[Premium] Dave and Alexis Talk Redesign

Here's the thing. As users who don't have a premium subscription, we deserve to know what is going on behind the scenes as much as the premium users. As we all know, Giant Bomb is a videogame website and about the people who run that website. At least make this available to non subscribers later. It seems that most of the premium content is more worth seeing and exceeds more in quality than the regular content these days. I understand you guys need money, but shouldn't CBSi cover most of that now? Sorry, I just really want to watch this live segment.

CBSi certainly don't want them to just forget about premium members and they certainly can't just cover it. That being said I understand what you mean, but really its just like a Whiskey Media Radio Show. Except without the calls and only on one topic. They aren't really showing anything just chatting about the site, nothing hugely important, mostly just theoretical discussion about what they might do and why that'd be good.

I understand where you are coming from, but I disagree. I think the paying members deserve to get a better understanding of what goes on behind the scenes, as we are more "invested" in the site.

The rest of the userbase will surely get to know the changes that comes in the redesign before it goes live, Dave will probably do a write-up soon.

[Post redacted to encourage people to read the thread before replying]

I understand, however, I don't remember them doing write ups about site changes before they went live, such as the most recent site redesign we have now.

If it makes you feel any better I could be watching it but it isn't all that interesting to me so am watching the hockey playoffs instead.

Well if they are going to change the whole site for everyone anyways, why hide the preview?
Or think about it like this. Paid users are getting the surprised spoiled for them now, While normal members will show up one day and be like WHOA!! It's all new and fancy!!

Few changes were ever explained before they went live. But if there is going to be an explanation, it should be available to everyone that the change affects. And that is everyone, not just paying members.

The show has gone over to answer questions from users. If you didn't get to watch, you didn't miss much. They basically just said, "yeah, we're redesigning the site, and it's been hard/fun". Also a new shirt is going up on the store later today, and another shirt next week.

They are not saying much. They are saying they are going to change stuff but no real specifics.

This is a really weird decision. I guess only premium people get to know how the website will change for everybody.

Hey what's the phone number?  I can't remember.  :( 

Dave is wearing a blindfold and telling people not to put stuff in his mouth.

You're not missing any crucial information.

@DeeGee said:

Dave is wearing a blindfold and telling people not to put stuff in his mouth.

You're not missing any crucial information.

They're missing the MOST crucial information.

I think everyone is really curious about the new design since it could affect the aesthetics and functionality of the site, and because of how fundamental this is, it's a much harder pull to upgrade than the occasional jar video, load our last save or some other nonsense.

Speaking as a concerned user I want this information easily available to me (basically free) because I feel more entitled to it since its such a bigger deal than the other stuff, especially given their acquisition by CBSi. However, I don't think its wrong for this to be premium content because if I was paying for a premium membership I would want exclusive access to any inside information about the redesign to justify my $50/year membership. I can't afford it, so I am not in this camp.

Ultimately, I recognize the value proposition of premium content, so, I can deal with not knowing this information, but at the same time, it's right there at the top of the page, being dangled in front of me, taunting me. Oh, Giant Bomb, why are you such a tease?

Edit: So apparently there wasn't anything important in that broadcast, but I still think this is an important discussion considering this might still come up again before the new design is launched.

A monthly membership costs $5, and I know of several users who spend that a few times a year and download all the premium content in bulk. If this piece of private content is worth being outraged over, it's certainly worth spending $5 for.

But beyond that, imagine how much more concerned you'd be if you had just spent $50 on this site. I'm sure there are plenty of members that took advantage of the sale they were having around black friday and have possibly paid in advance for years and years of this membership. The simple truth is that the members have more invested in GB/CV, objectively, and Dave et all want to go out of their way to alleviate our fears since we're considered the "hardcore" fans. Is it special treatment? Absolutely; it's why we paid our hard-earned money for the membership.

That isn't to say that non-paying users aren't huge contributors and of huge value to the community...but I don't see any indication that you'll be left in the dark. Like all the other members in the thread are saying, it's not like there was any groundbreaking announcement made today. And the last time there was a groundbreaking announcement it was not only public, but (partially) broadcast live on GameSpot for the entire world to see.

Again, if it's worth being outraged over it's probably worth $5.

Premiums are the only ones who get access to Dave period. You think that guy you see is actually Dave? That's his double for freebies. The real Dave... oh man... there are no words to accurately capture the sheer Daveness on display.

@ShaggE said:

Premiums are the only ones who get access to Dave period. You think that guy you see is actually Dave? That's his double for freebies. The real Dave... oh man... there are no words to accurately capture the sheer Daveness on display.

It's...............hardcore.

@LordAndrew said:

That's pretty messed up. I'm an active member of the community and I care about the redesign, but I just can't go throwing money at the site right now so I don't get to hear about it.

News flash: being a premium member has benefits. This is the opposite of "messed up", it makes perfect sense.

I have to say.... I really don't care for any of the GB livestreams. They're all kind of terrible and very poorly improvised. So as a non-subscriber, it doesn't really bother me much. I'm sure Dave will tell us about the site changes in a more official manner than this

Nah, sorry. It makes perfect sense this is premium content. Users that have put down cold hard cash for the site obviously invested now financially in the site and that gives them priority. If the line between paid and non-paid starts to become thinner and thinner then there ends up being no reason to pay. They need to show premium members that the money they invested was worth it.

@planetary said:

@LordAndrew said:

That's pretty messed up. I'm an active member of the community and I care about the redesign, but I just can't go throwing money at the site right now so I don't get to hear about it.

News flash: being a premium member has benefits. This is the opposite of "messed up", it makes perfect sense.

This is pretty much my feelings. It seems like it's two premium dudes ganging up on a free member, but yeah... You're going to find out being an active member of the community, anyway.

First they came for the HD streams and we didn't speak out because we weren't assholes. Then they came for the premium content....

Only thing of worth that came out of this premium thing is that gamebomb.ru and giantbomb.com shall continue to coexist.

Yeah, seriously, fuck the people who keep the site running! NO BENEFITS FOR THEM, FUCK THOSE GUYS! SUCH ASSHOLES COMING UP IN HERE ALL LIKE, "YOYOYO, WHAT'S UP WITH THE SITE WE PAY MONEY FOR?"

FUCK DAT SHIT MAN. EVERYTHING IS FREE.

It's fine that people who pay get benefits. But the redesign itself is not one of those benefits. It affects EVERYONE who uses the site, so information about it should be available to everyone. There are people who use the site every day who have no idea what's changing because the staff are intentionally witholding that information from them. We are all users of this site. We all support this site simply by being here. We all deserve to know.

That's it? No useful information? According to the thing at the top of the page it's still going on. That's an awful lot of time discussing essentially nothing. There has to be big changes. BermanBraun bought the platform the sites currently run on. They said nothing of that?.

@LordAndrew said:

It's fine that people who pay get benefits. But the redesign itself is not one of those benefits. It affects EVERYONE who uses the site, so information about it should be available to everyone. There are people who use the site every day who have no idea what's changing because the staff are intentionally witholding that information from them. We are all users of this site. We all support this site simply by being here. We all deserve to know.

They also don't have to tell anyone anything. Remember when the site first started, I enjoyed reading Dave's forum posts about the redesigns back then. Wait a minute... what do you mean there was no such information!?

And no, there was nothing specific. Just some ideas being tossed about, with Dave and Alexis looking nervous.

@Baillie: Read my next post and hopefully you'll see why I thought this was a big deal.

That's it? No useful information? According to the thing at the top of the page it's still going on. That's an awful lot of time discussing essentially nothing. There has to be big changes. BermanBraun bought the platform the sites currently run on. They said nothing of that?.

@LordAndrew: No, you read my edit!

Another entitlement thread, really? I get that you guys want to be part of the community and all, but for the love of God stop trying to dismantle everything the people who invest in this site have paid for. Just because you do not get to view a live video of two guys chatting and theory crafting on April 13th, doesn't mean you have been stripped of something important. You will find out in a couple of days - most likely through another form of media - or when they finally put the changes into affect.

TL;DR - If you don't want to pay, that's fine, but understand that certain privileges come to those who invest in others. It's the way of the world, folks.

Most of the premium stuff is because they have to do it outside of their regular schedule.

They provide it because we pay, and we pay because they provide it. Circle of life and all that jazz.

There was literally nothing solid being decided. It was also just the guys elaborating on ideas they had for the site, and taking some questions/suggestions from callers (followed by either them saying it's a good idea or something unrealistic). This was not some sort of secret "Members Only" cabal in which users were allowed to determine the fate of Giant Bomb. You guys seriously didn't miss anything.

I think this live stream in particular is only there to pay back the subscribers. I don't think it would have happened if it was open for everyone. After all Giant Bomb is here to provide games coverage and people could be doing more constructive stuff with that time. They just think of ways to thank subscribers because they're really grateful for the support and often that will take place in a less video game oriented video because they know that will go down well and doesn't take much preparation. They have to do something for subscribers after all otherwise numbers would drop severely.

I just think that if everybody was allowed to watch that live stream maybe there would be an overflow of input. Wasn't the goal to have something of a "conversation" with premium users to get some feedback?

This is a sure way to know that you're talking with a group of people that really care for Giant Bomb, without allowing into the Q&A what would probably be too many people - which maybe would make it kind of a mess.

I'm sure they mean well.

I missed the stream though, so I'm not sure how accurate this is.

Call in shows that aren't limited to members are pretty much trainwrecks anyways, it's better this way.

@Duder_Me said:

It seems that most of the premium content is more worth seeing and exceeds more in quality than the regular content these days.

@ShaggE said:

Premiums are the only ones who get access to Dave period. You think that guy you see is actually Dave? That's his double for freebies. The real Dave... oh man... there are no words to accurately capture the sheer Daveness on display.

He's actually a talking dragon right? I knew it!

Jesus Christ man, entitlement much. You do realize we're paying for this and that it's part of the whole premium package. It's not like anything major actually happened. They threw out some ideas and took some Q&A; that's pretty much the it. If something groundbreaking happened they'd let everyone on the site now.

@Snail said:

I just think that if everybody was allowed to watch that live stream maybe there would be an overflow of input. Wasn't the goal to have something of a "conversation" with premium users to get some feedback?

This is a sure way to know that you're talking with a group of people that really care for Giant Bomb, without allowing into the Q&A what would probably be too many people - which maybe would make it kind of a mess.

I'm sure they mean well.

I missed the stream though, so I'm not sure how accurate this is.

That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the comments, however, as for the ones bashing me, I thought this would be some big live stream with a lot of information when the banner went up. Turns out, nothing really happened : /

@AngelN7 said:

@ShaggE said:

Premiums are the only ones who get access to Dave period. You think that guy you see is actually Dave? That's his double for freebies. The real Dave... oh man... there are no words to accurately capture the sheer Daveness on display.

He's actually a talking dragon right? I knew it!

hah, don't be ridiculous. Dave and chat dragon are 2 entirely different people.

I hate these kind of threads. It was non-essential content, let's not have a fit. I was going to write a big thing on this but the truth is we've had so many of these threads before that I've learned it is a total waste of time trying to make people understand.

Here's the thing. As users who don't have a premium subscription, we deserve to know what is going on behind the scenes as much as the premium users. As we all know, Giant Bomb is a videogame website and about the people who run that website. At least make this available to non subscribers later. It seems that most of the premium content is more worth seeing and exceeds more in quality than the regular content these days. I understand you guys need money, but shouldn't CBSi cover most of that now? Sorry, I just really want to watch this live segment.

@VIGGO123 said:

I understand where you are coming from, but I disagree. I think the paying members deserve to get a better understanding of what goes on behind the scenes, as we are more "invested" in the site.

The rest of the userbase will surely get to know the changes that comes in the redesign before it goes live, Dave will probably do a write-up soon.

Agreed. You guys know there is a change coming. But subscribers pay for behind the scenes stuff. Not knowing about it isn't going to ruin your experience on the site. There will likely be a post that gives a good overview of the changes, but in the meantime, the people who pay for back stage passes get backstage passes.

@theodacourt said:

I think this live stream in particular is only there to pay back the subscribers. I don't think it would have happened if it was open for everyone. After all Giant Bomb is here to provide games coverage and people could be doing more constructive stuff with that time. They just think of ways to thank subscribers because they're really grateful for the support and often that will take place in a less video game oriented video because they know that will go down well and doesn't take much preparation. They have to do something for subscribers after all otherwise numbers would drop severely.

This exactly.

This site is about games. And all of the game stuff is free. The stuff behind a paywall is literally just more access to the personalities behind the site and the content. Presumably if you care about that bit at all, if you care enough to spend more time listening to the bombsquad and watching them in premium live streams and convenient downloadable videos, you'd also care enough to do your part and chip in so they can keep doing what they're doing. Otherwise you're just some kind of a creepy voyeur, crying in the window.

I see what you mean but there will probably be some kind of article up soon about the site redesign, so I wouldn't worry yourself. If not, you're welcome to lose your shit.

@Duder_Me said:

we deserve to know what is going on behind the scenes as much as the premium users.

Let's throw reasonable conclusions out the window, why don't we?

As a free member myself, I must know how I'm entitled to see things that are locked for premium members.