somniloquence

I understand the various issues involved, and I know that vidders and viewers often have differing cost-benefit ratios. I'm a viewer, not a vidder, so my perspective is going to differ.

I do think that you would increase the number of downloads and viewers if your site wasn't password protected, as the casual vid viewer is more likely to download if there is only one step involved. However, the current set-up isn't a huge hurdle for more motivated viewers, so it doesn't totally eliminate your potential audience. And people who rec your vids - and you do underestimate our number *g* - always say that the extra step is well worth the effort.

But it seems clear that the amount of work you'd need to do to remove the password protection and still feel comfortable is more than you want to deal with at this time. So I'd say let the site stay as it is for now. If you get a spurt of energy, then Sandy's suggestion sounds very reasonable.

However, as a viewer, I have to say, please keep your website; password protected or not is not a major issue for me (after all, I've got your site info memorized *g*). But please, please, do not go the route of only distributing vids through temp hosting sites. As a dial-up users and vid fan, I hate the trend away from using websites and moving to temporary host sites, especially seeing vids being released only on YouTube - not that I think you'd ever go the YouTube only route.

Websites give a vidder and their vids so much more context than seeing a vid alone. Context matters, it really does - and that context has many positive aspects. On a website you can post lyrics (unless you only vid to the Top 40 - which thankfully you don't - a song will always be new to some viewers), vid notes, vidding process notes, fandom relevant info, links to other vidders and/or authors that you recommend, and - most importantly - multiple vids.

There is nothing like the joy of watching a good vid from a vidder who is new to you, visiting their website, and finding more vids to explore. It's like reading a good book and then going to a library or bookstore and finding out the author has more books on the shelf. It's fantastic!

And a website is one of the best tools that a vidder has for generating exposure for older vids and preserving vidding history - their own, and that of vidding as a whole. Vids deserve a lifespan longer than the week or two that a temp hosting site generates. Vidding has a history and damn it all, vids - and vidders - deserve recognition and a chance to be viewed for years. I don't care if it seems like I'm fighting a battle that has already been lost - I want vids and vidding history preserved. Having stable websites is one part of such preservation efforts.

I'm a fan of vids across multiple fandoms, but not all fandoms are equally likely to cause me to hunt down vidders with the same fervor - unless the first vid is extraordinary, then all bets are off. *g* For example, I go to great lengths to track down Pros and due South vids, while I'm much more hit and miss with, say, Harry Potter vids. But if I find a new-to-me vidder's website, I will happily explore all the vids on the site, and often have found vids that I never would have seen otherwise (especially if they are older vids) - some of which have become favorite vids.

And I've found great vids and vidders through links on a vidder's website. If I like a vidder's work, chances are good that I'll like their recs. And given the huge explosion in the number of vidders these days, trying to keep on top of things by yourself is an impossibility. There are just too many vidders and vids for one person to track alone.