Once off charge to use custom avatars.

MungBean

I subscribed a month ago to change my user name and to be able to use custom avatars. Once the subscription ran out my avatar disappeared.

I think if someone pays a fiver to be able to put it up it should stay up. I think its fine that you cant change it once your subscription runs out but I think once off payments to "upgrade" your account could be better than having to subscribe in that regard.

Other than changing my name and using a custom avatar I personally had not other reason for subscribing in the first place. So I'm not going to pay each month to use a custom avatar as its the only thing I'd get out of subscribing, meaning the bit of personalisation of the account I had is now gone.

Other people may pay the subscription to reap all the benefits of it but a lot of people wouldnt get as much out of a subscription service but may pay a once off payment to avail of the opportunity to personalise the account a bit.

To summarise, if my name remains the same because I paid for it to be changed why not my avatar and would it make sense to have it as a once off payment rather than including it in the subscription ?

My name is URL

There was a suggestion a while back that there should be a once off charge for having a custom avatar or changing your username etc, which I think is a good idea.

Orion

You are not your avatar.

If you take away all the perks for people to become subscribers what advantage is there to becoming a subscriber?

My name is URL

Orion wrote: »

You are not your avatar.

If you take away all the perks for people to become subscribers what advantage is there to becoming a subscriber?

How many more people would pay a once off fee to change their avatar as opposed to paying €5 per month just to do so? It's not about taking the perks of subscribing away, it's about offering people the individual perks without all of the others that come with subscribing.

aidan_walsh

You can subscribe for one month for a fiver and get 29-31 days of change of mind. I could see any system that requires a payment per change getting bogged down in admin approvals for changes of mind, or unhappy people being asked to pay again because they decided after a few days that they didn't like the new one afterall.

Malice

How much more would you be willing to pay as a once-off fee?

MungBean

aidan_walsh wrote: »

You can subscribe for one month for a fiver and get 29-31 days of change of mind. I could see any system that requires a payment per change getting bogged down in admin approvals for changes of mind, or unhappy people being asked to pay again because they decided after a few days that they didn't like the new one afterall.

But why after the 31 days do you not only lose the option but lose the changes and if you only have use for that option would you pay for the subscription? I wouldnt, I just paid because I wanted to change my name as well as change the avatar. On its own I wouldnt pay €5 for 31 days of a custom avatar.

There wouldnt need to be any other system just changing it to not revoke the changing avatar rights after the first subscription runs out is all that needs doing.

MungBean

Malice wrote: »

How much more would you be willing to pay as a once-off fee?

I wouldnt be willing to pay any more than is charged in the subscription.

I like what came with the subscription but I'm not going to pay each month for an avatar when thats all that I really use from it.

So with me you have a user who has paid for and seen the subscription service, likes a part of it but wouldnt consider €5 a month justifiable for the bit I would use. €5 to buy the account upgrade I'd pay for. If I didnt want to change my user name I'd never have paid the subscription to start with.

I'd image there's a bit of money made from people simply wanting to change their names. So I'd imagine there'd be a bit of money to be made by people who just want custom avatars.

Gordon

I thought you got to keep your avatar, shame that you can't imo.

aidan_walsh

Gordon wrote: »

I thought you got to keep your avatar, shame that you can't imo.

So did I.

Gordon

aidan_walsh wrote: »

So did I.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXlZ6edCHqI

TouchingVirus

I've often thought of subscribing so I could change my avatar, I did actually think it would have stayed when my subscription was done. Strange that it doesn't really, but I suppose it's an incentive to keep subscribing... Custom avatar crack cocaine

Sad Professor

Gordon wrote: »

I thought you got to keep your avatar, shame that you can't imo.

Before becoming a mod, I subscribed once and kept my custom avatar for years afterwards. So that was my understanding as well. It seems it doesn't work for some people though. I'm not sure, but I think it might have to do with choosing a URL for your avatar instead of uploading it.

Dav

I'm going to have a look at this, I thought that your Avatar remained too (and I think it should tbh), so leave it with me...

Buford T Justice

Dav wrote: »

I'm going to have a look at this, I thought that your Avatar remained too (and I think it should tbh), so leave it with me...

Cheers. I subbed there a few months ago too and had a name change with an avatar.... I lost my avatar too when the sub ran out.

Gordon

Did you upload your avatar or copy a web URL for it?

MungBean

I uploaded mine.

Earthhorse

Mine was a Url too, I think. What's more it appears on the touch site beside my profile but not in other places. It's always been the case that you lose your avatar once your subscription runs out.

Buford T Justice

Gordon wrote: »

Did you upload your avatar or copy a web URL for it?

I think I URL'd it from wthax

Sad Professor

Earthhorse wrote: »

It's always been the case that you lose your avatar once your subscription runs out.

No, you used to keep it.

Earthhorse

Sad Professor wrote: »

No, you used to keep it.

Nuh uh. I demand proof!

CuLT

Some accounts have a checkbox set that lets them keep their custom avatars, some don't. I think it only ever depending on the time you signed up and whether that particular custom setting for new user creation made it through each successive vBulletin upgrade.

The intention was always (to my recollection) that custom avatars be kept, but it was so low priority that no constraints or checks to enforce it were ever built into the system, so occasionally this happens, someone flips the switch, and the problem goes away for another year

Ilyushin76

Dav wrote: »

I'm going to have a look at this, I thought that your Avatar remained too (and I think it should tbh), so leave it with me...

Any update?

Raphael

Earthhorse wrote: »

Nuh uh. I demand proof!

*deploys proof*

Overheal

Happened to me too. I was subbed when I was modded and the avatar never left. Can't recall if that was before or after Christmas though, about the only time I change it. Could be such a glitch to do with changing user groups. A sexy glitch. A sexy glitch that shouldn't be unglitched.But mine is also URL if I recall right

MungBean

Any update on this perchance ?

Dav

This isn't high on the priorities list I'm afraid, but it *is* on the list.

Hal Emmerich

Show us this list we hear so much about......

Dav

It's something like this:

Hal Emmerich

Aww, I can't make out the writing on it.

















:P

Overheal

Dav wrote: »

It's something like this:

It's not a real list unless you got it from a dot matrix printer.

Rabies

RopeDrink wrote: »

I also had my custom avatar remain when both my subscriptions ran out.

Same.
Have had it when sub ran out also during and after my two mod sessions too.

Still there. Not changing it.

phasers

Mod favouritism yada yada yada

Hal Emmerich

Rabies wrote: »

Same.
Have had it when sun ran out also during and after my two mod sessions too.

Still there. Not changing it.

Why does it not appear under your Username in a Thread?

Steve

phasers wrote: »

Mod favouritism yada yada yada

Nah, they had to give us something to replace the coke and hookers.. recession and all.

Hal Emmerich wrote: »

Why does it not appear under your Username in a Thread?

He's no longer a mod.

Hal Emmerich

Steve wrote: »

Nah, they had to give us something to replace the coke and hookers.. recession and all.

He's no longer a mod.

You have a Pic in your Profile and it doesn't appear either.

phasers

Check your settings in your CP Hal, I can see both their avatars.

Steve

Hal Emmerich wrote: »

You have a Pic in your Profile and it doesn't appear either.

My profile pic here is the same as my avatar.

Don't get you there.

Hal Emmerich

phasers wrote: »

Check your settings in your CP Hal, I can see both their avatars.

:eek: really??

What did I change??

I was messing around in there, I'll check it out, thanks.

Steve wrote: »

My profile pic here is the same as my avatar.

Don't get you there.

I can't see this fella under your Username in Threads but it's in your Profile page in the statistics box.

Rabies

Hal Emmerich wrote: »

Why does it not appear under your Username in a Thread?

Not a subscriber now.
Haven't been for a few years.

Really should do it again.

My name is URL

Any update on this? =p

El Weirdo

My name is URL wrote: »

Any update on this? =p

Sub run out URL?:p

Lady Chuckles

Any updates yet?

Beruthiel

If I had to guess, I'd say it's still on the bottom of Dav's very long list.

Mr.Biscuits

I'd be interested in having a custom Avatar but €5 a month seems a little much to justify subscribing, for that perk alone and so I'd also like to request a system where a one-off payment is required.

Actually, I think an bi-annual payment specifically for use of custom avatars would be a good compromise: something along the lines of say €10 every six months. Maybe also come up with some other perks for subscribers, so that the avatar alone is not the main reason why users subscribe (which appears to the case right now).

Just my thoughts on it.

MugMugs

I subscribe because I appreciate the good service provided for free. I dont do it for an Avatar or any of the other perks. It's appreciation for a site I use daily.

But I agree.... An Avatar shouldn't be scrubbed the minute the sub ends IMO

_AVALANCHE_

When is subbing without the need for paypal rolling out? Was supposed to be months back wasn't it?





I'm far to lazy to go and set up paypal.

Also +1 to leaving custom avatars after sub ends, they break up all the blue.

Malice

_AVALANCHE_ wrote: »

they break up all the blue.

Just in case you are unaware, there are a bunch of other skins available. Go to your user options and scroll down to the bottom and check out the alternatives under Forum Skin.

Dav

We're looking at subs a lot more seriously this year and trying to figure out a way to offer some genuine thanks to anyone who does subscribe.

I was under the impression that a custom avatar remained after a sub ends - that's the way it should be as far as I'm concerned - I'll check with tech.

I'm not sure where the idea that we were supposed to have sorted a non-PayPal method out by now has come from - that's never been high on the list.

Oh, by the way - all those other skins Malice is mentioning - they're going away soon, don't get too atached to them. They're a huge strain on the tech team's time cause every time they do something on the front end of the site, they have to replicate the changes across all the skins and that's not sustainable. We've been saying that they're going away for about 2 years now, so this shouldn't be a shock or surprise to anyone.

Tallon

Boards Beta ftw anyway

phasers

Nooooo, I love my classic skin!

I once posted a screenshot for something and someone called it "The ugliest skin I've ever seen" and it really upset me