|
Thoughtful post Phil.
A lot of it also stemmed from the 'surfers are all idiots and sheep' mentality. I got into this industry long after you did, and one of the first things I noticed, which seperated this industry from all others I have been in, was the disdain some site owners had for their own customers. These days the reputable companies that are left think of them as 'clients', 'consumers', VIPs... But a big part of the problem years ago was site owners thinking the people who paid for their products were dupes, dummies or in some way beneath them.
Everything from hiding the cancel links to dishonest tours, bogus members areas, strange recurring billing timelines... It became a game of cat and mouse between the scumbags and their own clients. Then when tubes came along and offered free cheese to the mice, the cats all became irate asking 'how dare they watch free porn instead of paying 30+ dollars a month for a members area full of rotated nonexclusive videos that rarely updated after the tours promised them something else entirely... And how dare the evil review sites let consumers know what my site is up to...'
|