Paysite
Encyclopedia
A paysite, in pornography
jargon, is a website
that charges money to become a member and view its content, and often produces original adult content. They can be contrasted with "free-sites", which do not charge a membership fee. Most paysites offer "free tours" which allow non-members to view a limited number of short trailers. The vast majority of paysite memberships are bought by men. Some of the earliest paysites began by scanning images from pornographic magazines. The number of sites then grew until the market was saturated, and now many thousands of sites offer almost every conceivable pornographic niche.
Because there is free porn available on the internet (e.g. TGPs
and movie tube sites) and some individuals cannot afford to purchase paysite memberships, some users along the way have decided to consume only free porn and some, as well, spurn pressure to become paying customers. However, paysites are often one of the main originators of new content; they're one way an administrator can pay for the bandwidth costs and they're one of the most conspicuous ways in the industry to try to turn a profit. Theoretically, the more revenue a site takes in, the higher quality content it can produce.
Payment methods include credit card
and/or checking account bill
ing. Bills routinely appear on statements as transactions under the name of a billing entity with a neutral-sounding company name (ostensibly for discretionary reasons) and may not be readily recognized as paysite billing transactions upon casual perusal of bank statements.
Most paysites prevent unauthorized access to their members area by means of a username and password
.
A problem that paysites have is intellectual property
protection, even with well-secured sites: there are cases of so-called "site rips", i.e. sites are either hacked
, or subscribers redistributed content from a member's area without authorization; there have thus been sightings of original content on other TGP sites or entire site rip archives on file sharing
networks. Some sites even sell site rips of paysites, e.g. SiteRipKing. Administrators may try to counter these problems by employing copy protection
technologies.
Because members must confirm some details of their identity when they make their payment, a touted advantage of paysites is the potential to keep some children and minors from unwanted and/or illegal access. The issue of how to protect these internet audiences from pornographic material
deemed harmful to them has been widely debated in the U.S. in light of the 1998 federal COPA
act.
Many paysites attract potential paying customers by providing a portion of their content for free via free hosted galleries (FHGs), and use an affiliate
program to drive new traffic to those FHGs. The percentage of unique visitors to FHGs who become paying members is known as the conversion ratio.
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
jargon, is a website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
that charges money to become a member and view its content, and often produces original adult content. They can be contrasted with "free-sites", which do not charge a membership fee. Most paysites offer "free tours" which allow non-members to view a limited number of short trailers. The vast majority of paysite memberships are bought by men. Some of the earliest paysites began by scanning images from pornographic magazines. The number of sites then grew until the market was saturated, and now many thousands of sites offer almost every conceivable pornographic niche.
Because there is free porn available on the internet (e.g. TGPs
Thumbnail gallery post
A thumbnail gallery post is a common type of ad-driven website that provides links to free Internet pornography. In affiliate marketing terms, TGPs are the affiliates that drive new traffic to the product producers, paysites...
and movie tube sites) and some individuals cannot afford to purchase paysite memberships, some users along the way have decided to consume only free porn and some, as well, spurn pressure to become paying customers. However, paysites are often one of the main originators of new content; they're one way an administrator can pay for the bandwidth costs and they're one of the most conspicuous ways in the industry to try to turn a profit. Theoretically, the more revenue a site takes in, the higher quality content it can produce.
Payment methods include credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
and/or checking account bill
Bill (payment)
A bill or invoice is a document requesting payment for an order previously supplied. Presentation of a bill is common practice on the part of credit card companies, utilities, and other service providers...
ing. Bills routinely appear on statements as transactions under the name of a billing entity with a neutral-sounding company name (ostensibly for discretionary reasons) and may not be readily recognized as paysite billing transactions upon casual perusal of bank statements.
Most paysites prevent unauthorized access to their members area by means of a username and password
Password
A password is a secret word or string of characters that is used for authentication, to prove identity or gain access to a resource . The password should be kept secret from those not allowed access....
.
A problem that paysites have is intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
protection, even with well-secured sites: there are cases of so-called "site rips", i.e. sites are either hacked
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
, or subscribers redistributed content from a member's area without authorization; there have thus been sightings of original content on other TGP sites or entire site rip archives on file sharing
File sharing
File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digitally stored information, such as computer programs, multimedia , documents, or electronic books. It may be implemented through a variety of ways...
networks. Some sites even sell site rips of paysites, e.g. SiteRipKing. Administrators may try to counter these problems by employing copy protection
Copy protection
Copy protection, also known as content protection, copy obstruction, copy prevention and copy restriction, refer to techniques used for preventing the reproduction of software, films, music, and other media, usually for copyright reasons.- Terminology :Media corporations have always used the term...
technologies.
Because members must confirm some details of their identity when they make their payment, a touted advantage of paysites is the potential to keep some children and minors from unwanted and/or illegal access. The issue of how to protect these internet audiences from pornographic material
Internet pornography
Internet pornography is pornography that is distributed by means of various sectors of the Internet, primarily via websites, peer-to-peer file sharing, or Usenet newsgroups...
deemed harmful to them has been widely debated in the U.S. in light of the 1998 federal COPA
Child Online Protection Act
The Child Online Protection Act was a law in the United States of America, passed in 1998 with the declared purpose of restricting access by minors to any material defined as harmful to such minors on the Internet...
act.
Many paysites attract potential paying customers by providing a portion of their content for free via free hosted galleries (FHGs), and use an affiliate
Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is a marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate's own marketing efforts...
program to drive new traffic to those FHGs. The percentage of unique visitors to FHGs who become paying members is known as the conversion ratio.