November 25, 2009 by sharky
While pay2leech and even pay2invite are not new concepts for trackers looking to generate revenue to cover operating expenses, it is certainly more deplorable when existing members are forced into it - with the only other viable alternative is being forcefully removed from the tracker.
Since the stunning announcement of a sponsorship-only (P2L) model on November 12th which rocked STN’s community - so far in two weeks, only 169 members have opted to stay aboard - a far cry from the targeted 1,700 sponsors.
The PM sent to all members, by Yocto on Nov. 12th:
To start, we’re going to give you all 14 days to think it all over and reflect on it. At the end of 14 days every user will be placed into the Trial Sponsor user class and from there you have 14 days to consider adopting a sponsorship slot.
Following this 14 days i.e. Trial expiry any accounts that have not adopted a sponsorship slot will be disabled.. and finally 7 days after this the accounts will be pruned permanently if the user has opted not to make a sponsorship adoption of Euro 3.
If we’re oversubscribed i.e. 3000 sponsorships, as mentioned, we’ll leave the subscription slots as-is. In other words no existing registered user will be refused an option to sponsor StN and be part of this unique ratio-free private community.
If we reach our target or over subscribe then the open registrations are closed for good or until such time as they fall below our target of 1700. We thereafter become, as many have requested, a closed private community, so the opportunity to be part of this unique ratio free tracker is LIMITED!
If on the other hand, we have less sponsors than the target 1700 ie open adoption slots we will allow invites and/or open signups to the Trial Sponsor class until we reach a total of 1700 sponsorship adoptions.
The objective is to maintain 1700 adoption slots and become a closed tight-knit community.
Oversubscribed?! It’s unlikely that any tracker would be able to coax one-third of their userbase over to a mandatory "pay or GTFO" subscription. The above "14 Day Trial" didn’t go over so well, as members immediately voiced their concerns in both IRC and in the Forums, for which all non-sponsors were then prematurely blocked access to just three days later (not 14), as well as from downloading torrents. Obviously not a great way to entice more members to cough up the Euros.
The PM sent to all members, by Yocto on Nov. 24th:
This message is for people that have not read the forums.
A few weeks ago STN went to a sponsorship only model, and unfortunately due to a few bad users, I’ve had to change plans and restrict everyones access to the system. This includes downloading, posting, and reading all the forums except for one.
This means in order to stay here at STN past DEC 1st and to use the site, you need to be a sponsor. We accept Paypal, and Moneybookers.
The sponsorship cost is E3.00 and is valid for six months.
You get access to everything on the site.
Additionally you do no need to seed. More information is available in the forums.
This was done for 2 primary reasons among many.
1st, to make all the users equal on the site and do away with donors, and different user classes.
2nd, to protect the users, the tracker, and myself (my personal assets).
I realize this may not be popular. However it is the direction of _this_ tracker and will be the way most trackers have to conduct themselves in the future to protect their users, and the owners.
You may not agree with this, and that is fine. It may go against your principles and that is fine as well.
You may think it is an attempt to profit from you, however I can never re-coup the costs involved in STN.
I would charge less then E3.00 but accepting smaller payments isn’t practical.
This topic is not open for discussion.
If you which to have a sponsorship spot at STN, but are unable to pay at this time, or have some other financial burden.
Please let me know, and I will park your account for 60 days. That will give you 60 days to find a way to sponsor STN. You will be unable to use your account during this period, and only be able to click on Become a Sponsor.
If you choose not to be a sponsor of STN, once your account is deleted, the only way to get back into STN in the future is to find someone with an Invite.
The site will not be open for public signups, nor will there be an INVITE channel.
Thank you
Yocto
So what happens to STN now? Supposing that within the next week, another 30 choose to convert their accounts over to sponsor - this is still just €600 total (Euros) to cover 6 entire months of expenses, or just €100 a month - far short of the required amount. STN claims their operating costs are currently €850 a month (1,700 sponsors x €3 / 6 months = €850/mo), and this figure is quite believable. With all those IRCd services, sceneaxx, seedboxes and site hosting costs - simply put, STN will not be able to survive.
And let’s be honest - pay2leech is everywhere. What’s the absolute first thing that staff will set up on a tracker? The donation button. Then there’s paying for upload credit, VIP status, removing H&Rs or evading ratio requirements - even invites aren’t for free on some of the most prestigious trackers. And so what? Not many complain for this is a voluntary action at the sole discretion of the individual. But as soon as a tracker makes it requisite for users to pay a fee to remain there, they simply won’t stay. Even though €3 for 6 months is rather infinitesimal, the fact that it’s demanded is what has everyone up in arms screaming STN is pay2leech. I’d suspect that even €1 would have had the exact same effect. Is the lesson learned that torrenters are a cheap bunch? Nope. But they’re chock-full of dignity, integrity & values.
This article isn’t intended to come across as STN-bashing. If anyone feels that €3 is a fair price, by all means stick with them. In some ways I sympathize with Yocto & STN for, if anything else, requiring a substantial amount of capital to keep the site going - and not receiving it. Far be it for me to tell any tracker how to run their financial affairs; this is not my business. But it appears as though the mob has spoken - not loudly, but by silently not paying.
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