You’re totally about the logical fallacies & it just goes to show that strava’s end of year recap is worth the annual sub on its own.
The logical fallacy article starts off with:
- If you go outside without a coat, you’ll catch a cold.
which is completely false. You have to be exposed to the cold virus to catch a “cold”. What do you call conflating being cold with catching a cold?
yeah, a better analogy is going to the grocery store and paying more for ice cream while the container gets smaller. Or TrainerRoad or any other company raising prices. Freemium business model is no different, times change, and what you get for free changes.
Maybe read beyond the first paragraph before you comment something regarding said article. The whole article is free btw not just the first three sentences 
I read the article. What is the point? She starts with a false fact as the basis for the article.
„Although both statements can be proven wrong by going outside without a coat and staying perfectly healthy (and by pointing to the proven fact that the only way to catch a cold is to be exposed to a virus, the first one is simply incorrect, not logically flawed“.
Something that was a free service will remain a free service. And if not, then the company providing the service is evil and bad and doomed to go bankrupt. Is that a logical fallacy?
But nobody said any of that anywhere in this thread. You are arguing the Straw Man.
Nobody said anywhere that free stuff should stay free forever. Nobody said that Strava is evil, bad or doomed.
My only thesis is that these little annoyances are not going to move the needle for Strava. Their VC’s need for a billion dollar exit is not going to happen by removing these little features.
Please show me where they changed the terms of the agreement. I must have missed that if you pointed that out already. I went ahead and pulled some relevant points:
Fees
In order to access certain functionality of the Services, you may be required to pay [subscription fees](Strava Subscription). Subscription fees, along with any required taxes, may be paid on a monthly or annual basis. All subscription fees are payable in advance. Athletes changing from monthly to annual subscriptions will have the annual rates take effect at the beginning of the next billing date. You agree to pay the subscription fees, and other charges you incur in connection with your Strava account, whether on a one-time or subscription basis. Strava reserves the right to increase subscription fees, any associated taxes, or to institute new fees at any time upon reasonable advance notice.
Modification of the Terms and Services
Certain provisions of the Terms may be supplemented or superseded by expressly designated legal notices or terms located on particular pages on the Services. Strava reserves the right to update the Terms at any time and for any reason in its sole discretion. Strava will notify you of any material changes to the Terms or to any service or other features of the Services. By continuing to access or use the Services after we have provided you with notice of a modification, you are agreeing to be bound by the modified Terms. If the modified Terms are not acceptable to you, your only recourse is to cease using the Services.
Strava and its third party service providers may make improvements and/or changes in the Services, products, services, mobile applications, features, programs, and prices described at any time and for any reason in its sole discretion. The mobile application may download and install upgrades, updates and additional features in order to improve, enhance, and further develop the Services. Strava reserves the right at any time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Services or any portion thereof with or without notice. You agree that Strava shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the Services.
Sorry I forgot to put an emoji in there. I thought it was obviously exaggerated and oversimplified. Trying to be sarcastic in another language is hard.
Multiple people in here have voiced their frustration about the fact that Strava has pulled feature(s) that have been free and put them behind a paywall. And that was not what they agreed to.
Maybe you didn’t and I agree with many points you make in here about Strava not innovating enough to make more people pay for the service. But at no point should anyone feel entitled to a free service remaining the same with the same features as when they signed up. That’s just wishful thinking at best. Again, not you but others.
I pay david for intervals.icu 50€ per year. I could use it for free but choose to support that project as I feel it provides me much value. Same with TR, I’ve not been able to use it last year due to an injury. I still kept paying as I want to see them remain successful. If anyone feels the same or different about Strava they can just decide with their wallet. As a non paying „customer“ you’re not entitled to anything. That’s my point and now I’ll shut up. Merry Christmas and happy holdiays to all.
Give a little kid a candy bar. Let them hold it, take a bite and then take it back. Then when the kid cries explain to him it’s not the right attitude because it’s YOUR candy bar.
Or if ahead of time you say… hey this is my candy bar, you can buy one but here is a sample to see if you like it. No one cries because you know you only get a bite.
Unfortunately many businesses see a popular feature and try to monetize it. And they should… but the way they go about it is wrong and irritates customers.
- Deleted my snarky response -
Merry Christmas everyone!
Many would consider that Strava suddenly charging for the end of year recap, they did not in fact give reasonable advance notice.
You accept all terms and conditions. You cannot just choose a sentence or two. So you must consider these terms as well:
Strava and its third party service providers may make improvements and/or changes in the Services, products, services, mobile applications, features, programs, and prices described at any time and for any reason in its sole discretion.
I felt the exact opposite, hence my question to try to better understand another viewpoint. I don’t like to feel ignorant, nor to draw false conclusions.
Sounds like Strava is increasing their prices……zero chance I re-up if this holds.
That said, it is interesting to compare and contrast TR’s communications re: pricing vs. the clear corporate greed of Strava. TR has been very open and communicative, arguably more than necessary. Strava is doing everything they can to not say what the actual new pricing will be and simply hoping people don’t notice.
Between the layoffs, the continual clawback of features behind the subscription wall and now this, it seems Strava’s financial situation is……not good.
These are the prices I saw (in pounds though):
The price of the company’s subscription service, which provides users with additional features unavailable on the app’s free version, such as route planning, segment competition, effort analysis, and a training dashboard, has now increased for monthly subscribers from £6.99 to £8.99 for 2023 – a jump of over 28 percent – while the annual subscription has risen from £47.99 to £54.99.
Strava criticised after monthly subscription price rises by almost 30 percent | road.cc
Yea I’ll probably cancel my membership, I only like using it to make routes or compare segments. Whatever it costs a year now ain’t worth it for a small boost in ego. Sure I can afford the higher price but I don’t see any value in it besides those 2 things.
Is Strava run by bots? They not only took away the year end recap in order to try and convince me to join but they also removed the bike tab and yearly totals from my profile on the web site:
But they still exist on the iOS app:
Before any punter jumps in to tell me I can’t complain about a free app, read again. There is no complaint above. It’s just an observation about a company that has no clue how to motivate their free tier (98% of users) to pay.