Download.com site feedback forum: Changes to Downloads - cbs interactive (whats up with this!)

Well, I'm not buying into this.

CNet's move into adding another tier to boost revenue is simply not acceptable.

If you need more revenue you have one of two problems...

1) Your business model is broken.

2) Your Greed Factor has risen above your charter - namely, you want too much from the services you deliver.

In either case, this is going to backfire big time, especially with professionals and power users. We will bail out and depreciate CNet in our tool bag, and you will begin losing revenue 'cause your ad hits will decline.

Nobody and I mean nobody will tolerate this for long.

As a pro, I now have to drill through my cache to find the original download, and that's after I waste time with the downloader in the first place and have to be careful not to accidentally allow a piggybacked program to install along with the original tool I wanted.

My experience?

After I logged in, I managed to get the Direct Link to work once. Then I had to log in again to get it to work the second time. Then, again without logging out, after clicking on a link from the "More popular <blah-blah>" on the third download the Direct Link didn't show up under the Download Now button. In fact, no links showed under the Download Now button.

You got into this business a long time ago, so you already know it's costs and revenue limits. What you're doing here is immoral and so insulting to my trust in you. It reflects thoughtless trends in Americana and in our civilization which suggest that consumers are just stupid cows you can milk, and then find more ways to milk (like this one).

It also is willing to toss your reputation as if it has no value. Well, perhaps it hasn't.

Life is not about profit. It's about service to others. I am fairly sure however, this statement of truth will fall on deaf ears at your end, because your marketing obviously comes from the new culture where everything is OK and "so what's your point"-isms.

So what is the point? Simple. This is a very bad idea, and you should get rid of it now, before you do more damage to your business than you ever imagined. Just look at your daily download numbers if you don't believe me. They speak for themselves.

And if a product isn't available at SoftPedia or File-Hippo or other sites that can't resist this stupid idea, then I guess I just don't need it that badly.

Truly...bad form!