as a longtime member who isn’t a premium member, i thought i’d weigh in with my thoughts on this subject.
steve has created a very enjoyable site here. he certainly put a lot of time and money into it. the increasing popularity of the site required him to pour more resources into it. he let everyone know that it was becoming a financial burden and many longstanding members offered to pitch in. steve, in turn, created special privileges for those members.
is that a problem? consider:
-- as others have pointed out, premium membership costs only $5 a month, or $60 a year, which makes it accessible for nearly anyone.
-- whether or not you think the premium members here are a clique, cliques – using the negative connotation – exist on other public sites, too.
-- you don’t need to be a premium member to talk about others behind their backs. you can do the same with pms and email.
-- the premium member lounge is merely an internet discussion board. there are millions of discussion boards on the internet. you can even start your own for free and be the master of your own domain.
so, logically, the premium member benefits shouldn’t bother anyone. but, on another level, it is problematic. it’s human nature for the masses to resent those who are perceived as the elite group within their social structure. this inevitably leads to conflict. though the barrier to entry in the wdwmagic premium members group is, indeed, low, it’s unusual because most internet discussion boards are free. there is an expectation of democracy (or at least a benevolent dictatorship). but the social dynamic at this site is different.
as i see it, the danger is that the premium members will hamper the growth of membership to this site by turning it into a more closed society. already, there have been a couple cases where premium members have ganged up to oust undesirable members. and i’m not merely referring to people like nwo who came here to purposely cause trouble. there have been a couple people who sincerely tried to fit in, but made the mistake of offending a premium member.
james might be another example. forget, for a moment, his awkward analogies to disney movies, the “click/clique” mistake and his mild insults (though his comment about fievel's girlfriend was inappropriate and he should apologize if he has any intention of sticking around). he made a statement that he saw premium membership as being cliquish. it was a valid observation. he didn’t start the thread. and he didn’t attack any individual or the group. but then several premium members said they felt insulted, which, apparently set james off and it went downhill from there.
personally, none of it matters to me. i just find it interesting. but if the premium members really want to see this site succeed as a disney fan site – and i would think they would, since they have an ownership stake in it – it might make sense to reexamine the need for additional privileges to those who pay for elite status. if anything, there needs to be more care in how other members are treated, especially new ones.
be glad, too. if i joined and posted my picture, all the other premium members would quit and run off to intercot.
I take offense to that!!
