You seem to understand what’s going on perfectly. The site doesn’t draw in nearly as much traffic as it used to, and that’s for a multitude of reasons, but IB at this point are clearly attempting to squeeze whatever juice is left before the site is completely dead.

Think of it like the video game industry. They’re always inventing new ways to separate you from the money your wallet… sometimes their ideas work, sometimes they don’t. When an idea DOESN’T work, does that mean they’ve learned a lesson? That they won’t come up with yet other ways to make you want to spend money above the initial $60 price point? No… it just makes them go back to the drawing board and find new means.

This isn’t a commentary about Joel or anything, but rather the company itself. I know his hands are tied on a lot of this stuff and he’s really just the mouthpiece and relay. But, man, this site is clearly fading away and it seems other users in this thread are noticing the same thing. It’s truly sad. I love DVDTalk, but everything that’s being going on as of late is just too much for my poor heart to handle.