A couple of days back I went to see The Police in concert at Giants Stadium. The show was great. I wish I could say the same for my experience with The Police Online Community.

Shortly after I forked over $95 per ticket plus special fees on the Ticketmaster website I started receiving emails inviting me to check out the extra content available on the community. One day I decide to give it a try and check out an exclusive video from the Vancouver show.

I get hit with a screen that requires I either pay $100 or prove I bought a ticket to see the video. So I enter my email address and two days later I get a confirmation code. I start the sign up process, which only allows me access for three months.

Then I’m asked for a litany of information that leads me to believe I am signing up for a mortgage. Fine, I don’t give them my real address or phone number. Then I get to a screen that requires a credit card.

At this point I say, “To hell with you and your ‘community’.” Harsh I know but a line has to be drawn somewhere. Reading things like, “No charges will be made against the provided credit card unless you do not cancel prior to the end of your offer’s term.”, really gets me. Forget to cancel and your wallet will surely be lighter at the beginning of the billing period.

This isn’t building a community. This is killing a community that could be great. This is an opportunity missed. I don’t even feel a need to explain why.

If you’re trying to build an online community you don’t require a credit card to gain supposedly free access. You don’t charge money (for what?) to people who’ve already spent good money to support the effort. All of this is allegedly done in the name of checks and balances. But everywhere you go on the site they’re selling you something.

I’d love to connect with other fans of The Police. I’d love to write my own review of the show I saw for the benefit of other fans who love the band. I wrote a review on my own site though. And I left that wasteland they call a community in the dust.

The most telling thing that I saw on the site was the reaction to a blazingly negative review of the show I went to. There were 55,000 people at the show but only two comments replying to the review. SOS indeed.