AWcom, Inc. rising charges
By Bille [06/January/02]
As announced on January 2nd, AWcom, Inc. (AWCI) has restructured it's pricing policy, meaning you will pay more to be using the AW software in the future. But, together with the new pricing structure, AWCI promises that we will see many great improvements to the browser.
During 2002 many of us will be making the very tough decision: should I leave or should I stay? I do hope that the annual cost will be only one out of several aspects that will be taken into concideration.
While the old annual fee was quite low compared to what great product AW definately is, the new charging will probably mean an ending to many cyber lives. If the old annual fee was doubled, I'm sure nobody would have been protesting, but with an increasement of 570% (!), there's been several petitions all over AW. Since 1997 the annual fee has been §19.95. Starting
January 3rd the annual fee is §114, or §9,50 per month. I'm certain that most users are trusting that AWCI will improve the browser further, and nobody should claim those new features to be added for free, but the new price is high enough to force many users to ask themselves how much they
are willing to pay for hanging out in AW. I'm sure, I'm not the only one who periodically spend too much time on AW, with a growing bad concious because of RL-housework or reading that is put aside, or simply the fact that I should get more sleep.Good thing is, the new price is not effecting your current citizenship; but when it expires you will be charged according to the new price. To the majority this means that we can enjoy AW for many months still, before the new pricing policy hits us.
Are you a tourist? If so, you should join as many guided cyber charter tours as possible before you get closed out in about 2 weeks, *or* you should register with AWCI to make the fun last a little longer. In the future there will be no tourists like we have today, but new AW users will
get their first 2 weeks free of charge, as registered users. Hm, without having checked this thoroughly, it seems like tourists already are dismissed.So how will this effect on communities like Pink Village? Or on AW community at large? Nobody knows, of course, but I think it all will depend on how many of us deciding to stay in AW for the next year, to prove which communities are strong enough and appealing enough to survive, based on the community itself and not AWCI's pricing structure alone. Do you enjoy AW
and like the idea of keeping AW's largest gay community alive, then you will of course stay - no matter the costs:)Pink Village's future also depends on whether the next AW browsers will favour the communities and not only world builders. If AWCI focus on world features, AW tech and 3D pages, without reealizing that most of us have our individual cyber lives as well, AW's goal will change, towns will lose members as more AW users will get their own world instead. We will probably see more gaming including lights, bots and bot scripting. And it will become less interesting to create a *personality* for community reasons, stick with the same avatar year after year, supporting an old neighbourhood. Actually that is a game, too!
I don't plan to leave AW - at least not yet. I want to see how the changes will effect on the community. Back in 1997 many users predicted it was the end of AW when the users were to be charged. To many users AW is a game, but for the new annual charge you can buy perhaps 4 rather solid computer games.
And skip the interactivity, if you want to be all alone...
AWCI, Inc. will announce their final pricing structure early February; stay tuned:)
Also read: www.activeworlds.com/letter.htm