The People's Smooth Operator

[DHeyward]

Hmm. Lots of criticism on this site about the poor quality of the amateur-built-and-maintained content of Wikipedia, but as this shows, hiring professionals is no guarantee of quality. Presumably this was produced by professionals.

linkhttps://www.thepeoplesoperator.com/View ... Newsletter[/link]

It's absolutely convincing and believable that they read and implemented the suggestions from their customers but failed to read their own one page newsletter. Anyone else believe the only comment and suggestion was: "Stop sending out newsletters. Nobody reads them?"

[Poetlister]

Anyone else believe the only comment and suggestion was: "Stop sending out newsletters. Nobody reads them?"

It's not impossible that they get very few comments because their customers are departing in droves and the remaining ones are only there because they're too apathetic to change, much less comment.

Incidentally, this thread has topped 1,000 posts!

[Soldado Sin Nombre]

Yet another lifeboat was handed-out to TPO, this time in the form of a loan from none than Barclays, the bluest of blue blood banks (how's that for alliteration?). A paltry sum, but enough to keep a skeleton crew of college kids fed for a while.

[CrowsNest]

Yet another lifeboat was handed-out to TPO, this time in the form of a loan from none than Barclays, the bluest of blue blood banks (how's that for alliteration?). A paltry sum, but enough to keep a skeleton crew of college kids fed for a while.

Not a loan, just an extension on their existing loan. They stumped them £1m in Sep 2016, repayable in one pump sum in July 2018. They can now push that back, repaying in four quarters, beginning Jan 2020. It appears Barclays are happy to believe their claims their new marketing strategy is going to get them out of the shit. It's not like this is a big sum for Barclay's, it's not even petty cash really. Interestingly, TPO claims this is their only long term liability. I'm wondering much £1m really is to Jimmy 'not a billionaire' Wales.

[Soldado Sin Nombre]

Not a loan, just an extension on their existing loan. They stumped them £1m in Sep 2016, repayable in one pump sum in July 2018. They can now push that back, repaying in four quarters, beginning Jan 2020. It appears Barclays are happy to believe their claims their new marketing strategy is going to get them out of the shit. It's not like this is a big sum for Barclay's, it's not even petty cash really. Interestingly, TPO claims this is their only long term liability. I'm wondering much £1m really is to Jimmy 'not a billionaire' Wales.

Ahh, thank you for the correction. My guess is that Wikitribune is probably doing well enough to pay for a west end address, but not the ATM machine that TPO was for him.

[Randy from Boise]

It's a bit amazing to contemplate, but it seems that the People's Operator is still in business and their stock is still going down.

A typographical-error marred article from the internet leader WebFG News assures us they indeed are still a thing:

linkhttps://uk.webfg.com/news/aim-bulletin/ ... 38613.html[/link]

I couldn't get any action on a proposition bet that they survive 2018 at anything like what I feel is a fair rate of return (4-to-1), so it seems that others in the world are more optimistic about the medium-term prospects of this fantastic communications giant than am I.

RfB

[No Ledge]

Average revenue per user in the US was $20.15

I have no idea whether I could sign up for service with them (based in Ohio). I've never been solicited by them, and wouldn't even know they existed were it not for my associations with Wikipedia and Wikipediocracy. I suppose I could go to their website to find out, but of course I have no motivation to sign up for cell service with a company that could leave me stranded any month now. Though I assume that they will sell their users to another cellphone company when they shut down their service. Their user base, such as it is, is probably one of their only assets.

My monthly Consumer Cellular (T-H-L) bill is under $20. I can feel good about being their customer, too. Their article says that they likely exceeded $1 billion in revenue, but nothing about profitability. A big section on their "Awards" is likely reflective of the maintenance template at the top.

I keep my bill low by not using data. I spend more than my share of time at my desktop, so have almost no interest in mobile connectivity. I want to take a break from the Internet when I'm out and about. Mostly happy with CC. I cut my bill from $32 by switching to them, but I miss my old T-mobile Symbian-based Visual voicemail (T-H-L). I just cannot believe that in this day of advanced whiz-bang apps, I still need to press 1 to listen to my voicemail again, press 7 to delete it, press 9 to save it, press whatever to whatever... I have to settle for a stone-age voicemail system, and most of my voicemails are just spam. Quite annoying.

[Poetlister]

I miss my old T-mobile Symbian-based Visual voicemail (T-H-L). I just cannot believe that in this day of advanced whiz-bang apps, I still need to press 1 to listen to my voicemail again, press 7 to delete it, press 9 to save it, press whatever to whatever... I have to settle for a stone-age voicemail system, and most of my voicemails are just spam. Quite annoying.

Anyone know what the TPO voicemail is like? Maybe it was developed by people of the same calibre as the ones who brought us the Visual Editor.

[Auggie]

Come on No Ledge. If you really want Visual Voicemail you should spring for MetroPCS. $25/month and you can check through multiple voicemails and delete them with a few moments of effort. There is also enough data you can Wikipediocracy all month long and not run out. Just don't watch a lot of videos.

oh yeah Jimbo sucks. What a loser. Should have stuck with Wikipedia and kept it in Florida, Jimmy. You were a God-King there. Now you have zero status and horrible weather. Just sad and embarrassing. Winding down your career hawking inferior cell phone products and lame ideas. I feel really bad for you sometimes.

[Poetlister]

Now you have zero status and horrible weather.

Why do you think he has horrible weather?

[Midsize Jake]

Now you have zero status and horrible weather.

Why do you think he has horrible weather?

Maybe he just means "relative to Tampa."

[Auggie]

Now you have zero status and horrible weather.

Why do you think he has horrible weather?

Maybe he just means "relative to Tampa."

Exactly. Tampa is ridiculously beautiful. At least I imagine, having only come as close as LEGOLAND in central Florida. They say the beaches are great on the west coast there.

That strip mall housing the early WMF must have been so convenient and he could have had an awesome ranch-style house with a pool and a lenai.

Instead Jimmy is hanging out in some horrible northern climate infested with retired prime ministers and aging catfishing statisticians. Fucking awful.

[Soldado Sin Nombre]

Instead Jimmy is hanging out in some horrible northern climate infested with retired prime ministers and aging catfishing statisticians. Fucking awful.

Yeah, but he's married to "the most connected woman in London" (is this including the Queen?). He slogs through the rain and cold by bagging celebrities then dropping their names while meeting other celebrities.

It seems these days, that his celebrities aren't as A list. Instead of Bono, he has to settle for, oh I don't know, Boy George or Adam Ant?

When his current wife finally gets sick of him, I'm sure he could crash at Liz Hurley's guest house in the back of her countryside estate. Jimbo must have some sort of roguish charm that compensates for his nerd-schlub overall presentation.

Say what you will about Jimbo, wherever he is, no matter what company or woman has shooed him away, he eventually lands on his feet and somehow makes it work for him. It seems a strategy that grows less successful as one approaches 60, so hopefully he'll slow down his "papa was a rolling stone" ways.

[Poetlister]

I suppose he prefers not to live in a climate dominated by presidents who deny climate change and people who set up joke parodies of Wikipedia.

[Soldado Sin Nombre]

I suppose he prefers not to live in a climate dominated by presidents who deny climate change and people who set up joke parodies of Wikipedia.

Can't blame him on that one. I'd prefer not to live in a climate dominated by climate change deniers. It's like the cast of The Dukes of Hazard have taken over the country.

[Randy from Boise]

I hear that TPO has launched their 2018 ad campaign!

You've heard of Carly Foulkes, the T-mobile girl in pink, and Paul Marcarelli, the Verizon Can You Hear Me Now guy... Meet Anna "Mother Pukka" Whitehouse, the TPO Instagram Endorser...

linkhttps://www.instagram.com/p/BgvG7ZGH4Qg ... ther_pukka[/link]

Of course, for 150 quid for an annual advertising budget or whatever they can't actually afford to produce a TV ad or buy ad space, but it's the HEART that counts with TPO, isn't it?

Invest now while the stock is still affordable!!!!!


RfB

"Well, what kind of campaign can we run within our means — say, £150?"

"We could print up t-shirts. The Kids love t-shirts."

"No can do — we already priced it out and there's a two dozen minimum to set up a screen and when you include freight it busts the budget."

"I've got it! Instagram!!! The Kids love Instagram!!!"

[Randy from Boise]

Not a loan, just an extension on their existing loan. They stumped them £1m in Sep 2016, repayable in one pump sum in July 2018. They can now push that back, repaying in four quarters, beginning Jan 2020. It appears Barclays are happy to believe their claims their new marketing strategy is going to get them out of the shit. It's not like this is a big sum for Barclay's, it's not even petty cash really. Interestingly, TPO claims this is their only long term liability. I'm wondering much £1m really is to Jimmy 'not a billionaire' Wales.

Ahh, thank you for the correction. My guess is that Wikitribune is probably doing well enough to pay for a west end address, but not the ATM machine that TPO was for him.

Wikia is still a thing.

RfB

[Auggie]

I suppose he prefers not to live in a climate dominated by presidents who deny climate change and people who set up joke parodies of Wikipedia.

ah ha ha ha politics.

Jimbo likes me. Sure, we disagree about some of his unfortunate life choices, but with my ongoing mentorship he still might be able to turn things around. There is always hope.

Can't blame him on that one. I'd prefer not to live in a climate dominated by climate change deniers. It's like the cast of The Dukes of Hazard have taken over the country.

ok now that would be awesome. Though the General Lee's roof art would have to be updated.

Yeah, but he's married to "the most connected woman in London" (is this including the Queen?). He slogs through the rain and cold by bagging celebrities then dropping their names while meeting other celebrities. It seems these days, that his celebrities aren't as A list. Instead of Bono, he has to settle for, oh I don't know, Boy George or Adam Ant?When his current wife finally gets sick of him, I'm sure he could crash at Liz Hurley's guest house in the back of her countryside estate. Jimbo must have some sort of roguish charm that compensates for his nerd-schlub overall presentation.Say what you will about Jimbo, wherever he is, no matter what company or woman has shooed him away, he eventually lands on his feet and somehow makes it work for him. It seems a strategy that grows less successful as one approaches 60, so hopefully he'll slow down his "papa was a rolling stone" ways.

Yes sad state of affairs when the godking becomes a weak third tier celebrity suck-up. I would not say the current situation is working for him. He is a low status beta who constantly bemoans his lack of financial success. 30 year old women are filling his old job and raking in the millions while they drive his life's work into the ground. Wikipedia is losing all its users and Google is stomping all over it and he has to watch helplessly from his shitty rain-soaked hovel in London. Probably lying in bed right now, quietly feeling the sads as he stares at his smartphone.

[Poetlister]

Jimbo likes me.

Even if that can be confirmed by a reliable secondary source, is that a desirable thing to say about someone posting on here?

[Auggie]

Jimbo likes me.

Even if that can be confirmed by a reliable secondary source, is that a desirable thing to say about someone posting on here?

You wouldn't know about it being a low status minor cog in the scheme of things, but major players like Jimmy and myself have a certain affinity for each other. Guys like you have to scrap and struggle, posting dumb news stories and petty insults on low traffic forums hoping that someone will notice you. It's ok. I know it's been rough for you ever since your disgrace.

[Soldado Sin Nombre]

Wikia is still a thing.

But is it really? It is really for Jimbo? I mean no disrespect to you Randy, but over the years, I've read your posts about Wikipedia, Jimbo and whatnot and there are things you're just misinformed or flat out wrong about. Sorry, but a lot of things.

Now, you've been big on Wikia for years. Jimbo's gonna cash-out a rich man.

Check out Wikia's link on Cruchbase:

linkhttps://www.crunchbase.com/organization/wikia[/link]

From this link, Jimbo appears to be a completely marginalized has-been. If he were that important to a thriving company, he would live in Silicon Valley, not London. Zuckerberg et. al. all live in Silicon Valley for a reason - they're needed and their money is tied up there.

You hinted around that you know something. So, what is it?

Anyway, Wikia has been around since what, 2004, 2005? In tech years, that's 1,000 years old. Where do you see anything about the Wikia app being really popular? No where.

So, I don't get it. Help me see what I don't get.

[Poetlister]

Jimbo likes me.

Even if that can be confirmed by a reliable secondary source, is that a desirable thing to say about someone posting on here?

You wouldn't know about it being a low status minor cog in the scheme of things, but major players like Jimmy and myself have a certain affinity for each other. Guys like you have to scrap and struggle, posting dumb news stories and petty insults on low traffic forums hoping that someone will notice you. It's ok. I know it's been rough for you ever since your disgrace.

What disgrace? I'm aware that one or two owners of tiny unimportant wikis have said stupid things about me, but I am extremely well regarded among people who matter. Anyway, this is wildly

[Randy from Boise]

So, I don't get it. Help me see what I don't get.

[Midsize Jake]

The thing about "Fandom Powered by Wikia" is that while it does get good traffic numbers, it doesn't convert readers into users, which is what it would have to do to generate the kind of personal/marketing info that advertisers want, the way Facebook does. So while everybody knows Wikia is there, nobody with Big Money (i.e., the Marvels, Disneys, and Electronic Artses of the world) really cares about it. For example, this Slate article from three days ago doesn't even mention it. I mean, there's a line chart entitled "Fandom Platform Use Over Time," with data for 11 companies, and the site that specifically calls itself "Fandom" isn't one of them.

There are lots of reasons for this, but it all basically boils down to the fact that wikis aren't good for personal-information sharing, or more specifically, personal-information surrendering. They're perceived as too fussy, too technical, and too conflict-driven, dominated by socially-maladjusted self-appointed-authority-figures, and generally not a good way to meet interesting, friendly, like-minded people.

Six years ago, Jimbo claimed that he could sell Wikia for a billion dollars. Obviously he was delusional, and at the time, it might have brought in $100M, though I felt it would have been closer to $50M. Right now, the $100M figure is more realistic, but there's still the licensing issues to deal with, and whoever buys it is going to want to build a more Facebook-like "social tier" on top of the wiki-farm backbone it's currently built on (which will cost some money). Wikis can be fun for some people, obviously - narcissists and conflict-junkies, for example - but they're not fun enough to compete with sites where the social aspect is designed to be the be-all and end-all of the whole enterprise. (And it's not like most of those sites are any fun either, once you've figured out that you're the product and not the customer.)

In a very real sense, The People's Operator has almost the same problem. Their business model is based on the faulty premise that individual givers to charity will help promote them by word-of-mouth, but that's not a workable or sustainable promotional framework. What they would need is for the charities themselves to promote them, because they have those promotional frameworks already set up and, more importantly, the established ones have credibility - which is to say, reputations for not simply taking the money in and then wasting it. But those organizations aren't interested in TPO, because (1) it's not a good wireless company and they don't want to be associated with inadequate customer service, (2) Jimbo is involved and they don't want to be associated with a fake-charity founder, and (3) they don't get access to the marketing info they want, i.e., TPO's customer list with names and addresses of people they can then appeal to directly. It's just not something they care about - I'm sure they appreciate the occasional check, but they're not going to go out of their way to tell people to sign up with TPO if that's all they're getting out of it.

[Soldado Sin Nombre]

The thing about "Fandom Powered by Wikia" is that while it does get good traffic numbers, it doesn't convert readers into users, which is what it would have to do to generate the kind of personal/marketing info that advertisers want, the way Facebook does. So while everybody knows Wikia is there, nobody with Big Money (i.e., the Marvels, Disneys, and Electronic Artses of the world) really cares about it. For example, this Slate article from three days ago doesn't even mention it. I mean, there's a line chart entitled "Fandom Platform Use Over Time," with data for 11 companies, and the site that specifically calls itself "Fandom" isn't one of them.

There are lots of reasons for this, but it all basically boils down to the fact that wikis aren't good for personal-information sharing, or more specifically, personal-information surrendering. They're perceived as too fussy, too technical, and too conflict-driven, dominated by socially-maladjusted self-appointed-authority-figures, and generally not a good way to meet interesting, friendly, like-minded people.

Six years ago, Jimbo claimed that he could sell Wikia for a billion dollars. Obviously he was delusional, and at the time, it might have brought in $100M, though I felt it would have been closer to $50M. Right now, the $100M figure is more realistic, but there's still the licensing issues to deal with, and whoever buys it is going to want to build a more Facebook-like "social tier" on top of the wiki-farm backbone it's currently built on (which will cost some money). Wikis can be fun for some people, obviously - narcissists and conflict-junkies, for example - but they're not fun enough to compete with sites where the social aspect is designed to be the be-all and end-all of the whole enterprise. (And it's not like most of those sites are any fun either, once you've figured out that you're the product and not the customer.)

In a very real sense, The People's Operator has almost the same problem. Their business model is based on the faulty premise that individual givers to charity will help promote them by word-of-mouth, but that's not a workable or sustainable promotional framework. What they would need is for the charities themselves to promote them, because they have those promotional frameworks already set up and, more importantly, the established ones have credibility - which is to say, reputations for not simply taking the money in and then wasting it. But those organizations aren't interested in TPO, because (1) it's not a good wireless company and they don't want to be associated with inadequate customer service, (2) Jimbo is involved and they don't want to be associated with a fake-charity founder, and (3) they don't get access to the marketing info they want, i.e., TPO's customer list with names and addresses of people they can then appeal to directly. It's just not something they care about - I'm sure they appreciate the occasional check, but they're not going to go out of their way to tell people to sign up with TPO if that's all they're getting out of it.

Wow. Spot-on great analysis, Mid-Size Jake. For Jimbo personally, there is the issue of his clear absence in the day-to-day running of Wikia. He can claim all he wants that he can sell the site for $1 billion, but his motives are to puff himself up so people in the circles in which he runs won't think of him as a pauper. If Wikia were going to sell to some deep pockets, it would have long, long ago. It hasn't, and probably won't for just the reasons you named, MSJ.

Plus, if you look at that Crunchbase link in my previous post, Jimbo is in the pack of former people. Jimbo has had nothing to do with the rise of Wikia in the traffic ranks - that happened under the leadership of Craig Palmer.

Wikia/Fandom runs on an advertising model, that the ads are absolutely bottom-of-the-barrel. For whatever reason, their ad sales force doesn't appear able to make ad deals the way Facebook and Google can? Why? For all the reason MSJ said about the perception of wikis. The main demographics for wikis are the millions of people out there who attend Comicon conventions and are obsessed with video games - people who don't have much, if any, disposable income.

So, in short, Jimbo is getting bupkis out of Wikia/Fandom. Although, he can through the Wikia red herring out there all he wants so his social circle won't worry about how he gets his bills paid. Plus, it has to get wearisome that the press focuses so continually on asking him about his personal wealth. Keep in mind too that Jimbo has a rather tenuous relationship with the truth. To him, truth is whatever he wants it to be.

[Zoloft]

Meanwhile, TPOP.L is still one hell of a good stock buy if you detest giving your money to charity.



I forget, is the price five-thousandths of one pound or five-hundredths of one pound?

Reuters to the rescue: TPOP.L on London Stock Exchange = 0.05GBp 27 Mar 2018

...still not sure.

[Peter Damian]

Meanwhile, TPOP.L is still one hell of a good stock buy if you detest giving your money to charity.



I forget, is the price five-thousandths of one pound or five-hundredths of one pound?

Reuters to the rescue: TPOP.L on London Stock Exchange = 0.05GBp 27 Mar 2018

...still not sure.

The small ‘p’ signifies pence. Thus Aviva is quoted at 495.90 GBp, meaning £4.9590. So TPO if quoted at 0.05 is indeed five-thousandths of one pound. Now gone up 20% to 0.06, however.

[Poetlister]

Now gone up 20% to 0.06, however.

Hurrah, this marks a turning point. Maybe it will get up to one hundredth of a pound.

What was the price before Jimbo became chairman?

[Midsize Jake]

What was the price before Jimbo became chairman?

It was still privately held at that point (January 2014). They first "floated" the company in October 2014 - it's actually detailed somewhat on the first page of this thread, but obviously that all happened a long time ago, so no harm in a little "refresher" now and again.

To be fair, Jimbo's involvement probably did boost their initial public valuation, if only because he's a known quantity and they were able to get some extra PR out of it. So they started out pretty well, but unfortunately, Jimbo also became involved in day-to-day operations.

[Soldado Sin Nombre]

Here's a little TPO food-for thought. On the left you will see a TPO thanking donors for their contributions to cancer research. On the right is yet another complaint about TPO gouging customers who go over the limit of their data plans. The person complaining about the fee gouging said they work at the same Cancer Research UK referred to on the left by TPO.

I believe both were made under Jimbo's watch.

[Poetlister]

How do you think TPO can afford to give anything to Cancer Research? You can't please all of the people all of the time.

[Randy from Boise]

Big news!

Our favorite cellular carrier is now joining forces with the world's favorite hardware company to unleash an explosion of ethical cellephonics made possible only through the magic of symbiotic convergence... Yes, The People's Operator is teaming up with Fairphone!

linkhttp://www.lse.co.uk/share-regulatory-n ... _Fairphone[/link]

This morality masterpiece even ports over seamlessly to Wikipedia, a venue at which we may see the following editorial hi-jinks observed by my editing buddy Marty:

Fairphone (T-H-L)

1. created by a single-purpose account: linkhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:C ... s/Nmw_mail[/link]

2. tended to by an obvious COI IP: linkhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:C ... .64.235.62[/link]

3. featuring a "Criticism" section trimmed ( linkhttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?ti ... =759292475[/link] ) by a single-purpose account and further diminished (repeatedly), so that it was teed up for removal ( linkhttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?ti ... =786312644[/link] ) by another editor.

The press release indicates "There are currently more than 100,000 Fairphone handsets in circulation." which sounds like days of clover ahead for TPO.

I'm sure this news will be well received by the market...

RfB

[Poetlister]

And TPO have done a survey!

SOUTHAMPTON has been named the UK's most charitable city, new research has revealed. A poll of 2,000 respondents, carried out by ethical mobile network The People's Operator (TPO), found that each year the average UK adult will donate £72.95 to charities - with people from the city donating the most at £108.50 per year. The least donating city was Sheffield, which the study found adults would only give £35.07 every year.

Daily Echo

Even if the survey was carried out properly (a huge if), how meaningful are the results likely to be? How many cities did they cover? A sample of only 2,000 would get spread pretty thinly. I'd guess that this is just a publicity stunt, to remind people that TPO is an ethical company and donates money to charity.

[Randy from Boise]

And TPO have done a survey!

SOUTHAMPTON has been named the UK's most charitable city, new research has revealed. A poll of 2,000 respondents, carried out by ethical mobile network The People's Operator (TPO), found that each year the average UK adult will donate £72.95 to charities - with people from the city donating the most at £108.50 per year. The least donating city was Sheffield, which the study found adults would only give £35.07 every year.

Daily Echo

Even if the survey was carried out properly (a huge if), how meaningful are the results likely to be? How many cities did they cover? A sample of only 2,000 would get spread pretty thinly. I'd guess that this is just a publicity stunt, to remind people that TPO is an ethical company and donates money to charity.

Ya think?

RfB

[Poetlister]

And TPO are desperate to publicise this half-baked piece of nonsense. They are trying to recruit bloggers urgently for that purpose. Anyone here fancy earning some money off TPO? Less risky than doing paid editing on Wikipedia!

Of course, TPO might go bust before they've paid you.

[Poetlister]

Mumsnet was asked by TPO to conduct a test of their services. Bad move! Reactions included

Honestly DON'T they almost sent my DH to a breakdown. Totally appalling customer service and unreliable.

I would seriously avoid. I got a sim from them and the whole customer service was shocking. From transferring my number over and the fact they still have money in my account which they won't transfer back over, such a hard company to deal with.

[Poetlister]

More comments:

They'll transfer your number and if you don't like the service they'll put you through hell to get it back.

I already have a contract with them and it is ok - it is very cheap. But I have found two limitations:

The SIM does not work abroad, it cannot connect to foreign networks, so you cannot receive calls let alone make them. (Confirmed on their FAQs).

Unconfirmed with the company, but it seems it is incapable of receiving calls from VoIP systems like Skype or Lync - which is what my work use, so I cannot be contacted by anyone in the office.

And there are more; see for yourself.

[Randy from Boise]

More comments:

They'll transfer your number and if you don't like the service they'll put you through hell to get it back.

I already have a contract with them and it is ok - it is very cheap. But I have found two limitations:

The SIM does not work abroad, it cannot connect to foreign networks, so you cannot receive calls let alone make them. (Confirmed on their FAQs).

Unconfirmed with the company, but it seems it is incapable of receiving calls from VoIP systems like Skype or Lync - which is what my work use, so I cannot be contacted by anyone in the office.

And there are more; see for yourself.

There is probably a market out there for "very cheap."

Good luck turning a profit delivering it...

RfB

[dogbiscuit]

More comments:

They'll transfer your number and if you don't like the service they'll put you through hell to get it back.

I already have a contract with them and it is ok - it is very cheap. But I have found two limitations:

The SIM does not work abroad, it cannot connect to foreign networks, so you cannot receive calls let alone make them. (Confirmed on their FAQs).

Unconfirmed with the company, but it seems it is incapable of receiving calls from VoIP systems like Skype or Lync - which is what my work use, so I cannot be contacted by anyone in the office.

And there are more; see for yourself.

There is probably a market out there for "very cheap."

Good luck turning a profit delivering it...

RfB

The roaming is not confirmed on their FAQs - it simply notes that it is disabled by default and you have to contact them to enable it. It then explains that roaming charges are inclusive. Why would MumsNet be any more relaible a source than Wikipedia for The People's Operator?

https://help.thepeoplesoperator.com/hc/ ... nd-roaming

[Poetlister]

Why would MumsNet be any more relaible a source than Wikipedia for The People's Operator?

The pseudonyms on Mumsnet are intriguing. That criticism came from "foobio". But I prefer LadyFuchsiaGroan, Scrumptiousbears and AngelwingsPetlamb.

[Soldado Sin Nombre]

The pseudonyms on Mumsnet are intriguing. That criticism came from "foobio". But I prefer LadyFuchsiaGroan, Scrumptiousbears and AngelwingsPetlamb.

Ever see the movie Eyes Wide Shut? If the people in that evil orgy cult had pseudonyms, these are what they'd choose.

[Poetlister]

This Mumsnet test is clearly the gift that keeps giving. TPOP decided to reply:

We’d firstly just like to say thank you for engaging with the page and taking the time to consider this product test. We reached out to the Mumsnet team because we knew that families are one of the most charitable communities in the UK, so we felt it was important to get your view on our products and ethos of giving back. We also knew that we would get a no holds barred view from Mumsnetters, and that’s exactly what we want and need. We’re a small organisation, and we are by no means perfect. We think we provide a good service but know we will fall and stumble a few times. With your help, we can iron some of those kinks out and provide a better product for families. We thank you once again for your consideration and your feedback.

This produced some tart replies from sleep5 and this from babasaclover (yet another great name):

Their plans are more expensive than everyone else and they give your money to charity? Why not just donate yourself.

[Zoloft]

linkhttp://www.publicnow.com/view/5F92411C0 ... 0A50BD59A2[/link]

The stock was down 41% yesterday.

"...the Board has now concluded that the new subscriber additions will not achieve the anticipated levels upon which the current marketing plan is based and that therefore an alternative strategy is required"

[Kumioko]

linkhttp://www.publicnow.com/view/5F92411C0 ... 0A50BD59A2[/link]

The stock was down 41% yesterday.

"...the Board has now concluded that the new subscriber additions will not achieve the anticipated levels upon which the current marketing plan is based and that therefore an alternative strategy is required"

No kiddin? Seems like we all already knew that would happen.

The first thing they need to do is fire Jimbo and hire someone competent, then they stand a chance. But really this endeavor was doomed from the start. It was never really even an ok idea, let alone a good one.

[Poetlister]

They do claim "Margins for Q1 2018 are better than expected." Of course, that might mean that they were ridiculously pessimistic.

[Midsize Jake]

"...the Board has now concluded that the new subscriber additions will not achieve the anticipated levels upon which the current marketing plan is based and that therefore an alternative strategy is required"

No kiddin? Seems like we all already knew that would happen.

The first thing they need to do is fire Jimbo and hire someone competent, then they stand a chance. But really this endeavor was doomed from the start. It was never really even an ok idea, let alone a good one.

Agreed, but it's really two ideas, isn't it? One being "10 percent of proceeds to charity," the other being "crowdsourced viral marketing of a wireless service." Each of those ideas should drive the other, in theory, but the theory has been spoiled by poor execution. In other words, as you (sort of) say, it might have been an OK idea if it were well-executed, but that would have required a different guy running the company.

Perhaps we should even take this opportunity to restate our purpose in having this thread in the first place, which is that the "marketing plan" being referred to here was based on the notion that the company would generate tons of goodwill by giving some of its subscriber revenue to various charities... and that this would either negate or offset any ill-will generated by poor customer service and the like, which it obviously hasn't. And if they were trying to somehow be the "Wikipedia of wireless services," then they'd be ignoring a key fact, which is that WIkipedia doesn't actually generate much goodwill either - it succeeds because it's ad-free, it covers a lot of topics, Google needs it, and first-in-the-door wins when all the success metrics are based on incoming links and clicks. I don't believe it succeeds because people actually buy Jimbo's and the WMF's bullshit about it being a "charity" - it's obviously not a charity. Still, this is all fine for them, but it isn't really a business model that anyone should emulate if they want to start something now that's actually supposed to make money in the near term.

Anyhoo... if they're serious about an "alternative strategy," doesn't that mean that Jimbo is already out, for all intents and purposes? They might keep his name on the letterhead because of his name-recognition and his ownership stake, but if we take this announcement at face value, I'd say they're looking to put someone else in charge of operations and adopt a more traditional marketing approach.

[Auggie]

this thread.

I can't say I've read every page but overall it's been a fun ride.

What I take away is the human story of Jimmy Wales. It's rather sad, watching him waste a decade attempting to do things he is not good at doing.

Being the public face of Wikipedia was what he was great at. Not this phone company crap, or any of his other inane projects.

Leaving Wikipedia in the hands of the foundation and a bunch of uninspired, bureaucratic leeches was the dumbest move he ever made. Both he and Wikipedia itself have suffered.

[Kumioko]

this thread.

I can't say I've read every page but overall it's been a fun ride.

What I take away is the human story of Jimmy Wales. It's rather sad, watching him waste a decade attempting to do things he is not good at doing.

Being the public face of Wikipedia was what he was great at. Not this phone company crap, or any of his other inane projects.

Leaving Wikipedia in the hands of the foundation and a bunch of uninspired, bureaucratic leeches was the dumbest move he ever made. Both he and Wikipedia itself have suffered.

Just in case you were unaware, he didn't "leave it behind" they threw him out!

[Auggie]

this thread.

I can't say I've read every page but overall it's been a fun ride.

What I take away is the human story of Jimmy Wales. It's rather sad, watching him waste a decade attempting to do things he is not good at doing.

Being the public face of Wikipedia was what he was great at. Not this phone company crap, or any of his other inane projects.

Leaving Wikipedia in the hands of the foundation and a bunch of uninspired, bureaucratic leeches was the dumbest move he ever made. Both he and Wikipedia itself have suffered.

Just in case you were unaware, he didn't "leave it behind" they threw him out!

Really? Why do you think that?

[Kumioko]

I don't remember all the details, but it had something to do with using WMF funds fraudulantly, such as "a massage" or something while traveling (in Moscow if I remember right). He came back and a little bit later he "resigned" under pressure. They allowed him to keep a founders seat on the board, but basically removed all his voting rights and control. Maybe someone else can give more info.