3D-Mobster posted at 11:03PM Mon, 15 February 2016 - #4255118

I don't see why you would have a go at Renderosity for this. There are nothing uncommon or weird about this. The rules that applies on Renderosity are 99.9% identical to those of other sites.

One of the keys to running a successful business is to differentiate yourself from your competitors. Just because everyone else is doing something doesn't mean it is right or the key to success. Those who try something audacious are often rewarded handsomely. Look at how much money RedHat makes around Linux, an operating system that is available for free and may be copied and redistributed as much as you like.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, the old "New Products" forum that allowed links to products on other sites provided VALUE to the community. If Renderosity wants to draw people back to the site, and especially the forums, Renderosity needs to provide something of value to us, especially if it is something the other sites don't have. Otherwise, I and others will go to the sites that we perceive as providing more value. If none of them appear to provide value, we will choose another activity entirely that provides value to us, such as spending time learning a 3D modeling package, going for a bike ride, or hanging out with friends.

It's all about alternatives. Renderosity isn't competing only with other 3D sites, Renderosity is competing with anything else we could be doing instead of hanging out on these forums or browsing the store. If they want to bring this site back to its former glory, they will need to do something audacious like broadening the scope of the forums to be more inclusive of the 3D community at large. Be open to links to other sites. Make Renderosity forums the "one stop shop" for all things 3D, whether it is sold here or not. I think you'd be surprised how effective that could be (and how effective it once was). Becoming a "walled garden" now is like fencing in a bunch of dying flowers with nothing but gasoline to water them with.