Questions and concerns about new subscription model

Aaron Ferris

Good morning,

This is my first post in the forums because until now I have never had an issue to raise. Also, because I have not had an issue to raise, I am late to the game about the subscription models that will be coming in October. I have some concerns, which I have not seen answered to my satisfaction in the various posts, FAQs, etc. that I have read.

Background

I am a Catholic priest who has been using Verbum for several years now. I am currently at Verbum 10 Diamond (after regular upgrades over time) with additional resources from other purchases. In general, I have been very happy with my purchases and am glad to support Faithlife for the products that they have offered. I have also utilized the academic resources to use the RCIA product with several individuals (I have mixed opinions).

Concerns

I understand the need for Faithlife to generate a regular income to sustain business operations. Given my infrequent purchase habits, I appreciate their interest in moving to subscription model to generate steady, reliable income. As a pastor, I like knowing the general giving patterns so I can budget accordingly. While I understand their interests, I cordially dislike subscription models and I won’t be participating. Given that I have little interest in unknown AI features, there seems to be little added benefit for me.

 

Having purchased up to Verbum 10 Diamond, what will happen when the new subscription model is released? I don’t need platitudes and promises. I want a clear explanation.

 

Will the program just update to Verbum 11 (or whatever it will be called), I keep everything I have, and just learn a new interface?

 

Will I have to be always online? One of the great features of Verbum is I can have it on my laptop, go anywhere, and use it.

 

Will there be ads in the interface? Right now, I can hide all the ads and other garbage and just keep my pinned layouts. Will the program I have spent thousands of dollars on keep trying to upsell me?

 

Will their be purchasable feature sets with libraries (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, etc.)? Will there be a way for me to make one-time feature/library purchases in the future?

 

These are but a few concerns that I have not seen answered. Maybe I have missed posts, but everywhere I have looked it has been generic promises about what will/might happen. Right now, the vibe feels like I am being sold a used car, and I don’t like that.

 

 

MJ. Smith

Verbum programs are usually announced after all the kinks have been worked out in Logos; then the Verbum options closely parallel the Logos programs with a different set of resources and a few differences in features e.g. not having a Protestant sermon website embedded in the Passage Guide (or is it Sermon Guide). I suspect we will be given the Verbum details on the actual rollout rather than an early adopter plan.

Aaron Ferris said:

Will the program just update to Verbum 11 (or whatever it will be called), I keep everything I have, and just learn a new interface?

You will continue to get updates to the code every 6 weeks or so - we are currently on version 35. The Verbum 11 terminology has been replaced for the program itself. Many new features you will get only by subscription.

Aaron Ferris said:

Will I have to be always online? One of the great features of Verbum is I can have it on my laptop, go anywhere, and use it.

No, just as it is now, some features require an internet connection but most do not.

Aaron Ferris said:

Will there be ads in the interface? Right now, I can hide all the ads and other garbage and just keep my pinned layouts. Will the program I have spent thousands of dollars on keep trying to upsell me?

So far in beta testing and the recent releases there is no indication of more ads. One search option does search all books whether you own them or not.

Aaron Ferris said:

Will their be purchasable feature sets with libraries (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, etc.)? Will there be a way for me to make one-time feature/library purchases in the future?

I haven't kept up with the nitty-gritty of this, but I believe the answer is no, there will own be a subscribe-to-own option.

I hope this helps until we actually see the details of the Verbum plans.

NB.Mick

Hi Aaron, welcome to the user forums!

Aaron Ferris said:

I am currently at Verbum 10 Diamond (after regular upgrades over time) with additional resources from other purchases. In general, I have been very happy with my purchases and am glad to support Faithlife for the products that they have offered. (...) While I understand their interests, I cordially dislike subscription models and I won’t be participating. 

Having purchased up to Verbum 10 Diamond, what will happen when the new subscription model is released? (...) Will the program just update to Verbum 11 (or whatever it will be called), I keep everything I have, and just learn a new interface?

Basically yes. You own all the features of the current Verbum Full Feature Set and will be able to continue using those. The program - which is currently at Verbum 35 - will continue to update and you will continue to get free updates, so the functionality you have now will continue to be available to you, as well as all the books and resources you bought. Those are quite specific promises made. You may not even be asked to learn a new interface (developments in the user interface are seen as improvements by Faithlife, and thus may largely be restricted to subscribers - in fact there's a discussion right now about changes in the look and feel of the resource menu, and users have been told that the new interface will be mandatory for subscribers and the old interface for non-subscribers. It looks counterintuitive to me to maintain two different interfaces and not allow subscribers to switch as they choose, but that's how it is announced at the moment) 

Aaron Ferris said:Will I have to be always online? One of the great features of Verbum is I can have it on my laptop, go anywhere, and use it.

No. Some functionality in your Verbum already requires online connectivity to use it (maybe you never came accross those) - the general expectation is that NEW functionality will be more likely to need online access (such as AI-powered tools that run on large training sets not available locally). But by and large, for the next years, Verbum will be a local, offline application for the most part. This won't change for the existing application - why should it?

Aaron Ferris said:Will there be ads in the interface? Right now, I can hide all the ads and other garbage and just keep my pinned layouts. Will the program I have spent thousands of dollars on keep trying to upsell me?

There have been things on the Verbum homepage (now called dashboard) in the application that users consider Ads. Sometimes even a more intrusive message bar - those things you can avoid. From my experience with Faithlife, of course they want to upsell you to a subscription, or inform you when some new things come around (they may invent non-subscription packages in some months or years time). At the moment I don't think they will put nag-screens and other annoying ads into the free version of the software - but there has been no discussion and no official word about this. 

Aaron Ferris said:Will their be purchasable feature sets with libraries (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, etc.)?

Not this year and maybe not next either. The feature sets will be contained in the subscription levels (Premium, Pro, Max). Tere hasn't been much said about Verbum 11 libraries with no features attached - my personal thinking is that there will be such purchasable libraries, maybe even with the traditional levels. And I think they will be available for non-subscribers as well as for subscribers (maybe those get a general discount that works as an incentive to subscribe). There are some libraries that have been put out for subscribers only - they currently have only small content and are not directed at user demographics, thus my speculation that Verbum 11 libraries will come out for all users but with no Feature Sets inclued. 

Aaron Ferris

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1310722#Comment_1310722

Thank you both for the answers. That is far clearer than I have been able to deduce elsewhere.

God bless!