Quote:
|
I purchased a lifetime subscription to Sky.FM (now RadioTunes) a few years ago. If they decided to end my subscription (for whatever reason), I'd be upset and would cry foul. But if they refunded the entire amount I paid for the subscription -- providing me with free access for the years I've had it -- I'd still be upset about losing the service, but would be content that it was handled appropriately.
|
This isn't a good comparison. I can't just switch to a new email service and still get the messages that will be sent to my fastmail address years from now. Even if fastmail offered me $100 to discontinue my account, I wouldn't want it. I want them to continue maintaining my account, as they promised, because I've been relying on my email address as a way for people to contact me for 15 years. And I don't like the idea of having to start paying them even a small amount to keep my account, because I don't want to reward fastmail for breaking their promises.
What if the next thing fastmail unilaterally decides is to raise their prices for all of your accounts to about 40 times what you've paid in the past, so $1200/year for a Basic account, and said that if you don't want to pay for that, then your addresses will be discontinued, but they'll be happy to refund whatever you paid for your accounts in the past? Would you just say, no big deal, I'll just let them discontinue my addresses and give me my money back and be happy that I got free email service for however many years.
Or would you feel betrayed that they were effectively trying to blackmail you into paying a lot more than you agreed to pay to maintain the accounts you've been relying on? That's exactly what fastmail is doing to Member account holders. (And then if you complained on this forum that the price increase to $1200/year was uncool, a bunch of business owners who already pay $1000/year to run their own business email servers would accuse you of acting entitled and tell you to "cough up" if you want to maintain your accounts.)
Seriously: before you all respond with some new argument, I'd like everyone here who has been defending fastmail to actually answer this simple question: how would you feel if fastmail raised their prices to 40 times what you've paid in the past (and offered your money back if you don't want to pay that much to keep your accounts)?