| My Thoughts on Webcomics.com |
[Jan. 5th, 2010|12:36 pm] |
As usually happens once every six months or so in the webcomics community, a rather large storm has gathered and begun to rain onto the community. This time, however, it is from someone from whom it be least expected - Mr. Brad Guigar. Brad has been the sole contributor to Webcomics.com, a repository for information on creating and maintaining a webcomic, as well as a gathering place for creators both aspiring and veteran. Webcomics.com was born from the ashes of the Halfpixel site, which at one time included not only Brad, but Scott Kurtz (who occasionally piped up on Webcomics.com), Kris Straub, and Dave Kellett.
I was a frequent visitor to the Halfpixel forums, and when it shut down I spent some time away from the site. When I finally went back, it redirected me to Webcomics.com, and I began to visit that daily. It was nice to see new information, as well as reinforcing what I already knew. It became a regular read for me, a part of my long list of places to stop during the day.
Until yesterday.
Yesterday, when I visited, I was greeted with a message that said Webcomics.com was now requiring a $30/year subscription to access their content. At first I thought it was a joke, I really did. This was happening in the wake of the Keenspot debacle, something that happened very suddenly and out of the blue, just like this was. It was also happening in the midst of yet another war between web and print artists, and part of the war has always been about the success of pay sites. So I clicked on the "Join Now" button, fully expecting a Guigar-esque punch line of some sort. Imagine my surprise when I was taken to a PayPal site ready to deduct $30 from my account.
Imagine further the firestorm that erupted from the community.
If you're familiar with the philosophy of the Halfpixel guys, I'm sure you can figure out what the first comments were - cries of hypocrisy. The Halfpixel crew have long been arbitors of free content and abhorers of subscribtion-based business models. However, Brad was quick to justify the difference; Webcomics.com wouldn't be providing entertainment, but business advice. To this I could only shrug my shoulders. I don't necessarily agree with the attempt at the justification, as it seems the progression was "Against it, against it, against it, BUT WAIT THIS IS DIFFERENT WE'RE FOR IT NOW", but it's their business and their call. However, my disdain at the switch - and many others agree - is how the whole thing was handled.
First of all, they dropped it on us like a 16-ton weight in a Monty Python sketch. Boom, the fun is over, start paying. There was no warning. Brad made a comment that even if he had given warning, people would have still complained, and that he thought it would be better to do it like ripping a Band-Aid off. Very few people (if any) have agreed on this, and my personal opinion is that the shock to our systems was worse than slowly lowering us into the icy cold water. At least then we could have had time to warm up to the idea, and more to the point, Brad could have sold us on it better. He's a good salesman; I know, I've seen him at work at conventions. I don't understand why he would throw away that chance, since he's essentially throwing away $30 per person that gets pissed and storms off.
Secondly, there is no preview of what will be given* or any terms of service. On the front page is a laundry list of things that we'll see if we give up that $30. And after a recent couple of posts from Brad concerning "promised services" and a lack of terms of services on a site called Zingerding (a post which I cannot link to because it is now behind a subscription wall), this glaring lack of either seems hypocritical at best and a poor business move at worst. What happens if someone isn't happy with the site? Or if the site has to stop updating? Will refunds be given or is it caveat emptor? We don't know, and that's a scary thing at $30 a pop.
Third, the lack of response from Brad is a bit unsettling. He showed up a few times in the beginning, but has not shown up to address any of the problems cited. Scott has piped up a few times, unsurprisingly, but really hasn't done much either (except for one major declaration, which I will get to in a moment). I myself have been waiting for a reply to a fairly important question, and one that has been echoed by a few others. The question is in regards to the value of this investment to those of us who do long form comics, as the Halfpixel crew has long contended that short form comics fare better as money-makers. I think this is an important bit of information for a good number of artists out there.
Today, as I was reading the comments that cropped up yesterday evening and early this morning, I run across a post by Scott that has me scratching my head even harder. From the horse's mouth:
"While I would never EVER put content behind a pay wall, nor would I advise anyone at this point in time to put their content behind a pay wall, this is NOT what Webcomics.com is doing.
We’re essentially offering a paid correspondence course in webcomics. With “lectures” and interaction with myself, Brad Guigar and Robert Khoo."
What concerns me is that this is not immediately apparent in the description on the front page of what you'll get for $30. Why would they not make that clear in the first place? It seems as if - and I'm not accusing, just inferring from what I've seen - Scott is merely justifying his position in a moment of defense. The backlash has been strong and he needs to salvage the situation. Again, whether or not that's what's happening, I don't know, but that's the way it looks. And what exactly is Scott's definition of "content"? Aren't articles considered content? If you're putting articles behind a subscription wall, you are putting content behind a subscription wall.
One thing does tempt me and many others to throw in our $30 - Robert Khoo. If you aren't familiar with that name, he is basically the force that made Penny Arcade the money machine that it is today. Khoo is known for his amazing business sense and is very widely respected in the webcomics community, as well as outside of it. However, the "laundry list" states that it will only have monthly posts from Khoo. Do I dare put my faith into him if I'm only getting advice from him every 30 days or so? I honestly don't know, and at that point the $30 becomes less of an investment and more of a gamble. I'm not good at poker, blackjack, or even slots, so why would I gamble on this?
And in case you think I'm just a nobody with an opinion that doesn't matter, allow me to point out that several legitimate figures in the community have already expressed their doubts that this switchover will be successful.
The bottom line is that this is a legitimate venture handled in a poor manner. Regardless of what I say or the scores of scorned Webcomics.com usuals that have walked away in anger, there are already people signing up. These are the people that really feel they need this advice and/or the people who so look up Brad and Scott that they can't tear their gaze away from them. I respect the two (albeit less so after this debacle), but I gave up my fanboy badge a while ago. They aren't gods. I have no doubt that they can help people, because they are two of bigger successes in the community, but they aren't sacred to me because of that.
I sincerely wish them good luck on their venture, and I wish good luck to the people jumping on board with them. Knowing my luck, these are the artists whose businesses will probably surpass my own webcomic business and become bigger successes than me because of this. And good on them. I'm a stubborn son-of-a-gun who needs a kick in the butt now and again. But this whole thing feels wrong to me, and I'll be steering clear of it for now.
*As of today (1/5/10) there is a "stub" for a blog post, showing that we will regularly get a very small taste of what's behind the wall. However, the question remains: will this be enough info to base a $30 decision on? |
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