yummyrambutans but therein lies my confusion. if I take myself as an example with the old system I was happy to try new novels, explore and sit through a few adds to see a story chapter, my stone usage was about equal to what i got daily. but now I will limit my novels to reduce the stone cost and not bother looking at new things, this will result in viewing less adds in total and it would take something rather special for me to buy stones thus resulting in less money for the site. unless they expect to gather money from whales hooked on premium stories the end result will be negative due to less traffic with the simple reason being that people have had stories translated for free for years and many don't like the idea of now being "forced" to pay for what they once freely accessed. now as I have said I patron my favourite translators and have no problem with support through adds but I draw the line at a purchased currency system with floating values that can be changed at any time. hell, what cost me 4 stones yesterday cost me 8 now and there is nothing to stop them from deciding it will be 16 tomorrow. lastly, pay per 200 words also does not work as some chapters are filled will pure fluff but will cost 17 stones due to word count but you won't know without paying thus it would be better with a set price per chapter then at least you are not paying for the 200-word description of the dirt around a temple but the chapter about the temple as a whole.
the stone cost to unlock chapters is ludicrous
The problem is, pay per word count works in China. I really don't want it to work elsewhere. If you're paying for word count, the author's and translators can game the system by using fluff, which is unfortunate. The art of using only as many words as is necessary and no more is much more difficult a feat than churning out words.
Faruel I can understand the angst of not wanting to pay for something you've always had for free, it's hard. however I disagree with the inability to read and try knew titles if there is a (possibly variable) cost to getting the latest chapters. Keep in mind the older chapters are still free and ad-free. So those can still be read at random for exploration purposes.
@WEBNOVEL_OFFICIAL just give us an option to watch ads to unlock a chapter please, we all love ads you know, I know you are itching for those ad revenue, so give us ads! I am very sure you'll get more ad revenue if you implement this 'premium' program with ads rather than with Spirit Stones that us faithful reader got to pay for, as for ads ? They're free for us to watch, took up 1 minute of our life maybe, and they're also better in the long run for you, so please give us an option to watch ads to unlock a chapter instead of watching ads to get Spirit Stone, I believe many faithful readers liked it that way too.
Tbh, I don't think that spending SS is a waste... Since without the translator and editor doing their job some full time some part time, there wouldn't even be any chapter translated... I would love to support them even just with buying SS...
I'm just saying...
Maybe it's also a good thing that we're supporting qi, for us to have better novels?
I'll start earning SS. I'll login everyday and invite my friends lmao hahahah
yummyrambutans I'm not saying its an inability to try new titles but a disincentive. why add another story when I am already surpassing the spirit stone generation trying to keep up with those I already read. the ad system worked so why change it, hell I wouldn't even care if they added sidebar ads but a floating currency that has already changed and can be changed at any time is my primary complaint. I just don't know what my 500 stones will actually get me next month
Well, I think they need it for them to survive and produce new novels...
Faruel us broke ,cheap skates won't be able to unlock chapters 
Then we'll need to start earning SS
Shameless7kim Use the power that GrandPa TabooGod has given you!!... that's the only way.
Let's just wait if we don't like earning SS
TooLongDidntRead Free SS only expire after 3 months from the time you get them if I'm not mistaken, so it is possible to build up a stockpile if you are patient. Meanwhile, there will still be free chapters being released, so you'll just have to settle for just reading those until you collect enough free SS to pay for advance chapters if you are unwilling to pay real cash.
Before I rant, let me make it clear that I believe there is no such thing as a free lunch. Webnovel has been offering free spirit stones, chapters, etc. to build a following so that they could later make money off us. Fair enough. Businesses exist to make money; if you thought Webnovel was altruistically giving you stories to read and expecting nothing in return then you have too much trust. My issue with this situation is that the premium model uses nonrefundable, virtual currency usable solely on one website. There are two problems to this:
One, spirit stones are basically monopoly money that costs real money. You are less likely to think about how much you are actually spending when what you are spending doesn't actually look like money. It is the same reason casinos use chips instead of cash and video games with micro-transactions have their own virtual currency. And if you ever want to back out of spending money on the spirit stones, you can't get your money back. They could theoretically just connect a bank account or credit card to your Webnovel account, but that would make people watch real money go away with each transaction, which they would be less willing to do.
The second issue ties to the first. Has anyone read the forums where people reveal personal information like age? A large portion of users are teens, who may not know how to be financially responsible yet. You can argue this however you want, but it is a fact that the human brain does not finish developing its prefrontal cortex (the decision making part of the brain) until the age of about 25. You can be addicted to anything: drugs, alcohol, food, video games, gambling, and yes even reading. This is why companies always gear advertising to younger audiences to try gain brand loyalty early on.
You can say that the premium model is not that expensive, or that any reasonable person won't lose a ton of money on it, but it could prey on a specific group of people rather viciously. Mobile game marketers have called these people 'whales.' Rather than the model in place, I would be interested in seeing a subscription service at a flat rate where you get to read ahead for every book. That would be a less predatory means to monetize in my opinion.
ImperfectInfinity You can say that the premium model is not that expensive, or that any reasonable person won't lose a ton of money on it, but it could prey on a specific group of people rather viciously. Mobile game marketers have called these people 'whales.' Rather than the model in place, I would be interested in seeing a subscription service at a flat rate where you get to read ahead for every book. That would be a less predatory means to monetize in my opinion.
No please no! Subscriptions models are far worse as most people forget to ever unsubscribe, seriously, people can and very easily will forget to unsubscribe if there's a subscription model in place.
Look at a Netflix subscription, once you buy it once and watch everything good on there you'll likely forget to unsubscribe and they'll keep milking you for 12.99USD a month or whatever they charge for years...
