So we should expect everything to be free?

So we should expect everything to be free?

Posted Aug 8, 2002 7:19 UTC (Thu) by athird (guest, #1052)
In reply to: spoilt brat syndrome by ringerc
Parent article: Where has the pioneer spirit of LWN gone?

You don't see a contradiction in the following two statements?

"It would appear the problems are solely related to manpower and
compensating individuals for the "pro bono" work they have in the past.
How did LWN do this back in 1998?"

"Please accept the fact that LWN has become
more than that little online e-mag you pioneered back in 1998."

It *has* become more than it was in 1998, which answers your own question about the increased costs. As I've seen lots of people say since all of this came out, professional quality journalism is worth paying for, and I fully intend to subscribe when that option becomes available.

Your comparison with the Mandrake Club also seems to miss the point. Yes, those who donate to Mandrake probably are those who never bought a boxed set in the past. That's actually what Mandrake want. When someone buys a boxed set, how much of the money do Mandrake actually get, and how much goes on packaging, shipping, manufacture, etc.? The profit margin isn't very large, and each user needs to buy the boxed set of *every* version in order to keep up Mandrake's income. Far better, for both user and company, if you can pay about $5 a month, or whatever, knowing that pretty much all of that is going straight to them.

Too many people have complained about companies "trying to turn themselves into charities", without realising that mechanisms such as LWN subscriptions and the Mandrake Club are *not* donations. They're payment systems, to allow us to reimburse companies who provide a service to us.

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