Answers & Replies

Given the news and obvious reactions that have landed here I decided it was appropriate to answer some of the questions and comments that have come after the announcement of bobgretz.com going to premium content.

First, a very deep thank you to everyone who posted and the support you provided in some of those comments really poured fuel into my engine. One more quiet week and then I can’t wait to move forward. You guys are too kind and although I’m a word merchant, it’s tough for me to adequately express my thanks.

I have answers to some specific questions at the end of this post. Let me hit a couple common themes.

WHY NOT GO AFTER MORE ADVERTISING RATHER THAN FORCING READERS TO PAY?

First, we aren’t forcing anyone to pay. This is obviously a personal decision and I understand everyone is not able or willing to become a subscriber. For two years we’ve chased advertising and unfortunately there is simply not much of a market to pay the bills. Things might be different if this was 10 years ago and the Chiefs were riding high. But the last three seasons have chased away a lot of dollars from the team and businesses associated with the club.

As you can see we have advertising on the site. This is done through a national co-op and it’s worked out well. But the monthly income from this service isn’t enough to pay the bills.

THIS MOVE TO PREMIUM IS COMING AT THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME!

I know that and I feel for anyone out there that’s in a bad spot right now. Things have been tough around our house for the last two years. That’s one of the reasons this decision was made.

HOW LONG IS A SUBSCRIPTION?

As stated, a $25 charge will bring you all content on this site through the day after the last game of the 2010 Chiefs season. This is not a yearly charge, but a charge for the season. Plans for the future have not been finalized, but a lot of what we do in the off-season will likely remain free. However, I expect to establish a charge for 2011 NFL Draft coverage.

WHAT WILL I GET ON THE SITE WITH THE PREMIUM LEVEL?

You will get all content that appears on the site with no restrictions, along with full access to comments. There are plans for more content, especially of the audio and video variety, and we will move forward with those if the bank account allows.

WHAT WILL BE AVAILABLE FREE?

Essentially things will work in this fashion: what you see today on the home page will always be available to everyone free of charge. If you want to click “read more” then the rest of the story is part of the premium package.

There will be times when a complete story is available free; there will be times when content is available only for premium subscribers.

COMMENTS AND CENSORSHIP

For long-time visitors to the site, you know what this is about. I agree with some of the posters about the history of comments and problems we had in the past with them.

I started this website with the idea that the readers and posters here would be adults and would handle themselves in such a manner. Turned out that wasn’t the case and we had mayhem in the comments spurred on by one or two posters.

That forced a change in how we handled things, including eliminating the posts of several people along the way. Those mechanical changes in the background of the site caught some posters up in the net as well and they had problems getting their comments public.

I think we’ve got a handle on these things now and hopefully those who visit feel the comments section is more adult and human.

Which seems a good time to explain what’s OK on the posts and what is not and will get you booted? Vulgarities will not fly. All those dirty words that we all know will get you bounced immediately to the trash; I don’t even see those. Borderline words and various insults get you sent to limbo, where I must approve the post. Generally, 95 percent of the time a single word or sentence is edited out and the post goes up.

Stay out of the name calling; that’s not what we are looking or here. Good, healthy and rabid discussions do not require the use of terms like idiot, douche bag and pond scum. Stay out of the playground fighting or we may have to send you to timeout.

I do not remember a single post that has been removed in 23 months on this site for its opinion. Agree or disagree with me, it doesn’t matter. Agree or disagree with the Chiefs, it doesn’t matter.

There’s also a limit on length. Sometimes you guys go crazy and write 1,000-word posts about your thoughts or the team. If you find yourself going on and on, then learn to edit yourself.

WHAT IS THIS SITE’S AFFILIATION WITH THE CHIEFS?

None. We cover the Chiefs; that’s 90 percent of the content on the site. But the Chiefs do not pay me or the site. They cooperate in covering the team on a daily basis, just as they do with the local fish wrap, TV stations and radio yakkers.

WILL OTHER SITES CONTINUE TO STEAL THE POSTS AND GIVE THE INFORMATION FOR FREE

We have some plans in place for this if it becomes a problem. There are a lot of websites out there that like to repackage other people’s work. That’s OK; it’s actually great advertising for the site. But if any site starts carrying verbatim stories, then we go to Plan B. Hopefully,  it won’t be a problem.

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Now, a few individual posts and answers.

CosmicPal says: I just wish you would have considered a donation-based service to begin with. I appreciate everything that you do for us fans and I would honor your tireless work by donating money now and then to continue my support and gratitude. It’s just that I can’t afford a subscription right now. Sadly, I’m going to missing out.

Bob says: I did consider a donation-based service and in fact I talked with two different people who have political type sites who exist on donations. One said it worked for him, the other side it did not. Both had sites with a national subject matter, so they had far more potential readers. CosmicPal I hope things get better for you and continue to visit the site for the free stuff. Hopefully better times are ahead for all of us.

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el cid says: … Also paying my own way, I expect less censorship about items posted, not vulgar items but things the Chiefs might feel are less than loving, those sometimes seem to go into space and disappear.

Bob says: el cid, I have no idea what you are talking about when it comes to “things the Chiefs might feel are less than loving.” The club has no control over what is on this site. The person who has control is me, and for the life of me I can’t think of a single post of yours that has ever been deleted or even edited. I know there was a time when we were cleaning up the posts that you also got caught in the net because of your ip address, but obviously we’ve solved that problem.

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RickW says: I have posted many a time on here but unfortunately at this time won’t pay $25.00 to read premium news. Not that I can’t afford it just that I to can choose to pay or not to pay and at this time I choose not to pay. Good luck Mr. Gretz. One curious question though why when the Chiefs got rid of you didn’t you go to another city and start covering their games?

Bob says: Rick, I hope you will reconsider, but that’s your prerogative. The Chiefs did not get rid of me; I was released by KCFX and the station’s ownership. I was never an employee of the Chiefs. I was paid to write for their website, but that was on a per column basis. I was not an employee and did not have benefits of any kind. As to why I didn’t start covering another team – this is where I live. This is where I raised a family. Kansas City is about a good a place to live as any in the country. The only thing missing is quick access to an ocean. I preferred staying in K.C. and trying to make a go with all the Chiefs experience and information that I have accumulated over the last 30 seasons of coverage.