Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Psikerlord Jul 31, 2009 7:57:48	Hey all, if I buy a one month DDI subscription, does that allow me to access all the Dungeon mags up to and including this month, or can I only get this month's mag? I'm looking specifically for a module around 6-8th level, so I'm hoping a short one month subscription will be enough to let me search thru and find something useful. Cheers in advance for any replies
#2 mike_conno Jul 31, 2009 9:06:30	I really can't tell if you can do it or not. But does it make any sense? When you go to the store to buy a copy of a magazine, do you automatically receive every previous month copies? Why pay for a year subscription, if you can pay for a month subscription and download all previous issues? My bet is that WotC has it covered and you cannot access issues from previous months. But let me know if you do, ok?
#3 fletch137 Jul 31, 2009 9:54:56	I don't know for certain if it's still true, but I did this very thing earlier in the year. I subscribed to DDI in March and was able to download all the previous magazine pdfs. The reason they allowed that was because they had no mechanic for purchasing back issues individually and until that was in place, they were allowing the full access. If I were a betting man, I'd wager that this is still the case since I haven't heard anything about individual issue purchases yet.
#4 Paulon Jul 31, 2009 9:56:52	It does currently allow access to all back issues. It's speculated that it's because WotC can't handle the coding needed to restrict it to the issues that were in the period people had subscribed to. That was their intention, so open access, while currently available, isn't something that should be counted on indefinitely.
#5 mrmyth Jul 31, 2009 12:22:35	Yes, WotC has previously mentioned that there eventual plan is to have you subscription give you access to the months you are subscribed for, and have an option in place to individually purchase access to back issues... but that until they have the time and resources to set that up, you currently get access to all back issues when you subscribe.
#6 Psikerlord Jul 31, 2009 17:11:30	woohoo, sign me up then! :D Maybe when they eventually change it, they could make it so you can search thru as many back issues as you like, but only download 2 or 3 modules - ie one months worth. That would still be ideal for my purposes as an occasional customer.
#7 mike_conno Aug 03, 2009 4:39:35	woohoo, sign me up then! :D Maybe when they eventually change it, they could make it so you can search thru as many back issues as you like, but only download 2 or 3 modules - ie one months worth. That would still be ideal for my purposes as an occasional customer. I stand by what I said previously. Ideally, your 1-month subscription should give you access to dowload that month issue of both Dungeon and Dragon. This would include both the loose articles and the compiled issues. Also your account should have a tag in wich your subscribed months should register allowing you access to those issues you subscribed to, even if you are currently not subscribing. If this situation continues, WotC risks loosing money from 1-year subscribers like me, who will not pay 70$ to have the same service as the guy that pays 8$/10$.
#8 artytoo_dup Aug 10, 2009 9:39:07	If this situation continues, WotC risks loosing money from 1-year subscribers like me, who will not pay 70$ to have the same service as the guy that pays 8$/10$. I don't think there is any legal or ethical obligation to abstain from downloading previous issues if WoTC offers it (unless there are any terms and conditions that explicitly indicate otherwise). For new subscribers, the existence of this glaring loophole really isn't their problem, and I don't think they should be admonished for taking advantage of it. That said, this situation is completely unfair to previous subscribers. I think that all previous subscribers should get credit towards future months. So in the example above, the 1 year subscriber should get a free $60 credit = 6 free issues. Meanwhile, the recent subscriber still has to pay for the next 6 issues, so after 6 months, everyone has paid the same, fair and square. Hasbro probably wouldn't too happy about that, because they lose out on subscription revenue in the short-term, but I think that's the price to pay for good customer service and a fair resolution.
#9 abeattie Aug 15, 2009 19:35:23	woohoo, sign me up then! :D Maybe when they eventually change it, they could make it so you can search thru as many back issues as you like, but only download 2 or 3 modules - ie one months worth. That would still be ideal for my purposes as an occasional customer. Yeah -- currently buying one or two months during the course of a year is an obnoxiously good deal. I hope they get clever and toss in bonus gifts for folks that maintain memberships over the long haul. Heck, you even get to keep using the full CB . . . ah well. -A
#10 RPJesus Aug 28, 2009 22:01:34	I hope they get clever and toss in bonus gifts for folks that maintain memberships over the long haul. They could let us year long subscribers keep our access to back issues...
#11 darth_azalin Sep 01, 2009 10:55:05	If this situation continues, WotC risks loosing money from 1-year subscribers like me, who will not pay 70$ to have the same service as the guy that pays 8$/10$. I don't think there is any legal or ethical obligation to abstain from downloading previous issues if WoTC offers it (unless there are any terms and conditions that explicitly indicate otherwise). For new subscribers, the existence of this glaring loophole really isn't their problem, and I don't think they should be admonished for taking advantage of it. That said, this situation is completely unfair to previous subscribers. I think that all previous subscribers should get credit towards future months. So in the example above, the 1 year subscriber should get a free $60 credit = 6 free issues. Meanwhile, the recent subscriber still has to pay for the next 6 issues, so after 6 months, everyone has paid the same, fair and square. Hasbro probably wouldn't too happy about that, because they lose out on subscription revenue in the short-term, but I think that's the price to pay for good customer service and a fair resolution. I don't know if I will keep it again after next Oct. I renewed in July for the same price for a second year. The only thing I have is the character builder currently each month. With the aspects of some of the free to use 3rd parties. I will contend to pay 11 times as much as someone else for the same context.