That STINKS!

I would pay 25.00 a year to stay HERE with Everyone...I Like it just the way it is NOW...I don't need music capabilities, as I have my OWN music on here...when is this supposed to take effect ??

I don't see the link. But I hope that nothing changes. I like it here just the way it is.

many people cant afford to pay $25 a year. this is already causing upset on the boards. some folks, this is their only lifeline!

ill copy and paste what is said on the tinnitus board

FYI - DS has been sold to HSW InternationalPosted on 01/04/09, 12:52 am Just wanted to let members of my group know that DS has been sold to HSW International for $3 Million and rumor has it that this site will be wiped clean and we will have to pay a membership fee of $25/year to be a member. The new profile page will contain HTML capability so that your page can be more like MySpace or Facebook pages with music and applications ability. The new site will be more secure because as it is now anyone who knows your profile name has access to you, your journals, and photos through any search engine. Please feel free to click on the following links and read the information for yourself. If anyone has anything to add that they have read or heard about, please feel free to list them here so that we all have an idea.
Posted on 01/04/09, 08:01 pm
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Reminder: This is a support group for Tinnitus. We trust you will do your best to remain positive and helpful. For more information, see our rules of the road.

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ledliyl View More Posts Ignore Reply #1 - 01/04/09 8:41pm

HERE IS SOME MORE INFORMATION

Here are the links for the merger.

http://www.ibtimes.com/prnews/2008...

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/12/...
About 3/4 of the way down the page, you will find a comment from Doug Hirsch, founder of DS, regarding the $25 membership fee.

http://dailystrength.org/people/54...
This is Doug's journal entry regarding the merger.
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ledliyl View More Posts Ignore Reply #2 - 01/04/09 8:46pm

I wonder why we havent' been told like doug always sends email when there is a change. The links didn't show up in green so you can just click on them. I found this on the biblical studies and archeagloy (i can't spell) group.Im very sad about this news.So if they wipe all this out i will lose alot of good friends and the support i need when the T is acting up.What a way to start the New year.No to mention all the good advice and information that is shared here:(
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doofus View More Posts Ignore Reply #3 - 01/04/09 10:10pm

tried copying and pasting, but got an error. then went to the home page on both,but was unable to find any info to back up or dispute this....have you checked it out?
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ledliyl View More Posts Ignore Reply #4 - 01/04/09 11:12pm

Font Scale: Posted 03 December 2008 @ 08:30 am ESTPR RSS Print E-Mail
ATLANTA, Dec. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- HSW International, Inc.(Nasdaq: HSWI), a developer and operator of Internet businesses focused onproviding locally relevant, high quality information, today announced theacquisition of DailyStrength (www.dailystrength.org), one of the largest andmost comprehensive health-related social networking sites.

Launched in March 2007 by CEO Doug Hirsch, a former senior executive ofFacebook and one of the first employees of Yahoo!, DailyStrength(www.dailystrength.org) hosts more than 500 communities focused on issues suchas weight loss, divorce, parenting and illnesses. Under the merger agreement,Hirsch will join HSW International as Senior Vice President withresponsibilities including DailyStrength and the Company's social mediastrategy. Hirsch will also lead the implementation of social networking anduser-generated content applications across HSW International's global contentpublishing platform.

"With this acquisition and Doug's new role, we have an enormousopportunity to extend HSW International's proven publishing platform withsocial networking applications and communities," said Gregory Swayne,President of HSW International. "The marriage of social media with HSWI'sbreadth of authoritative content will offer users of our websites a unique andcompelling experience to both read and interact with high-quality, accuratereference information. Additionally, the incorporation of professionallyauthored content with social media bridges the gap between user generatedcontent and the reliability that comes from trusted publishing brands."

"HSW International's commitment to providing authoritative, relevantcontent to help consumers in their daily lives is a great fit withDailyStrength's mission," added Hirsch. "We create online communities andsupport services to help people cope with health, stress and other challengesof modern life - issues that people the world over face daily."

More than 700,000 people visit DailyStrength every month, generatingapproximately 20 million monthly page views. The site features healthjournals, discussion forums, virtual hugs, member-created groups, andtreatment reviews plus unique content provided on a daily basis by physiciansand other health professionals. HSW International will invest inDailyStrength to expand its offerings, in addition to integrating the best ofDailyStrength's social media technologies into HSWI's web publishing platform.

The acquisition follows the HSW International announcement in September ofan exclusive content partnership with World Book, Inc. In 2009, World Bookwill create thousands of original Chinese-language articles providinginformation on all branches of knowledge, including arts, sciences, history,technology, mathematics, sports, and recreation, exclusively for HSWInternational's Beijing-based website, BoWenWang(http://www.bowenwang.com.cn/).

About HSW International, Inc.

HSW International, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSWI) develops and operates Internetbusinesses focused on providing consumers in the world's emerging digitaleconomies with locally relevant, high quality information. The Company'sleading brands BoWenWang (bowenwang.com.cn) and ComoTudoFunciona (hsw.com.br)provide readers in China and Brazil with thousands of articles about how theworld around them works, serving as destinations for credible,easy-to-understand reference information. HSW International is the exclusivelicensee in China and Brazil for the publication of translated content fromHowStuffWorks.com, a subsidiary of Discovery Communications. The Company isheadquartered in Atlanta and incorporated in Delaware.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements," as defined inSection 27A of the Securities Act of 1993, as amended, and Section 21E of theSecurities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements may bein the future tense, and often include words such as "anticipate", "expect","project", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "intend", "will" and "may". Thesestatements are based on current expectations, but are subject to certain risksand uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and are beyond thecontrol of HSW International. Relevant risks and uncertainties include thosereferenced in HSW International's filings with the SEC, and include but arenot limited to: successfully integrating DailyStrength.org into HSWInternational's operations; reliance on third parties such as World Book forcontent; challenges inherent in developing an online business in foreigncountries, notably China and Brazil, including obtaining regulatory approvalsand adjusting to changing political and economic policies; governmental lawsand regulations, including unclear and changing laws and regulations relatedto the internet sector in foreign countries, especially China; generalindustry conditions and competition; general economic conditions, such asinterest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; and restrictions oncertain intellectual property under agreements with third parties. These risksand uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from thoseexpressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements, and thereforeshould be carefully considered. HSW International assumes no obligation toupdate any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or futureevents or developments.

SOURCE HSW International, Inc.

i sent everyone on my friend list a message including doug so maybe hell shed some light on the whole thing

I WROTE TO DS STAFF WHEN THIS RUMOR FIRST STARTED.........IT IS NOT TRUE................THERE WILL BE no NO no NO no NO FEE CHARGED.

THIS RUMOR ABOUT A FEE IS NOT TRUE

Sounds like a disgruntled employee. I found this on the tech crunch site:

"Georgie Totto - December 3rd, 2008 at 5:26 pm PSTHello.
This is Georgie I used to work for DS and Doug is a scam artist he has stolen money from me and my family.

BEWARE! his whole plan on a f-ng merger is pathetic you know what it for? to make money and you all will have to pay money to be on the site heres what he told me.

The amount for the premium DS accounts will be $25.00 but this will include html on your page,music like myspace and facebook,A blocker where you will be able to block people,There will also be a $25.00 fee to be a CL.
-Doug

He sent that to my email.

What a scam artist."



Their does "seem" to be some comments from Doug on that page, but anyone could sign up under his name. As a matter of fact, their is a comment from doug hirsch & Doug Hirsch. Notice the difference in the capitalization.

Here's a link to the site:

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/12/03/dailystrength-not-strong-enough-to-go-it-alone/


Anything mentioning a fee is not in the actual article, it's in the comments. I won't believe it until I see it.

Sorry I dont believe all this hype. Doug always tells up when things are changing etal. I think it was totally irresponsible to spread this rumor and get a lot of sick people upset. I know this much, DS is a non-profit surviving from the sale of advertising.

I have better fish to fry than to play this game. Susan

25$ a year that is still a pair of shoes for my daughter. I wouldn't be able to stay here if they started charging for it. I am on a fixed income and I can bearly pay for my internet. Living on SSDI is hard enough but having to pay for a onine support group that was free when I first joined it is just (BEEP BEEP!!)

i hope theres no fee,i'm afraid it would not be practical here.Oh well ,we'll wait and see i guess.Lets not get sick from the stress of worrying about something thats not confirmed :)

here is what dougs journal says for dec 2...........
Exciting News About DailyStrength!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008 Hi DailyStrength friends.



I want to be the first let you know about some very exciting news that we're announcing today.



DailyStrength has merged with HSW International (HSWI), a leading provider of authoritative content on the Web. HSWI has deep expertise in creating quality, locally relevant content for consumers, and we're excited to merge our wonderful community tools with their excellent content.



I bet you're thinking two things: a) "Why?", b) "Now what?" or "How does this affect me?"



Let me try to answer both.



Why?



The inspiration for DailyStrength was, and remains to this day, my cousin Andrew Kirsch, who died of cancer at the age of 20. I wanted to make Andrew proud by helping others on his behalf.



With Andrew in mind, I developed a theory which ultimately became DailyStrength. The theory was that I could create a successful for-profit business, but, at the same time, help others in a profound way. I wanted to provide a product or service that improved the lives of the people that used it every day, and I didn't want the people who came for help to have to pay for it.



The last 3 years have been a wonderful struggle to prove that theory. Running a business, especially in this economy, has been a challenge, but every time I got down, I'd jump in to one of our communities and see the emotion, the support and the love that you all were offering each other, and I'd be re-energized.



Everything we did, from hiring folks to building new features to making money, was done with the view that it must ultimately benefit the folks who come to us for help.



HSWI has seen the tremendous value of DS, and wants us to keep doing what we do best. They are offering us the resources to invest heavily in new content and features to improve your experience and bring the power of DailyStrength to others.



Now What? How Does This Affect Me?



The only effects for you, my friends and fellow DS members, are positive. We can finally throw long-needed resources towards the features and needs of DS. We can expand the reach of communities and content we offer. Most importantly, we can continue to be here in your time of need.



In the short term, nothing will be different. Over the coming months, however, you'll start to see both big and small improvements to your DS experience as we offer new and improved services to you, our members. The philosophy will remain the same; we'll just have more folks to help us help you.



I can't thank you enough for being a part of DailyStrength and spending your time with us. We look forward to continuing to help improve your life.

Yes, I read this awhile back.

Why don't you just let DS tell us what we need to know and not try to scare everyone. Rumors and supposition. Don't borrow trouble, we all have enough of it as it is. Try to do something positive.

I have tried to find the response that I got from the DS staff, but can not find it.

I wrote to them about a month ago and asked them if the rumor was true about a fee.
They wrote back and told me ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE.

THERE WILL BE NO FEE CHARGED