Membership Changes

(If you would like to comment on this message, please use the GoldToken Help so that this page doesn't become too big for all the players to see it. Please do not edit this page. Thanks.)

A year ago I announced that the site would be moving to a paid membership model in order to support itself. Since that time, I have been impressed by the willingness of the members of this site to contribute to its success. I would like to report that the money brought in from memberships has almost fully covered the site's costs over the past year.

After a thorough review of the past year, and taking into account input I have received about memberships, I am now going to pre-announce some changes that will be occuring in our membership structure. These changes will take place on or shortly after June 15, depending upon how quickly I can make the necessary changes to the code.

New Membership Structure

The new membership structure will have four levels: the three standard gold, silver, and wood levels, and the addition of a guest level.

Guest Level

The guest level will be the only non-paying level available on the site. Players who create new accounts after June 15th will be assigned to the guest level, and can remain here as guests for as long as they desire. The restrictions placed on this level are:

• Up to 10 games may be played concurrently
• Only standard games can be played (no variants)
• Can read most discussion boards; can participate only on the GoldToken board and the WebTV board
• Cannot join clubs
• Cannot edit wiki pages

Wood Level Membership

Players can pay $6 to move from the Guest Level to a Wood Level Membership for 6 months (or $10 for a full year). Players who are currently Wood Level Members as of June 15th will be allowed to continue as a Wood Level Member without paying a fee for a 1 month grace period. If they choose not to extend their Wood Level Membership, they will be considered a Guest and can play under that level. The Wood Level Membership has the following restrictions:

• Up to 30 concurrent games
• Can post on some discussion boards (General Chat, Politics, Sports)
• Can edit wiki pages, but cannot create new wiki pages
• Cannot join clubs

Silver Level Membership

Players can purchase a six month Silver Level Membership for $12, or $20 for a full year. Players who currently have Silver Level Membership will continue with that membership through the expiration date listed on their membership. Restrictions on the Silver Level Members:

• Up to 60 concurrent games
• Full rights on all discussion boards
• Can create and edit Wikis
• Can participate in clubs

Gold Level Membership

Players can purchase a six-month Gold Level Membership for $18, or $30 for a full year. Players who have Gold Level Memberships at the June 15 cutover will retain their membership through the expiration date listed. Gold Level Members have full rights to all the features on the site:

• Unlimited games*
• Full rights to all discussion boards, including a Gold-Level-only discussion board
• Can create new clubs and join other clubs
• Can create and edit wikis

Other details

The current prices will remain in effect until the cutover to the new structure on June 15th. So if these announced changes really bother you, there's still time to get set up using the current price structure. If you send your payment in by mail, as long as it's postmarked by June 15th, I'll honor the current prices.

Currently there are some Wood Level Members who are members of clubs. Under the new structure, the rules for joining clubs will be enforced more strictly, and the players who are on the guest level will not be allowed to participate in clubs.

Tournaments

I have been informed by many players that tournaments are required on this site, and so why aren't they here yet? So I figure as long as I am making announcements I might as well announce that tournaments will be delivered no later than August 31. That gives me three months to get them ready. And as incentive for me to finish them by that time, for every day that I am late on the delivery, I will add a week to the membership expiration of current members. So if I deliver the tournaments a week late, every member will have 7 weeks added to their membership.

---

*Okay, so Gold Level Members don't really get unlimited games. But the high end is something like 500 games, so it's probably high enough for most players.

(If you would like to comment on this message, please use the GoldToken Help so that this page doesn't become too big for all the players to see it. Please do not edit this page. Thanks.)