Quote:
Originally Posted by borked
galleries vs vids vs HD vids clearly means limiting bandwidth is the key to prevent rippers, but the number of files downloaded.
However, this means that weighting has to be added to the files like
a pic = X
a vid = 10,000X
a HD vid = 100,000X
or just add member monitoring to know how much each member is downloading and have someone actually monitor it 
Or the reverse of sorts, have bw capping and when a member caps, have a "monitor" alerted so they can investigate why etc etc to see if it's a new member going in and ripping stuff.
None of these ideas are practical in the real world, so, as you were |
These are good ideas. So good that we put them in Throttlebox a couple of years ago.
1GB of HD video is not the same thing as 1GB of photos. 1GB of HD video may be reasonable
usae for a session. 1 GB of photos, which is about 10,000 pictures, is obviously way more
than anyone could possibly view in a session. So we divide up different kinds of content -
by default pictures are one category and videos are the other. Than we have both numerical
and GB limits appropriate for each.
What half of the posters in this thread seem to be missing is that we set the limits high
enough so that a surfer COULD NOT POSSIBLY watch that much in one session. There is
no way someone can look at 10,000 pictures in one session. If a surfer joins your site, they
are buying the right to jack off to your content. They are not buying the right to publish your
pictures in a magazine. They are not buying the right to produce DVDs of your content, and
they are not buying the right to distribute your stuff all over the web. They are buying only
the right to jack off to your shit. So to my mind, you are only obligated to let them have
plenty enough to jack off too - not rip 10,000 pics in an hour. That's where all of the counter
arguments completely fall flat.
Half of the posters are arguing against strict limitations which interfere with normal use of
the site. Interfering with normal use would be bad, they say. NO SHIT! That has little or
nothing to do with stopping people who are ripping the whole site, which is what the other
half of the posters are advocating. It's like having some people saying "you shouldn't drive
over 100MPH", then other people replying "it's bad to limit cars to no more than 5MPH!".
I have the feeling that those who are arguing against controlling this kind of behavior haven't
read my posts, because they are saying that they disagree with me, but then talking about
something entirely different than what I'm talking about, or completely ignoring where I
clearly addressed the concern they bring up.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by JimmiDean
At the moment we have no limits.
But have sure been thinking about it.
I will say after this thread, and looking at both sides I am still no farther ahead.
Great debate and a good read.
thanks for all the info on both sides of this issue.
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Let me see if I can quickly summarize the two cons (the points that Shap makes),
and the pros (the reasons to have some limits, and why the points that Shap brings
up are easily handled).
1. Con - Keeping members happy helps retention.
Pro- Members are kept happy with the server is fast and responsive,
because it's not being beaten to death by rippers.
Pro - Members are retained when they come back for more each month.
Giving them six years worth of material in the first month only
encourages them to cancel.
Conclusion - to best retain members, give them plenty of content to jack
off off to today, but not enough to last them for years, so they
have a REASON to come back next month.
2. Con - A member who paid you $30 has a contractual right to get everything you
have and do whatever they want with it.
Pro - A member does not buy full rights to distribute your content, use it on their
own site, etc. For $30, they buy only the right to jack off to it. As long as
you allow them to watch a couple hours of video each day, you've fulfilled your
obligation and their reasonable expectation. $30 does not buy them the right
to rip 150 hours of video overnight and then cancel.