4868) [Link] Hey buddy, I've been to Europe half a dozen times; I assumed you were talking about Europe because a) others were and b) it is probably the only area that is commercially relevant to that part of the discussion. I mean you no will, but you seem to be hostile without making any meaningful point, so you should really take that burr out of your ass.
better daily coverage Posted Oct 16, 2002 20:00 UTC (Wed) by davidw (subscriber, #947) [Link] I really wish someone in a different time zone did some daily coverage as well. One of the things I do like about slashdot, linuxtoday, or some of the others, is that it seems new things are always showing up on the daily updates page, whereas they tend to be lumps in lwn.net. I suppose that's less relevant to subscriptions than advertising, but just thought I'd share.
better daily coverage Posted Oct 16, 2002 20:12 UTC (Wed) by corbet (editor, #1) [Link] In other words, we need a delayed article posting mechanism like Slashdot has :). That would smooth out the "lumps" a bit. But it doesn't really get any more news out there.We already have pretty good coverage, in that the hours worked by those of us with kids and those of us without are sufficiently different that there could be an ocean between us. Someday when we can afford it, we'll look into getting somebody on European time to post articles while we sleep. Someday.
better weekly coverage instead Posted Oct 17, 2002 2:54 UTC (Thu) by tmattox (subscriber, #4169) [Link] Actually, one of the things that attracted me to LWN years ago was the fact that it WASN'T daily. The LWN editors take the time to sit back and do a bit of analysis and write up a summary.My home page (sort of a portable bookmarks) has LWN listed as: "A less frantic source of Linux news at Linux Weekly News." just below my link to slashdot, with emphasis on "less frantic". Thus, the loss of the Linux in Business page is actually for me a good thing. It had become in the last year or so just an endless stream of links to company press releases, without much commentary or analysis. Yes it was organized into catagories, but the quantity was still a bit overwhelming. A similar thing happened awhile back on the page that was for new software release anouncements... Linux had become so popular that new versions of programs were coming out soo quickly, it was too much to list then each week. So LWN made a good decision to, in a sense, pass those duties on to freshmeat, where you can search for software that you want of the latest version. Keep up the great Weekly updates. I don't think I've missed an issue since I first found LWN years ago.
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 16, 2002 20:35 UTC (Wed) by MLKahnt (guest, #6642) [Link] I suspect that the level of readership of pages is reflective of editorial input into them, and that an unfortunate side effect will be that deleting the least read pages will not result in noticeable relative time and effort savings. I've always focussed largely on the Front Page, Security and Kernel, with some moderate skimming of the distributions page, very, very brief skimming of Development, Linux in Business, Linux in the News, an extended wander through the link for projects with updates at Freshmeat, and the history items. Essentially, the less input by LWN staff on a page, the less attention I find myself paying.That must be seen as a VERY strong pat on the back for the VAR (Value Added Reporting) status of the people of LWN. Even the LWN Status Update articles provide more interest than wandering about some of the Weekly News & Notes links of various projects (other than of my own distribution - Debian.)
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 16, 2002 21:02 UTC (Wed) by gallir (guest, #5735) [Link] What I find most interesting is the lines dedicated to the kernel development, it a good abstract of what happened in the last week altogether with very high level "technical opinion" and someforecasting. I'm sure if you put more analysis in this part, together with "flash-back" and related links, people will find even more added value to the already excellent section. Then, it could attrack more to software and hardware companies and people like me, that has to teach operating systems and explain the students the edge of the OS technology twice or three times a week. I'm not suscribed yet, because the aforementioned section is just once a week, not too long, and the rest can be found easily in the net. Sure I will do it if you offer a longer kernel section (or twice a week instead of once). Just my 2 cents, which doesn't mean they are worth the effort :-)
Trying to help Posted Oct 16, 2002 21:06 UTC (Wed) by alspnost (subscriber, #2763) [Link] Congratulations on approaching the 2,000 milestone - but I realise that you need and deserve far more subscriptions. I think we all need to do what we can in our own small way - such as telling all the Linux enthusiasts we know about how excellent LWN is, and why they should subscribe today or stop being our friends :-) Seriously, it's an obvious thing to do, but let's make sure we're all doing it!I've given you a free advert on the front page of our "company" web site - unfortunately, we're only a fledgling and semi-dormant consulting organisation just now, but if even a few people come our way and then get directed to LWN, then I'll be thankful. Keep up the brilliant work, and we'll all keep evangelising and supporting you. I want LWN to be around for as long as Linux is, and to grow as fast as Linux, which only seems fair!
Took the first step today, but... Posted Oct 16, 2002 21:33 UTC (Wed) by Duncan (guest, #6647) [Link] I have been reading LWN for some time, but until now, anonymously, w/o posting. Today, primarily to facilitate a subscription, I finally created an account.However, I didn't actually go thru and do that subscription, for a couple reasons... One, as someone else mentioned I believe last week, there needs to be an upgrade option. Two, I don't want the hassle of auto-billing, so I'd do lump-sum payment, but I'm feeling a bit poor right now, and the $60 pro level is currently a bit rich for me, until a couple things get a bit more stablized (another reason I don't want a continuing monthly charge). If there was an upgrade option, I'd take the struggling programmer level immediately, and probably upgrade, in a few weeks. Still, that first step is a start... As for the week delay, that some folks wish to make a month... News can get pretty stale in a month... IMO, the week is about right, as it creates an incentive to subscribe, but doesn't make the news so stale as to be of little use. (Being a month behind one-time, but able to catch up, isn't to bad, but to CONSTANTLY be a month behind...?? IMO, that'd be shooting ourselves in the foot, as potential subscribers would probably not stay around long enough to see the value. I know I'd probably be looking elsewhere, and forgetting about LWN, for weekly content anyway, if it was a month behind. As it is at a week, it is still useful enough to keep me here, while just frustrating enough to remind me that I really DO need that subscription.. =;^)
Took the first step today, but... Posted Oct 17, 2002 20:24 UTC (Thu) by MLKahnt (guest, #6642) [Link] I'd extend that - being one month behind would have two primary effects:1) An increased load on the daily announcements, and 2) Increased risk of articles of interest being clipped and dumped into Usenet by individuals who have access *via* a third party (eg. employer, users group.) This is particularly a risk wrt individuals that may insist on the mistaken concept that if it is on the Internet, it must be "Public Domain" regardless of any clear copyright statements. One would hope that people wouldn't be *that* silly. I would argue that the longer the delay of the freely available version, the less reason to *really* bother with the freely available version altogether - it becomes increasingly a "Doctor's Waiting Room Edition". That would save some bandwidth and costs related to that, but it would reduce potential subscription sources.
New idea for subscriptions Posted Oct 16, 2002 21:33 UTC (Wed) by TheOneKEA (subscriber, #615) [Link] Congrats on hitting the 2000 mark. I wish I could subscribe, but unfortunately I don't have the money ATM to do so. However, I do have an interesting idea: Why not setup your subscription system so that when you subscribe, you can select which parts of LWN you are willing to pay for and leave the rest alone.This sounds overly complex, but think about it: If a person is unwilling to subscribe because they only want to read about kernel development, but don't want to pay for unread content, then adding this will let them get only what they want. It also helps people like myself, who can't afford $5/month for everything but could afford a lower price per section. Last time I checked you guys had seven major sections, not counting the "Linux in Business" and "Letters to the editor" sections, which are variable depending on company status and/or lack of content. Your current subscription price is $5/month. Doing the math yields a price of 0.71c per article. However, if you raise your full subscription price to $7/month, then a subscriber could select the sections he wanted, pay $1 per section, and be happy. Meaning that the people who can't afford $5/month but CAN afford $1-$3/month will start signing up, and the people who want all the content can select it at subscription time. The only two major problems I see are: 1) Raising the subscription price Comments anyone? This sounds like a good idea to me, but I'm sure there are bugs in it somewhere.
Not worth the trouble.. Posted Oct 16, 2002 22:28 UTC (Wed) by Duncan (guest, #6647) [Link] I don't think it's worth the trouble to do it section a-la-carte.If they were to do that, the back end, etc, would only be justified if they raised the per-section fee to, say, $2 or even more, each, as is often the case with a-la-carte, vs. "buffet style" all-U-can-eat flat-rate. They already have the struggling programmer subscription level, at $2.50 a month, for those that can't do more. IMO, people who can't afford the $5 a month fee can go for that. If they can't afford the $2.50 a month level, they probably can't afford $1 a month, either, especially considering the service fees at one end or the other are going to be taking out 25 cents of that, most likely. I say, keep it flat rate and avoid the hassle and trouble.
Not worth the trouble.. Posted Oct 16, 2002 23:34 UTC (Wed) by TheOneKEA (subscriber, #615) [Link] I can agree with you. One of the reasons why I haven't subscribed yet is precisely because I can't afford $2.50/month. However, I can afford a $1/month rate.I don't want to pay for content I'm not going to read. IMO, that's a waste of my money and a waste of the valuable time of the LWN editors. I want to pay for the content I'm actually going to use, like the kernel pages and the secruity pages. Sure, keeping it flat rate would make a lot of sense at first, but for people like me, who want to choose their content and pay for it, it doesn't really work out. BTW, what does the $2.50/month get you?
just curious Posted Oct 17, 2002 1:26 UTC (Thu) by lonely_bear (subscriber, #2726) [Link] When you guys/gals said you havn't subscribed yet, how could you read this subscription contents and make comments?
just curious Posted Oct 17, 2002 1:29 UTC (Thu) by lonely_bear (subscriber, #2726) [Link] my mistake. I was busy these few days and forgot to see the daily news.Sorry about that!
Not worth the trouble.. Posted Oct 17, 2002 1:48 UTC (Thu) by zorgan (guest, #4016) [Link] > BTW, what does the $2.50/month get you?Everything.
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 16, 2002 23:49 UTC (Wed) by sgatchel (guest, #4983) [Link] What is your goal? Please set a goal and post on the front page along with continuous progress tracking. (re: Blender's therometer or PBS's subscripton drives?) This will serve as a continuous reminder of what you need to build LWN.For business subscribers, build a special page for there logos to recognize them. Circulate these on the front page (or thoughout LWN) with their respective tag line. Marketing funds are easier to justify for a business than subscriptions. Maybe use different subscription levels (gold, silver, etc.)... again check Blender for some ideas.
LWN Goal indicator Posted Oct 17, 2002 14:12 UTC (Thu) by pspinler (subscriber, #2922) [Link] I strongly agree - place a front page goal (5000 subscriptions ?) and status indicator aka PBS. Make it slightly obnoxious if the reader is a non-subscriber. For example, see how the NY Times places ads in the middle of each article. It'd also be a bit neat if you include in the status bar a reminder about how many readers vrs number subscribers (assume readers = unique I.P.s ? or force readers to create a free account, aka NY Times again). Make people a little guilty. Perhaps even make your goal a set percentage of readers ? 2.5% would seem reasonable. -- A proud subscriber
LWN Goal indicator Posted Oct 17, 2002 16:54 UTC (Thu) by Duncan (guest, #6647) [Link] > force readers to create a free account, aka NY Times againI no longer visit the NYT routinely due to those accounts. When I do, I use the random login generators out there. Until I just set up an accout here recently in preperation for subscribing, I would have resisted an account here as well. If it was required, I would have simply gone elsewhere. Should registration become required, LWN would simply drive potential subscribers away, before they became aware of the value of the content, and that it was worth paying for. That's in the best interest of no one. IMO, there's little or no reason to require an account, for free content. Either make it all subscription only, or don't require an account for the free content at all.
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 17, 2002 0:17 UTC (Thu) by Frej (subscriber, #4165) [Link] Visa works pretty fine here - it's a danish credit card/visa card.I know that it's at a good conversion rate but it's not that much compared to the subsscription price.
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 17, 2002 3:19 UTC (Thu) by smoogen (subscriber, #97) [Link] Here are my two things. Add some code so that when people post to the boards a star is there if they have bought a subscription.I would also prefer a 2 week delay in getting the weeklies up. I think that if it drives people away from the site.. it is just a market factor that they were not going to pay for it in the first place. I enjoy the content you put out, and I value it quite a bit. I actually have cancelled other gratuities in my life at the moment to pay for what I can.
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 17, 2002 7:15 UTC (Thu) by leonid (guest, #4891) [Link] Another possibility is for some distribution (say RedHat) to include LWN subsripion in the package (optionally). That would benefit both, I think :)
Premium distribution pachages incl. LWN subscription.. Posted Oct 17, 2002 17:09 UTC (Thu) by Duncan (guest, #6647) [Link] That's a REALLY neat idea! I'd buy a Mdk package w/ an LWN membership. Of course, to make the economics practical for both entities, it'd have to be, perhaps, another level of subscription, below that of the $30 a year "struggling programmer", something on the level of a $10-15 "Distribution sponsorship" subscription. Further, it'd have to be only on the higher priced "deluxe" packages. Still, the potential volume of subscriptions coming in at that level, and the fact that it'd be a block subscription meaning a single billing for it rather than hundreds of individual billings, would make up for the low individual rate.Like I said, I LIKE the idea, as then, I could be showing support for TWO Linux causes with the same purchase. Make the $90 Mdk package a $100 package, and put the $10 toward LWN... I'd not likely buy that level of Mdk package otherwise, but together.. I'd definitely consider it. I might even do BOTH the Mdk package and a separate subscription... (Again, subscription upgrade ability would come in quite handy, here.)
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 25, 2002 8:25 UTC (Fri) by wolfrider (guest, #3105) [Link] On the other hand, how about sending out a free Linux CD (distro of the month / Knoppix / Mandrake / Gentoo / etc.) with a subscription that meets a certain $$ amount? ($30?)Of course, this is probably more overhead than LWN cares for, but it IS a value-added service...
Just an idea: translations? Posted Oct 17, 2002 8:30 UTC (Thu) by jwharmanny (guest, #971) [Link] Maybe it's a good idea to translate the Weekly edition in foreign languages? In that way you would attract a lot of readers whose English isn't very good.On the other hand, it would take some good translation skills to translate the content of LWN, because it is very well written and some technical knowledge is required. Furthermore, translations would suffer significant delays compared to the English version, because translation takes extra time. However, I think it is worth a try to look around in the various i18n projects to see if there is interest. Experienced translators could translate most of the Weekly Edition in less then a day, I think. Jan-Willem
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 17, 2002 12:08 UTC (Thu) by ordonnateur (guest, #6652) [Link] 1) Making payments with VISA credit cards is no problem from the UK and there is no exchange rate charge usually (the exchange rate on visa/mastercard card transactions is very close to the currency market spot rate and is much better value than changing money and then making the payment) So the problem with European payments is really with those coutries where credit/debit cards are less common.2) I have paid my sub (at the 'poor student' rate) I do not like giving continued authority to debit a card, it is a lot of trouble when things go wrong. I am quite happy to pay $30 up front, I am not worried about the nominal loss if you fold. What wasn't clear from your subscription pages was what the difference between the full and reduced rate sub is. I read the weekly edition, usually the day it appears, that's all I want. 3) I don't pay much attention to the Linux in Business pages, it always appears to me to consist of rehashed press releases rather than real reporting. Maybe those companies (or their PR agencies) might take out a sub to encourage you to bring it back. 4) What I really value is the summary of the kernel development issues, news of security, development and distributions etc. I think that sort of informed commentary is worth paying for
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 17, 2002 13:00 UTC (Thu) by dmantione (guest, #4640) [Link] "So the problem with European payments is really with those coutries where credit/debit cards are less common."Well, actually the problem is that some countries are so well populated with debit cards that credit cards simply didn't have the chance to get spread. It's the case here in the Netherlands. Banks offer debit cards for free, so everyone has one. Because you can use it in shops and cash dispencers (hope I spell that right) throughout the EU and other countries, people don't have a need for a separate credit card. In fact they don't want one, because they are expensive and it is the most unsafe way of paying there is. Now you cannot buy on the internet with a debit card. The way these things work, it's allmost undoable. Some banks have tried to introduce a system to do it, but it didn't become a success. Indeed, the UK is a little different from the rest of Europe, it's the only country where credit cards became a succes. Daniel Mantione
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 17, 2002 16:45 UTC (Thu) by mp (subscriber, #5615) [Link] > Now you cannot buy on the internet with a debit card.> The way these things work, it's allmost undoable. Well. It seems to be quite doable from Poland, otherwise I couldn't subscribe.
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 17, 2002 19:06 UTC (Thu) by dmantione (guest, #4640) [Link] The way these things work, the machine that does the transaction has to read your pin-code from the magnetic storage strip on your card and then verify it with the code you enter. This is the only way to get through the security since the pin-code is only stored on the card and on nothing else.Now think how you can do this on the internet. My guess is that the debit cards in Poland use a different system than here.
OT: Credit Cards Posted Oct 17, 2002 17:10 UTC (Thu) by josh_stern (guest, #4868) [Link] Just a note on credit cards from a U.S. perspective. It is the norm for most people to have multiple credit cards with no yearly charge. If one pays the bill in full each month by the deadline, typically around 20 days after statement closing, then there is no interest charge. In fact, Discover and several MC/VISA card pay the consumer ~1% refund on the amount spent. So how do they make money? From the combination of interest payments of the people who don't pay in full and late penalty fees for people who don't pay something by the deadline each month. So the very good, cheap service that I get is actually funded by other consumers that are uninformed/irrational about money. Europe may possibly lack enough of these irrational folk to allow for the same kind of attractive deals.
OT: Credit Cards Posted Oct 17, 2002 17:23 UTC (Thu) by Duncan (guest, #6647) [Link] >In fact, Discover and several MC/VISA card pay the consumer ~1% refund on the amount spent. So how do they make money? From the combination of interest payments of the people who don't pay in full and late penalty fees for people who don't pay something by the deadline each month.They also charge the merchant about ~4% (or 50 cents, whichever is greater) transaction fees. The 1% cashback actually comes out of that. The interest and late fees are just gravy. As to the merchants, they really don't have a choice. They either pay the transaction fees, or loose the incremental CC business. That's why some places (like gas stations and some restaurants) charge an additional fee or a higher price for CC purchases.
Credit vs. Debit cards Posted Oct 17, 2002 17:16 UTC (Thu) by Duncan (guest, #6647) [Link] Over here in the US, CCs came about first, but now, most bank ATM/Check guarantee/Debit cards also have the CC system logo of either MasterCard or Visa, so there's little distinction except in the account it comes out of at the bank, and whether the customer puts the $$ in it up front (checking/debit), or after use (credit).The other notable difference is in the laws as to consumer protections, but most banks apply the more favorable to consumer CC policies to the their logo'ed DCs as well, because they know if they don't, their customers will simply go elsewhere.
Credit/debit cards Posted Oct 17, 2002 18:46 UTC (Thu) by xoddam (subscriber, #2322) [Link] People in the UK and US may not be aware of the difference.The US never knew anything but the now-global Visa/Mastercard system (and Diners and Amex); the UK as a late-adopter has ensured that its shiny new debit card system is compatible with the global credit card network. Early adopters elsewhere now face being temporarily Some of the earlier debit card systems are not compatible I live in the UK now and here I have a *debit* card which Unfortunately some merchants (eg. easycar.com) now insist
Guilt Posted Oct 17, 2002 20:00 UTC (Thu) by crouchet (guest, #1084) [Link] Guilt is not a good goad for a business that wants to continue long term. I does generate short term results but it does so by making your readers feel bad. In time that strategy will cost you readership and, ultimately, subscribers. Our local public radio station has finally figured this out and has toned the guilt way down. Now that they have been "clean" for some time I am thinking of sending them money as I use to do.I just got back out to LWN after some time away (project push, you know) and noticed that subscriptions are now working so I am on my way to subscribe. However, I won't give money to those who use guilt to manipulate others, whether they are bums on the street corner or organizations with worthy causes. I am NOT accusing LWN of doing this -- in fact you have been very honest and open about your situation and your needs. I find that honorable and respectable. I urge you to keep to that policy and resist those who recommend manipulating the emotions of your readers. The answer is not in making non-subscribers feel bad, but in making subscribers feel good. JC - who will be a subscriber by the time you read this.
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 18, 2002 1:39 UTC (Fri) by cyanide (guest, #2236) [Link] Of course a good way to get a few thousand visitors to LWN is to get an article on slashdot. I imagine quite a few of you have submitted articles, but the gods have not been kind.I'm not suggesting flooding the /. editors with pleas to link to LWN, but perhaps if we take the opportunity to link to relevant LWN articles in whatever forum discussions our readers are involved in. This could be a collaboration between editors and readers. For instance, if something notable occurs in WorldForge land (though I have to admit the project is a tad quiet... damn recession) and LWN writes an analysis of the event, it would not be unreasonable, given good quality of analysis, that I mention the link on the mailing list. Reader discression is important here, we would like to spread the word, but with some restraint when choosing a time to pipe up about a great article. ;-) Cheers, hope this helps, Oli White
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 18, 2002 5:53 UTC (Fri) by jonlyb (guest, #6732) [Link] Just became a subscriber. For outreach, LWN luminaries might try approaching the Internet Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and get a table at a few of their get togethers here in Colorado. They're very well attended. Here's their contact info:Terry Freeman, ICC Executive Director & Editor, tfreeman@icc.org
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 18, 2002 12:51 UTC (Fri) by mefistofeles (guest, #3022) [Link] Eurosupport would be great. How about Tsh? (Just kidding).I was just wondering about the monthly scheme. Paying 5 USD a month is good for me, living for the moment on a measly income in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, but how do you survive on that money? Say that a couple of hundred of your potential subs. uses that scheme. You´re not making any money at all really. (Even if it is good for me right now....) /Mef.
LWN Status Update Posted Oct 18, 2002 18:10 UTC (Fri) by freealter (guest, #4335) [Link] What distinguishes LWN from other linux information sources is the quality of its informations. The current show of friendness of the readers to LWN is the best proof of that. I must say, that I am very proud to be one of these supporters.I have things to say and to sell (sorry) to my fellow subscribers. I propose that LWN set up a paying mailing list to the subscribers (you pay to publish a message not to receive it) and that they guarantee the pace and the quality of the message. They will guarantee that it is not another spam message but an interesting commercial message for the subscribers. And I am very confident that they will have the same clarity of thoughts for distinguishing between trash and interesting commercial informations. Obviously the messages must be rare (one per week, twice perhaps, not more). The 2000 subscribers of LWN are a very targeted and interesting audience. It has a value for others, then LWN must be able to sell it efficiently and without selling its soul. Does this proposal shock my subscriber friends or do they accept it ?
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