My Whiskey Media paid membership is about to be up for renewal and I've decided to not renew. I'm taking a lot of classes this semester and the store I worked at part time recently closed down so I don't have very much money these days. It was a really tough decision because I really want to support awesome stuff on the internet when I can and Whiskey Media is indeed awesome, but it was a tough decision that had to be made.

Once they made the HTML5 stuff free for all users, I said to pass on paying again. I own an iPad and iPhone, so I can always get the html5 for free like everyone else.

Plus I'm shipping out in Nov, so paying for it is kinda moot.

@KaosAngel: You joined the military?

Nice that you felt like telling us this.

@KaosAngel: Congrats, joining the Air Force is an awesome thing to do. God Bless America!

I'm paying for as long as they let me. The content on Whiskey is top notch.

It really pisses me off though, the fact that they made all the HTML5 stuff for free anyway.  The entire reason I even bothered to pay was for the promise of the new HTML5 videos and the new HTML5 layouts.  All iPad and iPhone users get it for free anyway, so what's the point?  There wasn't a new endurance run, Screened.com and Tested.com are really low in quality compared to other sites, and what the fuck is AnimeVice? 
 
I paid 100 dollars for a brick for Twit.tv, and felt I got more from my money from Leo Laporte than I got from the other Whiskey sites. 
 
Whatever though, the HTML5 can still be used via tablets so that's what I'll use it on.  Or if I really want, I can trick my Safari to act like the iPad version so it's all good.  Plus I use Adblock and whatnot so none of that stuff bothers me too much.

well that sucks. i don't have stuff to buy a membership. i don't really buy membership for any kind of website.

I may or may not. I'm really underwhelmed with what they've done for subscribers, and with the direction of content.

This thread is very informative.

@Titus: @wafflez: It's listed as a blog post, what were you expecting.. Sure, it's attached to the Gen Disc forum (which maybe it shouldn't be), but maybe other people want to share similar stories. Don't like a thread? Don't reply to it and bugger off. I'm sick of seeing this kind of ridiculous fucking attitude on these forums.

@Titus: Better than posting "thanks for sharing" on someone else's blog.

After hearing what they were talking about on the SNES marathon, I am hoping that my membership will be renewed. If they make membership content exclusive and start adding new things, then I will actually do it. Right now I am sitting on whether or not to give them my $5 a month..

I had to cancel too. Monetary reasons, but we wound up doing great this month so I'll see about renewing it eventually...

@StriderNo9 said:

I'm paying for as long as they let me. The content on Whiskey is top notch.

@cstrang said:

@Titus: @wafflez: It's listed as a blog post, what were you expecting.. Sure, it's attached to the Gen Disc forum (which maybe it shouldn't be), but maybe other people want to share similar stories. Don't like a thread? Don't reply to it and bugger off. I'm sick of seeing this kind of ridiculous fucking attitude on these forums.

I completely agree. Thank You.

Cue people writing "GET A JOB WHY DON'T YOU WANT TO SUPPORT THESE AWESOME GUYS YOU KID".

I'll keep renewing just for the shirt.

GET A J-

@Ghostiet said:

Cue people writing "GET A JOB WHY DON'T YOU WANT TO SUPPORT THESE AWESOME GUYS YOU KID".

oh :(

@piropeople13 said:

I'll keep renewing just for the shirt.

This is one of the primary reasons I subscribed, can't get enough Giantbomb Apparel! Also I love having a way I can show my appreciation for what the crew do!

@Wolverine: It's a shame that it's come to this, best of luck with your classes though!

@piropeople13: @Cwaff: If the shirt was free again I'd renew in a heartbeat, but from what I heard during the SNES marathon that's not going to be the case :(

I'm going to keep letting my piddly ass silver membership rolling on.

All I have to do is eat one less delicious cheeseburger a month, and BAM, five dollars!

I was contemplating wheter or not i want to renew as well. My original plan was not to, but with all this talk about restructuring the system, and new content, i feel obliged to cough up.

It really pisses me off though, the fact that they made all the HTML5 stuff for free anyway.  The entire reason I even bothered to pay was for the promise of the new HTML5 videos and the new HTML5 layouts.  All iPad and iPhone users get it for free anyway, so what's the point?  There wasn't a new endurance run, Screened.com and Tested.com are really low in quality compared to other sites, and what the fuck is AnimeVice?  I paid 100 dollars for a brick for Twit.tv, and felt I got more from my money from Leo Laporte than I got from the other Whiskey sites.  Whatever though, the HTML5 can still be used via tablets so that's what I'll use it on.  Or if I really want, I can trick my Safari to act like the iPad version so it's all good.  Plus I use Adblock and whatnot so none of that stuff bothers me too much.

Although I have been disappointed with the majority of my subscription, the Happy Hours have been stale, the mobile site on iPad is garbage and the last TNT with Will, Dave, and Gary was the best I've seen in awhile, I will re-subscribe again when it comes time for another shirt and due to them acknowledging some of the problems with the paid content.

I'm still waiting for a single reason to subscribe. None of the features has been worth a penny to date. Will be interested to see when/how they make it more than anything but a glorified donate button.

@Ghostiet said:

By the way, are Sesame Streeters Muppets, as in "The" Muppets, like Kermit or Gonzo?

Nope. One of the many reasons why 'SeriouslyNow' is a raging imbecile. 

I signed up not for what I would get, but for what I had already received for the past two years. And they kept it up and made it worth it. Hours of awesome content is enough for me, honestly. The shirt is great, being able to download videos is awesome (compiling the entire P4 ER)...but I really just want to support Whiskey Media.

@Pox22 said:

I signed up not for what I would get, but for what I had already received for the past two years. And they kept it up and made it worth it. Hours of awesome content is enough for me, honestly. The shirt is great, being able to download videos is awesome (compiling the entire P4 ER)...but I really just want to support Whiskey Media.

Yep. And because of all this I will renew as long as I can.

And if stuff like the Snes party becomes a regular members-only feature, I have even more reason to keep my subscription. That's basically exactly what I want to see more of on GB.

@weeman105 said:

@Wolverine: I'm assuming you're at uni since you mentioned your class load. Have you tried checking out getting a job working for the school? A lot of universities have plenty of jobs that students can fill and more often than not they are pretty fantastic about working around your school schedule too. Just something to look into. But yeah, I feel you. I more or less subscribe for the Happy Hour, but it sounds like that may be undergoing radical change or disappearing completely so I'm not sure what is keeping me subscribed at the moment.

That's actually a really good idea. I'm going to look into getting a job at my University. Thanks for the advice!

@StriderNo9 said:

I'm paying for as long as they let me. The content on Whiskey is top notch.

This, even if i was under circumstances where i wouldn't be able to view the content for months i would still buy a membership because it supports the whiskeymedia family.

I recently decided to not renew as well, mostly due to money issues.

I think I'll also be cancelling after 12 months of silver.

edit: I spy a lie somewhere in this thread...

I would give up eating for a whole week if it meant I could keep my subscription.

That's too bad. Soon you'll be one of us regular folk! Don't worry, it's not all bad. You're welcome with us. 

@StriderNo9 said:

I'm paying for as long as they let me. The content on Whiskey is top notch.

Yup.

Sad to hear that, but it's understandable. I began paying more to give Whiskey Media something back for all the work they had done, rather than the bonus features a subscriber gets. And although I personally really enjoy the extra benefits, I'd renew my membership regardless of if I did or didn't.

If I was strapped for cash though, I'd also reconsider.

Yeah I stopped mine too, I don't need the mobile site anymore as the full site works perfectly and is very easy to navigate on my new phone. I don't feel there's enough to justify paying for the sites.
 
and really HD videos should be standard, I'd rather they host all the videos on YouTube if hosting HD content is too costworthy.
 
I also don't think the content is as good as a lot of people make out, a lot of quick looks have the crew going into games without a clue as to how anything seems to work and video reviews are still very rare.
 
New Endurance Run will be tasty, though.
 
Edit: I'm not saying the content is bad, I just don't feel it's good enough that I would want to pay money just to support it, that's the only real reason to subscribe as the subscriber features aren't all that.

Yeah, I get where you're coming from. The problem is that it's hard to justify giving something only to paying members when there is no marginal cost. So the balancing act is hard.

I can spare the money so I'll keep this place going, but I get that it isn't so simple for others.

Totally respect your decision, your education and future career should always come first. I am in a position to renew my membership and i will do so, not because i want free member only stuff and not because i want to lord it over everyone who isnt a member, but simply because i love this site and i want it to keep going. Seems the best way i can do this is to support it so i feel i should, im sure you would renew if things where not so tight and im sure the site will still be around at that time so i hope youll consider resubbing at that time.

I kind of just see it as an donation. Giantbomb is one of those sites I visit everyday and love to support. Also I have been digging through loads of the subscriber only content and really enjoying it.

@Wolverine said:

@KaosAngel: Congrats, joining the Air Force is an awesome thing to do. God Bless America!

AND NOBODY ELSE!