I think they will start it for free just to see how it will be accepted, and then later when it (and if) gets popular they’ll probably charge some fee on it. (or do just as Duolingo does with ads)
But I guess to drop out a mobile app it’s really a bad idea.
Everyone is moving from PC to mobile nowadays.
This does not feel good. I get where you’re coming from with this, but if you’re going to split up community courses and the official ones, it’s the official ones that should move somewhere new. They are not only a lot newer to the service, they also seem to be a lot less used (from what I’ve seen from community members; if I’m wrong here and your statistics say otherwise, please share those statistics). Moving a majority rather than minority of the user base feels extremely weird, especially so moving us to a less fledged out service.
It feels like you’re kicking the “native population” (so to speak) out. I’ve been switching back and forth between Anki and Memrise for the past, what, 6-7 years I think? As time’s passed I’ve started using Memrise more due to its user friendliness, but if you go through with this I’ll honestly probably just bite the bullet and move over to Anki more permanently, or write my own SRS tool.
This is especially sour as I just recently decided to get a pro-subscription, not so much for the features (except for the ad removal), but largely due to wanting to support you and your service after having used it for so long. This feels like a slap across the face, and it’s making me start to regret putting the money down for the premium.
If the support for Decks ends up including a proper API so we can write our own app(s) with offline support and what not, I might be okay (but definitely not happy) with this. I mainly use Memrise on my phone, and I’m not going to be using a web interface rather than an app. That is simply not on the table for me. It is way too inconvenient for mobile use.
Disappointed. I’m waiting with bated breath for a proper explanation for this; I really hope I’m missing something here that makes this seem a lot worse than it is.
This is how a lot of people feel I think - certainly how I do.
Over the 6 years I’ve been baffled what a team of now 85 is doing every day. Seriously lol it’s just a flashcard website (I learn Mandarin). I wouldn’t care what they did as long as they didn’t keep removing functions. Now I don’t know whether to laugh or cry because removing meme ratings (created over 2000 in HSK) is pale in comparison to removing all community courses (I know it’s moving to another website, just exaggerating)
I don’t care about the app. I don’t like it and it fails to download my most important courses anyway, so I’ll give decks a try. If decks is bad I’ll just cancel my pro subscription and completely switch over to Anki lol
RIP Memrise
If this decision is based on a funding issue, you could consider going down the non-profit route and partnering with someone like Khan Academy. Memrise would be a great advantage towards developing the one-world classroom. Memrise is already very popular in UK schools to support language learning etc as it is.
Suggestion
True …
or even Wikipedia/Wikiversity
Just a tiny fraction of any advanced country’s education budget would support this and provide a far higher return in terms of outcome of language learning - politics would get in the way in making that a reality unfortunately.
Hi all - our CEO Ed published a post on our blog just now to expand more on our reasons for launching Decks and to answer some of the questions you’ve raised
we did come to this decision after a careful analysis of how and where community-created content is being learned, which is overwhelmingly online.
Then why so many users are pissed off?
And there are still many more users who do not know about these changes.
It’s ‘overwhelmingly online’, as you claim, because the way you built and have gradually caused the app’s degradation makes it harder to find community courses on there, in favour of promoting your own material. Deliberately creating the conditions required in order to get the statistics you desire is not good business – it’s quite absurd. I won’t even use the app for this reason. So I myself contribute to this artificial statistic of yours, by using many community created courses and only doing so online (who cares, though, 'cause I’m not paying you).
Seems we are in the minority on this thread if the vast majority of paying and app users are using the Memrise courses mostly.
Sadly as a user since 2012 and a paying member since 2015 I have now cancelled my pro membership. I will use Decks when it is available and see what the experience is like.
Best wishes for the future - still seems crazy you are turning away a long-time paying customer wanting to give you money for your existing offering though!
Thanks Kevin. I think the consensus is pretty clear. No one really cares that it’ll be a separate website. What people really care about is that community courses are available in a native app with offline mode. And people are willing to pay for it. I, for one, would consider re-purchasing my lifetime pro membership I just had refunded.
Will you provide long-time users of your platform an easy way to migrate their decks to another SRS that does offer offline access to user generated decks? I don’t use your website other than card creation and have no desire to, honestly.
Would rather cash in my chips and go somewhere else that won’t just completely sever my jugular because “reasons”.
Well said. Proof that this massive thread of people repeatedly pointing out exactly what you did has barely been more than skimmed by Memrise brass. Everyone here’s mostly saying THEY USE COMMUNITY COURSES OFFLINE AND THIS IS WHAT THEY ARE PAYING FOR – how thick are you guys?
“We’re listening to you. Here is why we don’t care.”
Thanks for the clarification!
I’ve only used Memrise on desktop anyway, so these changes won’t affect me.
Are there any plans for an API to Decks? That way the affected users could get together and make their own app, and people like me could make plugins we’ve been wanting.
Thank you for sharing and responding to questions. Makes sense, with the exception that, I think you could make a paid version of an app for Decks, just exactly mimicking the current app (even if website remains free) and increase the price of Decks app subscription compared to current Memrise pro. Please reconsider that option.
“Since focusing on our own language courses, we’ve grown twenty times over, and a very small proportion of learning on our mobile apps now happens on community-made courses.”
That’s not surprising as if you only use the app, rather than the website, you wouldn’t even know community made courses exist. As it is there’s no functional search for community courses. If you actually promoted community courses for immediate/ advanced learners and those that have completed the Memrise course for their chosen language, you would have MANY MORE MULTI-YEAR LOYAL SUBSCRIBERS. I suggest you call one of your investors and ask them to explain to you why a customer that subscribes for ten years (including price rises) is worth more than one that only wants to use your app for a few months.
My history with Memrise is that I was a subscriber for several years using the Memrise courses for Korean (which was before a number of your competitors launched with far superior beginner courses e.g. LingoDeer). I then started weekly evening classes. I was fully intending to unsubscribe to Memrise as I hadn’t used it for many months, when I remembered the community courses and found a whole series of community made courses (with audio!) to accompany the textbooks we follow in class.
"Why no mobile app for Decks?
The decision to create Decks as a website only is down to resources (though the site will work smoothly on your mobile web-browser)."
This is an assertion, not a statement of fact. If you are so confident in this mobile website, then launch it for six months and allow your loyalest users to compare it to the app experience (keeping the community courses in the Memrise app). Apps exist because mobile browsing is generally a poor experience. It doesn’t take many resources to fork the app which YOUR EXISTING COMMUNITY USERS ARE GENERALLY HAPPY TO PAY FOR. MANY USERS ALSO WANT OFFLINE ACCESS.
"Why no monetisation?
Focusing all our resources in developing the Memrise apps and website will also allow us to maintain Decks as a free website. We won’t actively invest in creating new learning features for it, but we also don’t have plans to make money from our learners on Decks."
Why do you want to lose paying subscribers. I’m happy to pay for online and offline access THROUGH AN APP, to community courses. If the Memrise courses improve, I would be happy to PAY FOR TWO SUBSCRIPTIONS.
Sorry I do not accept the resources argument. Drops has over 30 apps on Google Play. Clone the existing Memrise app and call it “Decks”.
What you are proposing means less revenue and a poorer user experience, with many users abandoning you for other platforms.
LISTEN TO USER FEEDBACK:
EITHER:
PAID “DECKS” APP WITH OFFLINE MODE
OR:
KEEP THINGS HOW THEY ARE.
If Memrise was currently offering something like MoviePass and it seemed too good to be true (and turned out to be) then it would be easier to be more sanguine about the offering changing.
It’s just hard to accept that what was being offered and happily paid for turns out to be so uneconomical and that so few fellow (ex)Pro members were using the app for community course learning (like I was).
So few in fact that it seems there is no conceivable price point that Memrise could run a support team to manage an app.