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Guess who hasn't posted to their fanflow in one month?

I wonder how many people paid $1.99 for the last 30 days of *ahem* content...

If this were a real business, they'd be offering a refund, or at least to extend everyone's subscription a month.

And while I rag on the fanflow concept, it can and should work - if one posts interesting stuff (that isn't also duplicated to twitter and other 'free' channels) to it 3-4 times a week, one should be able to get 2-3% of their audience to subscribe, which is not an insignificant income for someone of his caliber.

Anyway, I thought it an important milestone in the fanflow concept. One full month of absolutely no content.

I hope this turns into a discussion on the business aspects of trying to monetize content, especially in this economy, rather than a hate-on of any one particular artist's implementation of their cash stream...

With so much expectation for free, and google and other ad systems not paying as much as they did 3-5 years ago, how does one get money for their hard work they make available largely for free?

Are we moving to a freemium model (lots free, but some behind subscriptions walls) or is there another way?

-Adam

I didn't want to be the one who said it, but yes, I noticed it too.

Kurtz should compensate with a subscription to the achewood fanflow.

Cat said:

Kurtz should compensate with a subscription to the achewood fanflow.

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Nah, CAD. Just for the irony.

I am like so shocked. For reelz.

Oh btw:

*wave* Hi Scott!

You get what you pay for.

Charlie Dont Surf said:

You get what you pay for.

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So all those people who wait 1-2years for their products or don't get them at all from Scott?

Shegokigo said:

Charlie Dont Surf said:

You get what you pay for.

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So all those people who wait 1-2years for their products or don't get them at all from Scott?

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This....isn't a complete sentence.

Shegokigo said:

Charlie Dont Surf said:

You get what you pay for.

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So all those people who wait 1-2years for their products or don't get them at all from Scott?

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No his comment just makes no sense, for what 1.99$ you can expect crappy updates, but you should still get updates none the less :/

Charlie Dont Surf said:

Shegokigo said:

[quote="Charlie Dont Surf":1av3grp1]You get what you pay for.

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So all those people who wait 1-2years for their products or don't get them at all from Scott?

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This....isn't a complete sentence.[/quote:1av3grp1]
You claimed that people get what they pay for. They paid $1.99 so they got $1.99 of service.

So where's that line of thinking for all those people who paid $50+ and get nothing/slow service?

Shegokigo said:

Charlie Dont Surf said:

Shegokigo said:

[quote="Charlie Dont Surf":33waubwd]You get what you pay for.

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So all those people who wait 1-2years for their products or don't get them at all from Scott?

Click to expand...

This....isn't a complete sentence.

Click to expand...

You claimed that people get what they pay for. They paid $1.99 so they got $1.99 of service.

So where's that line of thinking for all those people who paid $50+ and get nothing/slow service?[/quote:33waubwd]

If they got no content for 1.99$ than thats no service, aka they simply donated 1.99$ to him.

Nevermind.

So at what point do people stop being fanbois and finally sue his ass for not providing goods or services that were paid for? Or at the very least make a few calls to the relevant consumer protection agencies.

They got what they paid for. It wasn't $1.99's worth of service they paid for it was Scott Kurtz Presents The PVP Fan Club which turned out to be exactly what should be expected of him.

Cat said:

They got what they paid for. It wasn't $1.99's worth of service they paid for it was Scott Kurtz Presents The PVP Fan Club which turned out to be exactly what should be expected of him.

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bingo

I know, let's blame the victims.

ZenMonkey said:

I know, let's blame the victims.

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Is there any other logic to Charlie?

"oh my god, I got raped!"

Charlie: "Bitch was asking for it dressed like that!"

:tear:

Shegokigo said:

ZenMonkey said:

I know, let's blame the victims.

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Is there any other logic to Charlie?

"oh my god, I got raped!"

Charlie: "Bitch was asking for it dressed like that!"

:tear:

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Oh great, now we get to be lectured about why rape shouldn't be joked about.

Cut the man some slack, his dog just died.

Or maybe he's just a lazy fart who doesn't care about his fans and paying customers...

I was part of the PVP forums that got jettisoned what...8-9 years ago? I mean new fans I honestly feel sorry for, but anyone with a modicum of history or even basic looking into the dude would have seen this coming a mile away.

Charlie Dont Surf said:

I was part of the PVP forums that got jettisoned what...8-9 years ago? I mean new fans I honestly feel sorry for, but anyone with a modicum of history or even basic looking into the dude would have seen this coming a mile away.

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We all saw it coming a mile away. Hell, Ed even said when he signed up he figured this would happen. That doesn't mean that it's ok for Kurtz to do this.

I understand the desire to shout "fool me once" mantras, but there are still people out there who hadn't been burned by Kurtz in the past.

I meant it more of an indictment on Kurtz than blaming the fans/customers

Shegokigo said:

ZenMonkey said:

I know, let's blame the victims.

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Is there any other logic to Bill O'Reilly?

"oh my god, I got raped!"

Billo: "Bitch was asking for it dressed like that!"

:tear:

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FTFY.

And he said that on air not long ago. Maybe not those exact words, but he still said it. :eyeroll:

Please stop comparing me to Bill O'Reilly :waah:

I'm just waiting for Scott to post about a new pay service or product he's selling, and then not even bothering to finish the newspost. It's coming to that, you know.

He's still doing color strips weeks after anyone here guessed he'd stop. While he does juggle a lot of balls by and large he's keeping the core content coming.

A nice thing about the web is that you can try a million different things and see which of them stick. At the beginning he was doing pretty well, but it could be that it simply wasn't worthwhile. Unfortunately many things on the internet only bear fruit after several months of hard work. It would be increasing in subscriptions if people saw that he posted something interesting every other day for two months straight, and could have been a big component of his income.

But we'll never know whether it failed because he stopped updating, or he stopped updating because he felt it failed.

-Adam

stienman said:

But we'll never know whether it failed because he stopped updating, or he stopped updating because he felt it failed.

-Adam

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Oh but we do, his track record speaks volumes as to which of the two it was.

stienman said:

He's still doing color strips weeks after anyone here guessed he'd stop. While he does juggle a lot of balls by and large he's keeping the core content coming.

A nice thing about the web is that you can try a million different things and see which of them stick. At the beginning he was doing pretty well, but it could be that it simply wasn't worthwhile. Unfortunately many things on the internet only bear fruit after several months of hard work. It would be increasing in subscriptions if people saw that he posted something interesting every other day for two months straight, and could have been a big component of his income.

But we'll never know whether it failed because he stopped updating, or he stopped updating because he felt it failed.

-Adam

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With you there stieny. Though I think that if he felt like it truly failed he should of at least updated for this month while posting a notice that said he was turning it off.
You know i"d like to talk to the guy and find out why he stops doing these things. He doesn't seem like a true con artists, just like someone who has trouble commuting to side projects. Its like he knows he needs these things on a rational level but deep down inside he just can't conceive of something that isn't the main comic as being important.

-- Wed Jul 08, 2009 11:46 am --

You know, not to make excuses for the man, but maybe comic con preparations got him tied up? The guy needs to learn his limitations on these things and to plan accordingly.

stienman said:

But we'll never know whether it failed because he stopped updating, or he stopped updating because he felt it failed.

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Wait, wouldn't he have to START updating it for it to fail when he stopped?

chakz said:

You know, not to make excuses for the man, but maybe comic con preparations got him tied up?

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And all the other times he's failed to deliver after charging for services/items?

chakz said:

You know, not to make excuses for the man, but maybe comic con preparations got him tied up? The guy needs to learn his limitations on these things and to plan accordingly.

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The thing is, like immediately after setting up the fanflows, Scott and Kris did an episode of Webcomics Weekly (ironically ALSO lacking in recent updates) where they discussed the new service. Scott claimed that it was going to be easy to keep up with since most of what he'd be posting is either:

- PvP writing/sketches/etc. that he had already done ANYWAY
- Other goofy PvP jokes that come to mind but don't easily fit into into the strip

It should be no problem for him to continue updating, if that's the case. Even if he's just fanflowing hi-res versions of that day's strip, it still provides SOME value.

Incidentally, Chris and Kris continue to provide fanflow goodness.

Shegokigo said:

chakz said:

You know, not to make excuses for the man, but maybe comic con preparations got him tied up?

Click to expand...

And all the other times he's failed to deliver after charging for services/items?

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*Shrugs* I just said I didn't want to make excuses for the man. I don't like assuming the worst about people so I was just considering alternatives to the "Scott is a lazy douche" reason. Hell for all I know he just might be a lazy douche. but I was listening the latest Web comics Weekly earlier and the guys were talking about how busy con preparations had made them.

Gusto said:

chakz said:

You know, not to make excuses for the man, but maybe comic con preparations got him tied up? The guy needs to learn his limitations on these things and to plan accordingly.

Click to expand...

The thing is, like immediately after setting up the fanflows, Scott and Kris did an episode of Webcomics Weekly (ironically ALSO lacking in recent updates) where they discussed the new service. Scott claimed that it was going to be easy to keep up with since most of what he'd be posting is either:

- PvP writing/sketches/etc. that he had already done ANYWAY
- Other goofy PvP jokes that come to mind but don't easily fit into into the strip

It should be no problem for him to continue updating, if that's the case. Even if he's just fanflowing hi-res versions of that day's strip, it still provides SOME value.

Incidentally, Chris and Kris continue to provide fanflow goodness.

Click to expand...

Thats actually what I meant when I said he needs to learn his limitations. It might sound easy enough to him, but there might actually be unforeseen difficulties that crop up later. You know its like if you have a bad memory, you write things down, if your clumsy you were a helmet, if you have problems with commitments....well you get the idea.

The medium itself has proven successful. Assetbar, podcasts, etc. So blaming the medium for the success/failure is naive. I hate to say it, but the only common thread is Mr. Kurtz. I love the guy, but I'm really glad I let my Assetbar lapse.

Don't know if your addressing me or not, but wth. I wasn't blaming the medium. I tend to be very literal minded so when someone is giving me instructions that would be perfectly simple to most people give me difficultie. I usually end up asking alot of questions so that I don't misunderstand anything and I also try to warn them ahead of time. If scott has trouble with commitments like this, he should figure out some way to deal with it.

chakz said:

If scott has trouble with commitments like this, he should figure out some way to deal with it.

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This is absolutely true.

Or maybe he could stop making commitments and focus on his comic.

It's a lesson I would have hoped he'd learned from his Penny Arcade buddies by now. It's only been 11 years. rly:

Yarg i spend to much time on this forum, but I wanted to say one more thing on the subject before I was done with it. Scott would have functioned great in the syndicate/newspaper environments he so despises. They'd handle all the side stuff and he could just do the cartooning. Maybe 60 or seventy years ago where news paper comics were a big deal and it meant that you had arrived as a cartoonist when you had one. He might not be al capp, but he'd probably do pretty well for himself.

He only despises them cuz they wouldn't let them in their elitist little club.

Gusto said:

chakz said:

If scott has trouble with commitments like this, he should figure out some way to deal with it.

Click to expand...

This is absolutely true.

Or maybe he could stop making commitments and focus on his comic.

It's a lesson I would have hoped he'd learned from his Penny Arcade buddies by now. It's only been 11 years. rly:

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hahaha! Tycho and Gabe learned very early on that they are not good at some stuff, and they outsourced it to other more capable fellows. I think if Scott took a gamble and hired someone to handle a lot of this (and bug him to give content for some things like assetbar, or just raided his desk once a week) then he'd increase his income enough to pay for the help.

PA now employs many, many people. If it weren't for them, PA wouldn't have grown past the stage where Scott's at right now. Tycho and Gabe were terrible at business (they lost the copyright to their earlier strips due to a bad decision many years ago, for instance - fortunately they got them back), and wouldn't have gotten all the game comic deals without their team, and so forth. They absolutely could not have created and managed PAX and Child's Play without their team, etc.

While they are the public face, PA is a full-fledged business.

-Adam

chakz said:

Yarg i spend to much time on this forum, but I wanted to say one more thing on the subject before I was done with it. Scott would have functioned great in the syndicate/newspaper environments he so despises. They'd handle all the side stuff and he could just do the cartooning. Maybe 60 or seventy years ago where news paper comics were a big deal and it meant that you had arrived as a cartoonist when you had one. He might not be al capp, but he'd probably do pretty well for himself.

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I disagree that he would do well in print media, simply because he regularly fails to follow deadlines for his own comic. Newspapers would have dropped him without hesitation the first time he missed a deadline due to laziness.

RE: everybody who still continues to support Kurtz and his "shiny new products"--

I have this awesome rock you might be interested in. Ultra rare, ultra cheap!

ElJuski said:

RE: everybody who still continues to support Kurtz and his "shiny new products"--

I have this awesome rock you might be interested in. Ultra rare, ultra cheap!

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How much?

ElJuski said:

RE: everybody who still continues to support Kurtz and his "shiny new products"--

I have this awesome rock you might be interested in. Ultra rare, ultra cheap!

Click to expand...

Does it keep away tigers?

:uhhuh:

Edrondol said:

The medium itself has proven successful. Assetbar, podcasts, etc. So blaming the medium for the success/failure is naive. I hate to say it, but the only common thread is Mr. Kurtz. I love the guy, but I'm really glad I let my Assetbar lapse.

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This. He said he´d update it weekly, yet people are left ripped off.

Imagine if we had the Kurtz syndrome in everyday services. "Damn, I dont feel like doing this weeks time magazine, fuck those that paid for it"

So I take it there are still folks out there who haven't received merchandise more valuable than the assetbar out there. I'll ask again, why haven't people contacted the relevant consumer protection authorities? It doesn't matter who he is, if he still hasn't delivered goods or services promised, he's just this side of FRAUD.

It's time he got a few knocks on the door from folks who have a little more authority than the "fans" to get him to take this shit seriously.

Juski, I want to buy your rock.

I just want to feel your rock.

I want to feel it so bad



....wait did that sound gay? nah no way it sounded gay.

Gusto said:

He only despises them cuz they wouldn't let them in their elitist little club.

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Remember when he was all "Gung-ho Newspapers" when he was trying to get his strip in? Got turned down and became "Anti-Newspaper" overnight?

Shegokigo said:

Gusto said:

He only despises them cuz they wouldn't let them in their elitist little club.

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Remember when he was all "Gung-ho Newspapers" when he was trying to get his strip in? Got turned down and became "Anti-Newspaper" overnight?

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Look, Ebeneezer Kurtz, gaze into the the days of Webcomics Past.

:eyeroll: