Freeloaders

This term has been around for some time, but it has reared its ugly head again, & in light of the Tegangate issue I believe that the subject needs to be looked at more closely. If support of the views of Tegan & others grows pace it could well be another nail in the coffin for the shows as we once knew them.
This is an issue mainly concerning the webshows, but aspects could & have bled into the tv based shows.
I'm in the camp of Skully, who doesn't like the term at all. Not all babes are at fault, some babes (the best babes) understand the benefits of appearing on FTA TV & a balanced webshow with a mix of freestream & paywall on offer.
The fact that a steam is free indicates that any tip or buzz is optional. Punters financial situations have an impact on their willingness to spend, some wouldn't miss a grand, whereas to others, the implications of tipping a tenner could result in their kids not getting fed.
It's bad enough for the babes to be rounding on those they refer to as freeloaders, but I saw something far worse recently, as a regular tipper/buzzer use the term in a babes chat, & was calling them out to get involved & spend. You should never have a situation where a punter believes they have the right to shame or coerce others into spending. These regular & heavy spenders naturally build up a rapport with a babe, & are the ones that dominate the chat & in some cases the babes phone-line.
They grow egos & wrongly think that their heavy spending has somehow bought them the right to direct & control a babes show. Ultimately, any decent babe, & or Babeshow operator has the power & ability to stop these types of issues arising. You have to question the integrity of both parties in some instances.

I've been in that situation a few times I have top say, but luckily by being in Stormi's stream and a few others the girls understand me and the guys in Stormis stream we've actually formed the Stormi Appreciation Society (SAS)!! and we are very supportive and protective of each other. and yes I've had babes kick me out a few times, but in general it has happened very rarely.

Also several guya have accused me of the term and I remember Macygate very well (l'm sure many of us have memories of that period).

Tbh it annoys when other guys accuse others oof not tipping and if they have creds they should tip. I know Kartel kicked guys guys off screen for having creds but not contributing.

(11-06-2023 20:05 )lovebabes56 Wrote:  Veen in thar situation a few times i have top say but luckily by being in Stormi's stream and a few others the girls understand me and the guys in Stormis stream we've actually formed the Stormi Appreciation Society (SAS)!! and we are very supportive and protective of each other. and yes I've had babes kick me out a few times, but in general it haas happened very rarely.

Also several guya have accused me of the term and I rememember Macygate very well (l'm sure many of us have memories of that period).

Ironic that you should post this, as the punter who made the freeloader comment was in Stormi's stream.
What I witnessed was someone trying to be clever, in a free stream it should be of no concern to any punter what others spend, it's up to the babe herself to control what should & shouldn't happen. Maybe there was no malice intended in this case, but it's not helpful & shouldn't happen. You say "we are very supportive & protective of each other" by that do you mean within your group, (SAS) because from my point of view, calling out freeloaders was not supportive towards those who were quite rightly exercising their right to view for free in what was a free stream. Whilst these groups/cliques are all very nice & cozy to those within them, they can have the effect of alienating outsiders & make the stream a less welcoming place.
It's worth pointing out that I have no axe to grind with Stormi, who I have found to be genuine on the occasions that I've interacted with her. That is the reason I initially chose not to mention her name in my opening post.
It just goes to show that niggles can creep in on any stream, regardless of a babes integrity. Just one seemingly throwaway comment sets a bad tone, & the term freeloader is very damaging, more so when it comes from punter. Punters should be acting as one & not working against each other.

From back in my time on Xpanded's own defunct forum, I've written 'Freeview', because it's not 'free', if your household pays for the BBC licence.
Likewise, you pay for a broadband connection, and Sky channels.
Therefore, to see these channels or streams in the first place, is not free.

I would hope that most people who watch these channels and streams, appreciate that the women on camera are at work. Nonetheless, I would doubt that those who spend little or no £€$, necessarily make a considerable difference to how much the women make.
Indeed, I would expect it's the opposite, namely, as has been mentioned, the big spenders which are probably a relative minority, have a disproportionate impact on, and (try to) run the show, and not just onscreen, but also in the chat-box.
Notwithstanding the possibility that some women have more big spenders than others.

In recent days, in another thread: https://www.babeshows.co.uk/showthread.p...pid2786767 I've quoted and linked one of my posts from the 'UK Babe Channels Babe of the Year 2022' thread.
In an earlier post in the latter thread, I wrote:

"There are other, possibly better, and more representative ways of determining such awards.
The BS tip leaderboard, is one obvious, if rather limited means, as it's skewed towards those who can afford to tip the most ...."

The tip leaderboard is probably the most obvious, lasting indication of how much difference a few people make to what all of us see onscreen, and if certain trends win out, they'll have it all to themselves, if only on the web.

(11-06-2023 21:42 )Boomerangutangangbang Wrote:  

(11-06-2023 20:05 )lovebabes56 Wrote:  Veen in thar situation a few times i have top say but luckily by being in Stormi's stream and a few others the girls understand me and the guys in Stormis stream we've actually formed the Stormi Appreciation Society (SAS)!! and we are very supportive and protective of each other. and yes I've had babes kick me out a few times, but in general it haas happened very rarely.

Also several guya have accused me of the term and I rememember Macygate very well (l'm sure many of us have memories of that period).

Ironic that you should post this, as the punter who made the freeloader comment was in Stormi's stream.
What I witnessed was someone trying to be clever, in a free stream it should be of no concern to any punter what others spend, it's up to the babe herself to control what should & shouldn't happen. Maybe there was no malice intended in this case, but it's not helpful & shouldn't happen. You say "we are very supportive & protective of each other" by that do you mean within your group, (SAS) because from my point of view, calling out freeloaders was not supportive towards those who were quite rightly exercising their right to view for free in what was a free stream. Whilst these groups/cliques are all very nice & cozy to those within them, they can have the effect of alienating outsiders & make the stream a less welcoming place.
It's worth pointing out that I have no axe to grind with Stormi, who I have found to be genuine on the occasions that I've interacted with her. That is the reason I initially chose not to mention her name in my opening post.
It just goes to show that niggles can creep in on any stream, regardless of a babes integrity. Just one seemingly throwaway comment sets a bad tone, & the term freeloader is very damaging, more so when it comes from punter. Punters should be acting as one & not working against each other.

I agree niggles can creep in but I do think you're right punters should work with each other but I think it becomes just as much a very harder term when it comes from the babe herself as well. Not only that when they post it on social media like Macy did at the time, it can have all sorts of repercussions.

Freeloading only became a thing once the channels created websites and could see how many punters were watching and how much money they had.

If you want to freeload without the stigma just watch it on TV, or you can watch it online but just don't log into BSTV.

The babes and channels don't care about how much you spent on a TV license, satellite subscription, TV, computer, laptop, mobile etc.

They just want you to log on, become a VIP, top up £200, turn on auto top up and then keep paying for tip goals, buzzes, cams and calls.

It's interesting to see the topic raised of how some punters are allowed and encouraged to dominate the chatbox.

And dictate the style of shows because they're such fanboys that are always spending stupid amounts of money.

They're always answering questions on behalf of the babes or get annoyed when other punters spend more than them.

Or say that you have to spend money to ask a question or give a compliment. Or have a meltdown if a babe is busy with another punter.

All punters should be working together to make the shows as sexy and as affordable as possible.

Because the babes and the channels are working together to make shows as sterile and expensive as possible.

Quite agree if there was a way to strike a happy medium between babes & punters BS would have found it by now. Where there there needs to be harmony you often have conflict of interest not only between babe and punters (which I suspect is a rare thing), but between punters themselves as well and there shoiuldn't be.

(12-06-2023 09:43 )ryuken Wrote:  Freeloading only became a thing once the channels created websites and could see how many punters were watching and how much money they had...

The phrase is nearly as old as the forum mate: https://www.babeshows.co.uk/showthread.p...#pid156019 (this is the first use I could find on here; courtesy of one DrGrumpyPants). Of course, its use around the shows could well predate June 2009. (Though I'd agree the term likely re-surged with fresh impetus once babes could see guys' balances and the usernames of those 'just' lurking in their 'rooms'.) Interestingly, the terms "fanboy" and "white knight" both pre-date "freeloader" on here, suggesting the latter may have been introduced as a rejoinder to the sentiments that gave rise to the former!

But I have a more specific theory: My take is that the idea of "freeloading" viewers was first banded about by babes who were less good at putting over the visuals of a traditional type show than the big performers of the time.* It's purpose/effect was two fold: To try to undermine these more successful babes by convincing them that their way of working was being abused and that they were creating expectational issues for other babes by getting punters off for free. And, more immediately, to elevate and flatter the regulars of the babes seeding the term. Using the phrase on the phone with their repeat callers would effectively differentiate them from more casual users, enhancing each guy's sense of self as an especially loyal and altogether 'special' kind of fanboy. 'Us against them' is a particularly loyalty enhancing manipulation, psychologically, after all. The intimation is always that these users are exceptional - ones that support their babes in the right way and are somehow above the hoi polloi of the run-of-the-mill ordinary fan, particularly in terms of their empathy for, and understanding of, the babe's sensibilities. Of course, this feeling is then something else the babe can exploit in her mark. Once bound to the babe, the convinced, now properly emotionally invested, fanboy is pressed to continue his spending in order to uphold his supposed superior status.

And boy did this freeloader thing stick: The highly divisive - not to mention downright ridiculous - idea (why would a babe not wish as big a profile as possible on stream - EXACTLY as she does on social media; the babes focus should be entirely on spenders not wasted on mere collateral) has become a byword for babes' dissatisfaction with even 'lesser' spending punters. To this day, the freeloading phrase spills forth from fanboys wherever more than a handful of fans gather together, ever propogating and ever annoying in the process.

My apologies to guys who know the history as well as the well thumbed arguments re. Freeloading. But I thought the speculation about its beginnings might be of interest to some.

* Context re. 2008/9: Ofcom had not long launched the first of several crack downs against the channels (effectively ending any hint of fta puss being shown on the 900's). The forum's launch (and its uploads) may well have given some babes the idea that too many guys were getting gratification as mere hangers on. Plus, this would've been a particularly competetive era for babes as the industry boomed but at the same time struggled to find a new way to operate within the rules. They desperately sort a compliant calls-based format that brought in the most money and worked for the majority. The rogue element Bangbabes were just beginning to ramp up their fta content once again but this didn't reach a peak until around a year later. Some insiders might not have liked where such stiff operator competition was taking the industry's content in 2009/10 (other operators were basically forced to up the content of the fta material in order to keep up) but the crowd pleasing babes remained firmly in charge back then is the point.

In the 2010's, other things went the way of the less crowd-focused babes (ever stricter application of the regulations, new tech innovations, etc.). And over time, these babes gradually became the dominant force in the industry, pushing out many old style practitioners; along with the idea that babes are supposed to work to the masses when on fta. The business model that said the shows are a unique form of mass manipulation graced by every participation and that every participation should be to the same end, and enhancing of the whole to the benefit everyone watching, was gradually phased out. In its place: The simple spider trap for wealthy individual simps, with content individualised and, conveniently, mostly hidden from the possibility of general criticism.

^ As I recall, the Babe tv blog had at least one post making some similar points.
However, I doubt it will be reproduced on the BS blog.

In a post from August 2020: https://www.babeshows.co.uk/showthread.p...pid2485242 I have referenced my long-running, generally friendly exchanges with that blogger, which ended because of his very narrow-minded view of some matters that are contentious more widely, including on this forum.

Another aspect of this, is blaming people who post recordings on tube sites: https://www.babeshows.co.uk/showthread.p...pid2721952 which again, I question how much difference that makes.

The IsobelxStone tweet linked there, has gone, along with the account, and unlike the poster who linked the (still available) BB tweet, quoted by IsobelxStone, I didn't transcribe the tweet.. D'oh!