As
regular listeners know, over the last year or so HPANWO Radio's broadcast
platform, Spreaker, has been declining in quality. This decline has manifested
in all kinds of ways; an array of pointless cosmetic redesigns, endless stupid
bugs that take far too long to fix, an attempt to abolish the download button
and the actual abolition of access for non-Listener account holders. The last
one is a particular problem right now because Internet Archive has been hacked
and is down for maintenance, so I have been unable to back up the last two
shows into a place where people can access them freely. Last Thursday at 8
PM
I tried to broadcast the HPANWO Show as usual, see: https://hpanwo-radio.blogspot.com/2024/10/hpanwo-show-567-david-altman_17.html.
I always start with a sound test and listeners in the live chat informed me
that they could not hear the live broadcast. I restarted the show a few times,
but the problem persisted. I had to cancel. I assumed this was another bug and
so reported it to their tech helpline. I have received the following reply: "Hello there. Thank you for reaching
out regarding recording live. Unfortunately, the Live feature while recording
has been removed from the platform. While the live option is no longer
available, we will still have the offline recording in the studio. The good
news is that we are working hard to launch new features for hosts' and
listeners' experiences... (This does not include replacing the live broadcast
facility.) Best. CreatorSuccessTeam". So it was not a bug at all; it is
an intentional upgrade. As a result of this news I am canceling my Spreaker
subscription with immediate effect. This means on the 18th of next month my Broadcast
plan will cease. To be honest, this is something I have been seriously considering
for a while anyway, but it has suddenly become more urgent. The existing
podcasts will remain on the platform, but I will not be able to add any more,
and I don't want to. My account will revert to Listener, so I will only be able
to use subscriptions and make comments, likes etc. It would be tolerable if
this were a free platform, even if it were infested with ads, but it is not. I
am paying these people seventeen pounds a month for this pathetic bullshit service,
or I was until now. It is sad that such a formerly great app has let itself go
so badly. I was really happy when I transferred over to it from BlogTalk. It
was about half the price, allowed longer shows and was high definition. What
will happen next? Well, don't worry; I'm not giving up. However, I now have to
find a new home for HPANWO Radio. I'm not sure how long that will take, but I
will keep all regular listeners posted with every update. I will not reactivate
the station until I know it is in a secure place where neither I nor my
listeners have to put up with such a shoddy, corporate, plastickfied and
unprofessional fuckery of a user experience. I truly appreciate the support and
interest all listeners have given me over the last thirteen years. HPANWO Radio
will continue for the next thirteen, or longer; if fact however much longer it
is needed!
