Pay for windrivers? I don't think so..

[CaDeRLY]

It really is hard to believe that this is happening. The main reason I come to this site is because of the forums. The members of this site make it what it is. To start charging us for gathering to swap stories, help and inform one another is a slap in the face. Wasn't the Internet meant to be free and informative? If anyone should be charging anything it should be the techs who offer their knowledge and wisdom to the rest us.

Oh well, there are other free sites to use!

We don't blame you for selling Windrivers Scott, you have to eat too man.

[WebHead]

It's not even like Windrivers has all these drivers and software archived on their servers or something. All Windrivers does is link you to the manufacturers website. Am I really going to pay for that? Is it really that hard to type in <a href="http://www.soundblaster.com" target="_blank">http://www.soundblaster.com</a> in the address bar and go find my drivers? I don't know, this whole thing seems funny. Thanks for the good laugh!

[WinDrivers1]

If you only use WinDrivers for the home page, it will always be free, no need to change.

[willieray]

Too big a mix of emotions right now, i need to sort out what's going on in my head about this. I haven't changed a homepage (EXCEPT..to this one)in over 2 years. USe forums more than anything. Aren't the drivers just a link to driverguide or the manufacturers homepages???? Where is the cost of a 150KB bmp that points to someone else's goodies? Mix of emotions....

[WeinerXXX]

*cough* *cough* bull**** *cough*

kiss 95% of your hits goodbye..

[NooNoo]

This Sucks

No two ways

A little warning would have been good

And I agree, the ops and major posters should be given memberships.

If this can happen to the driver files, how long before the chatroom and the forums are suddenly chargeable??

[NeuromancerIV]

I'll miss the easy access to other services, but i can find the resources on my own, no biggie. Ah well, "to all good things..." The great pity for me is I can't reccomend this site to all the clueless users i deal with on a daily basis anymore *double-sigh* , Windrivers has been an extremely valuable resource for me, as far back when i was just a lil'lurker. It will be missed


windrivers, I knew ye when!!

[ephmynus]

Atleast the forums aren't going to require a subscription (if I understand correctly) Anyone have a lot of hard drive space? Let's just dl all the drivers and someone can put a new site up and when someone requests a file through the boards they know where to go... <a href="http://www.scottdrivers.com" target="_blank">www.scottdrivers.com</a>

[freddy]

cheers webhead ,,,,,,,,,,,,,just gone to driverguide,,,,and signed up!!!!

just downloading some detonator drivers as i speak

cheers freddy

[WebHead]

[quote]Originally posted by freddy the fisherman:
<strong>cheers webhead ,,,,,,,,,,,,,just gone to driverguide,,,,and signed up!!!!

just downloading some detonator drivers as i speak

cheers freddy</strong><hr></blockquote>

Cool,.. glad I could help, and thanks for using the internet for what's it's supposed to be,... FREE!!!

[pm4345]

I am not sure how Scott is going about doing this. If he sold the windrivers to another company, then is this the company's decision or Scott.

BTW: Scott if you charged a nominal fee like $5.00 per year, I would be more inclined to go for it. Eventhough most of the stuff out there is free, I am willing to pay for this more to support the website and help expand it.

You have over 35000 members. Even if 50% of them signed up thats $87500 a year plus revenue from advertisers!

Mix of emotions from anger, feeling betrayed, to understanding......

[Mr. Pickles]

[quote]Originally posted by adept:
<strong>Well, it's still not something to be happy about - paying for resources which are already available on the web.

I know that a lot of effort goes into collating this data, but a subscription?!

Advertisement doesn't cover expenses anymore?

I think MacGyver's suggestion is valid - that of offering subscriptions to those who've made an impact in the forums would be a kind gesture.

After all, the forums and their contributors are an obvious part of WinDrivers' success also.</strong><hr></blockquote>


I don't think this is a good idea. Who is going to be the person who says, "person x is worthly, person y isn't". It is arbitrary based on point of view and would only breed resentment.

Any type of "merit" based freebie is just a headache waiting to happen. Giving memberships based on ops or post count is a majorly bad idea.

Across the board, everyone pays that wants a membership. It is the only truly fair way to do it. Besides, the membership isn't needed for the forums.

I would leave the site based on principle if certain groups of people were given a status freebie, where as I will stay currently because the drivers side of Windrivers doesn't effect me as much, I can always find another driver site. But morals are harder to come by. Just my two cents.

[Dorsk81]

I also have to say that I will not pay for this service. I have found this site super useful over the years to find drivers of all types. BUT I can still do my own web crawling to find drivers. I read the news section on the front page daily but only used the additional pages once every other month or so. So paying for something I rarely used is not worthwhile for me. I hope someone comes along and tells us this is some sort of cruel joke.

[Drone2903]

Soooooooo lemme get this strait.

From now on, IF I want to come in here
-get a little advice,
-give (when I can) a little advice,
-once in a blue moon look for a LINK to a driver (in a practical index mind you)
I have to cough $15 (US) for 6 mo (the Offer)
and $50 /year after that.

...

...

... thinking, computing, calculating...

...
Is it really worth it ?

Dan

[DonJ]

I too was caught off-guard...just went to download a Riptide driver and then this stupid login screen came up...and it wouldn't let me log in.



I enjoy the Forums as much as the next guy. As long as they stay free, I suppose I'll still swing by occasionally..but I may be going by the wayside also.

...sigh...