Stardock's relationship with Neowin and its criticizers

[Antaris Veteran]

3 posts in 5 years? Your opinion doesn't count!!!!

:p j/k Thanks for setting the record straight, sometimes I really wonder about some of the responses I see here lol

I kept reading his name as the-Jaffa :D

[Frogboy Administrators]

As for whether Frogboy is the spawn of Satan himself - who cares. I'm too arrogant to give him the seconds of thought needed to figure it out.

I love you, man! :)

[Disavowed]

3 posts in 5 years? Your opinion doesn't count!!!!

:p j/k Thanks for setting the record straight, sometimes I really wonder about some of the responses I see here lol

3 posts in 5 years? :huh: He joined May 2005. Talk about math.

Its just facts. Yes, no one holds 51%, but if I were Neowin, I sure as hell wouldn't have let someone hold majority rights out of three investors. Anyone with more than an 8th grade education would know that.

Has it helped? Of course. No one's denying that. It just has the potential to be a major issue down the road.

[Calum Veteran]

3 posts in 5 years? :huh: He joined May 2005. Talk about math.

Pfft! You're just sticking up for him because you also have three posts!! Humph!

Haha, kidding mate.

[+shift. MVC]

Has it helped? Of course. No one's denying that. It just has the potential to be a major issue down the road.

I guess they're confident there won't be any major issues. At least there hasn't been any that we all know about for 3 years now.

[Danrarbc]

I love both groups so this isn't a big deal. Haven't even noticed a difference.

Correct. That's just an egotistical excuse.

What many people don't realize is that Stardock has the singular MAJORITY share in Neowin. Steve has 30%, Redmak has 30%, and Stardock has 40%. Steve and Redmak may both together have 60%, but in essence, they are two shareholders...not one.

As much spin as has been put on this, that's the fact. Steve and Redmak sold off their control, and one of these days, it will bite them back.

Tinfoil hat? ;p

Edited May 16, 2008 by Danrarbc

[+shift. MVC]

What does LLC in Neowin LLC stand for by the way.

[Eric Veteran]

What does LLC in Neowin LLC stand for by the way.

LLC = Limited Liability Company. In the US it means the owners have a limited amount of debt liability for the company they own. (Company goes bankrupt, owners don't automatically follow.) If you took economics in school it was probably referred to as an S-Corporation.

[Fred Derf Veteran]

LLC = Limited Liability Company. In the US it means the owners have a limited amount of debt liability for the company they own. (Company goes bankrupt, owners don't automatically follow.) If you took economics in school it was probably referred to as an S-Corporation.

In Canada it would be the same as "Limited".

i.e. Shell Canada Limited.

(I mention this because the person asking was from Vancouver)

[+shift. MVC]

Okay, I understand what Limited is, I just had no idea LLC = Limited :p

Thanks Fred.

[oCYBERDOGo]

I'm not a fan of Stardock, and don't own any of their products, but I do have to say that Neowin is much better now than in the earlier days. I would sumise that it was a very thought out and necessary business decision to be done. Stardock could and would be smart to utilise this community as I have seen to improve their products and get ideas to attract new user's and expand on the user base they have now.

Just my two cents...

[CentralDogma]

Well, I always knowtist a "close" relationship between Stardock and Neowin, Stardock software being prominently displayed on the front page and Stardock having the official podcast of Neowin for a while(btw, when will you guys bring that back, that was a great podcast). I don't necessarily have a problem with this arrangement ("you gotta do what ya gotta do") or with FrogBoy (never really seen him around the forums), but it would have been nice to have let the members know about this arrangement earlier.

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

Ohh.. Brad = Frogboy.. I had no idea who you were all talking about :rofl:

Frogboy is cool.. and I don't think we have ever quoted one another in topics or anything related, except the time he was on X-Play.

I'm kind of confused why this topic was made... but i'm sure the story goes deeper then what is being said in the replies

[linsook]

don't care for stardock, no opinions on the company, however frogboy may get overly defensive when members bash his company and it's products (even if it is unfounded). is that an issue? maybe.

as for neowin; still looking good after this long. keep it up!

[+Gary7 Subscriber²]

The relationship that Neowin has with Stardock or any other company is really none of it's members business. This can only help the membership IMHO.

[TruckWEB]

I think that Neowin is much better today than what it was in 2001/2002. And if it's all thanks to Stardock and Brad, well, I'm happy.

The only thing is, if someone do have a "valid" not trolling opinion about a Stardock software, that person should have the right to express himself. It's not because Neowin lives because of Stardock that all opinions about Stardock product should be good and rosy.

Another thing, it probably helps to be the Admin and being able to share strong opinions without getting a warning.... Most of us don't have that chance, all mods/admin should keep that in mind.

Keep up the good work.

[39 Thieves]

I'm just curious as to if it would constitute a conflict of interests, when a company with a past history of paying people to post on forums now has a controlling share in an extremely well-respected tech website and forum. I suppose it could be just considered another aspect of marketing, albeit an underhanded one, but it would certainly make me suspect of anyone with a "positive" opinion of their products on a site such as this.

[Ji@nBing]

Not many of us had even known the difference, other than it's been obvious the past few years that Neowin and Stardock have a close relationship. Those of you that have been around as long as I have really know the difference in the reliability of the technical side of the site though. For a few years there, it was constant problems. The site has been running really smoothly since this arrangement was made, so I can only look at this as a good thing. Who knows if we would still even be here today without Stardock stepping up. You've got to think Neobond and company would have got fed up with all the problems eventually. Just be thankful that we now have a well run, problem free site and that the impact of Stardock's involvement has been minimal.

[Denis W. Veteran]

I'm just curious as to if it would constitute a conflict of interests, when a company with a past history of paying people to post on forums now has a controlling share in an extremely well-respected tech website and forum. I suppose it could be just considered another aspect of marketing, albeit an underhanded one, but it would certainly make me suspect of anyone with a "positive" opinion of their products on a site such as this.

In case you don't know about this: Read this 2006 news article on Neowin. (though take things you read from Consumerist with a grain of salt; they love blowing things out of proportion)

This claim was shot down in posts 10.4 and 10.5 so I'm not entirely sure what the company AEG had to do with Stardock.

[Hills420]

<----Hahahahha, I'm earlier than thou.

I've been here a long time, and I was on staff when Stardock got involved (I think) and I had no problem with it then, and no problem with it now. Brad is a cool guy, he makes awesome games, and runs a great company. Plus Neowin is supported, which is a plus since I love Neowin like all of you do (cept I love it more).

Though maybe Brad should consider changing his nick to FrogMAN...just a thought :D

<----Hahahahha, I'm earlier than thou. j/k, almost

I do not understand what the major issue is, Stardock/Frogboy has helped Neowin stay online and that is what matters most!!

:)

[»X«]

Many of the critical responses to software or anything related to the company in our news and forums are unfair and unfounded, there are a few things these members should note before adding little or nothing more than trolling to such posts on Neowin.

<snip>

Of all the negative comments ive seen, its to do with the products themselves, not Brad. I couldn't care less if he is part of Neowin or not. However, there was an issue where I felt he was making unfair and negative comments about someone simply because they didnt throw themselves at his feet over a new Windowblinds skin. Thats why I have the opinion I do. Not his affiliation with Neowin. And creating a thread about someone's feelings being hurt? A bit odd if you ask me.

[Gamerhomie]

I've got no problem with Stardock, no problem with Brad, and didn't know he got 40%. But that doesn't matter to me as long long as Neowin is as it is, a great website. Not super plastered with ads, no corporate feel, etc... Other websites feel tacky to me. Just keep up the good work guys.

[pixated]

I think the site has definitely improved over the years, and I will continue to support it for as long as I can. Thanks for sticking with it for all these years Neobond / Redmak. :)

[MikeChipshop Member]

I used to use Stardock stuff and i don't any more and i'm not a hge fan but if it helps Neowin then that's gotta be a good thing!

[empty]

unrelated, but all this talk of nostalgia has really pulled in some posters i havent seen for AGES!! insanekiwi, cara, tom servo. crazy...