Okay, I have been expressing my opinions on chat for some time on what I would change to make RLC top shelf. I have been catching crap for not putting it here, although I have added bits here and to other forums. Some suggested this is suicide, will get banned and so on. I am not sure if RLC ever hears a word of what is written hear but hopefully they do.
One more important item: RLC does not promise anyone will view sexual acts on their site. My discussion does not in any way make an assumption counter to this position. If tenants do then so much the better for subscribers; if not, we have not been promised such acts and have no reason to complain.
1. RLC needs a REAL news letter, not that crappy 3 liner the send out. They should be telling subscribers what is new, if they have a plan for the future of the site and they should have a suggestion drop down on the site, also referenced in the news letter, soliciting constructive feedback from subscribers. If RLC changed ownership I would expect to see a sort of 'We Are Here' announcement. I used to do customer support before I retired and wrote lots of missives for users. If had presented the RLC news letter to my bosses I would have been fired immediately.
2. Every apartment should have at least 1 free camera in a public space, no exceptions. You cannot entice new subscribers if they do not even have a clue who the tenants are in each apartment. Its like asking someone to pay for clothing online without having a picture of the item. However, the apartments do not need free cameras every where for non-subscribers to view; if you want to see it become a subscriber.
3. RLC should provide cameras on decks/patios in all apartments unless there is ABSOLUTELY no way to protect the privacy of neighbors. If that is an issue then an interior camera should have a reasonable view through a window to see the deck/patio area. There are too many times where tenants disappear to these areas for significant periods of time; which I would do also if the weather were nice. This is especially true when they are having parties. The whole event moves outside; you can hear it but never see it. Two items in the RLC FAQ describe what they are offering:
What is RealLifeCam?
RealLifeCam is a unique website where you have the chance to observe the private life of other people in live round-the-clock.
Who are the people we see on the website and what is the scenario they are living?
People you see online are not actors, they are real people living their routine lives in apartments equipped with video cameras. There are no scenarios, no operators, video editing or censorship just life as it is 24/7.
If you restrict all access to these areas they you are greatly restricting access and are proclaiming a falsehood.
4. RLC needs to review tenants performance. To me, 'real life' is not some couple being supported by RLC to sit around on their phone and computer 24x7. Real people have jobs, hobbies, friends and so on. If the tenants are employed then we can expect them to be gone during the work day. I would accept that without question. Many current tenants appear to work; many do not. If you offer a way for subscriber feedback you will quickly find the deadwood and move on to more interesting tenants. Subscriber feedback would also allow feedback on existing camera locations; is too much of a room blocked, is the view from the camera too restricted so tenants heads and feet are constantly cut off.
5. One of RLC's concerns I believe is the recording and distributing of their copyrighted materials. Recording and copying is CLEARLY prohibited in their documentation on the web site. Many do and RLC exercises their right to remove such materials where found and punish the offender. I have no problem with that.
What I would propose to RLC is they provide such a facility through their site. RLC would provide a licensed recording product on the site and the ability to use that product. Subscribers would be able to record what is happening on any camera. There would be limitations on the time length of any recording, you could not record one cam for hours on end; the amount of recording by each subscriber in a specified time period, 24 hours lets say from 00:00 to 24:00 is an example. The subscriber would get to name the recording and RLC would automatically put a date/time stamp on the file.
RLC would create and maintain on their servers a directory for each apartment. These directories would be the SOLE location to which subscribers could save a recording.
Recorded files would be retained for some pre-determined length of time on the servers. Once the retention period was exceeded the files would be removed.
These recordings would be available for viewing by subscribers via the apartment gallery. This would provide a huge benefit to subscribers because no one can be online 24x7. This would allow subscribers to 'catch up' on what has gone one during the day which others found of interest. This would be a great selling point for RLC. Access could be made available on a limited basis for those looking to join. Many websites allow potential subscribers to view 60-90 second segments of a recording as a preview of what they could receive by subscribing. Most of those sites also limit the number of recordings you can view before you get the subscription screen.
RLC could also offer an option to retain for longer periods of time certain recordings, a history of the apartment if you will, by having users submit a request to retain specific files. These requests would be reviewed by some for of moderator who would make the final decision. The Gallery would then be an living entity, growing over time. This would also entice new subscribers because they could catch up on months of history. The only limitation on the gallery would be storage space and disk space is so inexpensive these days it should be a non-issue.
6. RLC should offer an online chat facility. It is my understanding, though this may be in error, the company which owns www.reallifecam.com (RLC) also owns www.reallifecamfan.com( RLCF). If this is true, the RLCF chat room would be offered as a tab/menu from the RLC website. The chat would be open to subscribers and non-subscribers alike. For non-subscribers you would need to obtain an RLCF Chat Userid which you would use to logon. Use of this facility by all would foster a feeling of community and be a selling point for RLC. Many users consider RLCF to be as important a function as the RLC website itself; allowing members to chat on various topics, not just RLC.
7. Some have suggested it would be nice to have a mini-bio on the tenants so we can at least know who-is-who. I think a picture with the name might be sufficient if there are concerns for confidentiality of the tenants. Knowing where the apartments are located would be nice as speculation runs rampant; but again tenant security, contracts and local laws might prohibit the release of this information.
8. The possibility of spreading the apartment across more time zones. Currently all but 2 apartments are within 2 time zones, meaning activity can become an all or nothing affair; going from nothing to too much to follow at one time. A recording facility would alleviate some of these concerns but many of us would still like to see more of the activities on a live basis. This could also provide more cultural diversity which would potential and current subscribers would find attractive.
9. RLC should terminate ANY and ALL tenants who are physically abusive to their roommates or guests, with no exceptions. Subscribers are voyeurs and violence has no place on a website such as this.
10. RLC should work to provide a variety of tenant relationships whenever possible. Racial/ethnic/sexual diversity would provide much more interest to a wider audience of subscribers. If tenants are male, female, gay, bi-sexual, straight, white, Asian, African American should not matter.
I am sure I have forgotten something during this rant but thank heavens people can point out its shortcomings, and I am sure they will.
Thanks for reading this.