Okay, here’s my story.
I quit this whole app a while ago out of protest over the content. I hated that they were making a edgy, f-bomb dropping Titans show, but I kind of dealt with it, but I absolutely quit when I saw there was going to be an edgy, c-bomb dropping Harley Quinn show. That’s not what I come to DC comics for, and while I don’t begrudge anybody loving it (this life is way too short for me to want to take away anything that anybody genuinely loves) I didn’t need to be a part of funding it.
But then as I started seeing more and more about rewards program, I was drawn back. I re-subscribed basically for the rewards program. I was already watching Stargirl on the CW app, and I like reading comics online, so I cancelled my Comixology Unlimited subscription and switched to DC Universe.
When I got in, I was really disappointed. There was pretty much nothing in the “redeem” category. And I didn’t want to join the forums because I’m kind of a shy, anxious guy who doesn’t really like to post on stuff like this because I’m afraid I’ll say something wrong or mess something up or look stupid.
But I finally started lurking in the forums to see what I was missing about the Rewards program.
And I think I was basically reading that stuff WAS dropping, but it was dropping at times where I wasn’t seeing it or knowing about it and then selling out before I could ever get to it.
And then the whole system stopped working on my app on my tablet so I couldn’t look up what prizes there were to redeem at all.
But then after a while I figured out that it WOULD work if I accessed the rewards page through my browser instead of the app. So I started doing that. And then I started reading the forums really in depth so I could really figure out the program and I read that the whole thing was coming to an end.
Since I hadn’t really ever seen how much stuff went for, I kind of had my hopes up that my 1,500 points would get me something good. Instead the only thing I could afford besides basically meaningless contest entries were movies (which I already own all the ones I was interested in–I’m a DC fan, after all) which kept going up and down sporadically, and one very specific poster for one very specific show that I don’t really dig.
So in the end, the only thing I’m coming out of this with is one Batcave Wallpaper, that I kind of felt gipped on because the thing I clicked on said wallpaperS, with an S, so I thought there would be more than one design, but instead the reason it said wallpaperS, with an S, was because they had the same design in 3 different shapes so you could use it on different devices. I didn’t buy any more wallpapers after that. I poured the rest of my points into contest entries for the Absolute Editions which also kept going up and down and up and down for some weird reason.
So basically, everything about this program has been letdown after letdown after letdown for me, and even when I finally spent points on something I really got, the little deceptive wording of the “S” even made that a letdown.
I really would like to see it come back.
I would like to see things be really straightforward and spelled out. I would like to know when to watch for new prizes without having to read through a ton of forum posts.
I would like to know things like how many points you can get in a day. I have earned 1500 points in this program, maxed out my points many a day, and only this week did I finally find out what the maximum number of points actually was you could get in a day because somebody posted it in one of these threads.
I would like to see an object as a reward, start saving up the points to earn it, and still have it be there to purchase with points when I have managed to earn that number of points.
I would like the site to have some cohesion in the program. Right now, for people going to the “Earn” page, right now, 45 minutes before the whole promotion is over, and when you haven’t been able to get points for a week, the “Earn” page still makes it look like you can earn points right now, today. I would like all of the pages to look like the people who maintain the website know about the changes to the program that is like 1/4 of the features of this website.
I wouldn’t mind at all if things cost more points. I wouldn’t mind at all if actions earned less points. If making it harder to get the stuff meant it was easier to understand how to get the stuff and what stuff you’d be able to get, I would gladly accept that trade off.
I’m not angry or upset about not getting stuff. I’m just really, really disappointed. I kind of had my hopes up that I was going to get some cool swag out of this program and it’s just really a bummer that I didn’t.
I’ll be honest here. The complete lack of support it looks like DC put behind this program does not make me hopeful about the future of the service or about the future of DC comics at all. I feel like a bunch of good people work in the DC universe department trying to make the best program they can, but in the meantime there are people higher up than them going, “no, you can’t do that. No, you can’t do that.”
And then they go “YES! Absolutely! Do that!” And then when it gets rolled out, the same people say, “Who told you to do that? We’re not going to support you in that!”
And if they don’t support the rewards program, it seems like they’re not going to support getting the old backlog of classic comics I want to read digitized and up on the service, and if all they want to give me are the new comics I don’t want to read faster, I don’t know if I even really have a reason to be here.
I hate to sound like a bummer about this, but for me, the program really has been a bummer.
But I like a lot of stuff about the service. I like how many comics from the 80’s and early 90s I couldn’t afford to buy as a kid I’m finally getting to read. I like that I can find stories I didn’t know my favorite authors wrote.
I’m probably one of the few people who is GLAD that the weird adult TV shows are going to HBO max and that the people working here can concentrate on helping get more old comics up to read and online. I couldn’t be happier if that’s what comes from all of this.
But man, if we could get a reliable, fun, straightforward rewards program on top of it, that would be absolutely amazing.
:robotman_dp:
comeback in better circumstances since this year has been something.