# Heff says: No more thread-bare hare **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 13, 2015, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heff-says-no-more-thread-bare-hare/734518 "2015-10-13T03:58:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heff-says-no-more-thread-bare-hare/734518/61 "2015-10-14T05:05:35Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Well imagine now Playboy being available at doctors offices? When I was a sperm donor in Albuquerque, the doctor gave me some porn to look at while I whacked off into the container. Can’t remember if any were _Playboy_. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heff-says-no-more-thread-bare-hare/734518/62 "2015-10-14T11:57:29Z")
In some ways they are returning to their roots. There was very little nudity the first few years. Of course that was due to obscenity laws and prosecutions. I still get the magazine out of force of habit but when it expires next year, I won’t renew. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heff-says-no-more-thread-bare-hare/734518/63 "2015-10-14T12:15:55Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > This may never end. I blame **Czarcasm** ’s horrible thread title. Yeah, I looked over thread titles from the past two days and didn’t see anything with “Playboy”, so I thought no one had posted anything yet. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heff-says-no-more-thread-bare-hare/734518/64 "2015-10-14T12:24:57Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Wait, I thought a woman ran Playboy? Hugh Hefners daughter? Christie Hefner was CEO 1988-2008, then retired. Afterwards, Hef took the company back private in 2011. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heff-says-no-more-thread-bare-hare/734518/65 "2015-10-14T16:56:40Z")
When a guy I work with brought this story up, I thought he was on The Onion or something. It’s hard to believe. I have to think I will let my subscription lapse. Letting it lapse has crossed my mind on occasion the past couple of years, and this is just the kind of thing to make me go ahead and take the plunge. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heff-says-no-more-thread-bare-hare/734518/66 "2015-10-15T21:13:12Z")
While 800,000 circulation is really quite good for a print magazine today, the big problem with Playboy is its demographics. They are _really_ terrible in the eyes of advertisers. The readers and the “image” that Hef promotes for the mag are incompatible. And not many younger readers at that. It’s an odd thing, if Playboy’s circ. drops by half or even more, but the demo improves, this could increase ads quite a bit. If they could get Golf Digest’s demo, only younger, they will be printing money. It also allows Playboy to get back on prime magazine rack space. That’s needed not just for retail sales, but to lure in potential subscribers. OTOH, converting Playboy into Not-Playboy is just plain stupid. If they want to make a Not-Playboy magazine, just start one up. It’s like trying to convert Elle into a Sports Illustrated clone. Getting rid of the stuck-in-the-60s, jazz listening, flashy suit wearing mindset would help far more. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heff-says-no-more-thread-bare-hare/734518/67 "2015-10-15T21:39:37Z")
I dunno. I mean, Playboy was a big part of my youth, but when I look at the guys who are the target demographic now, they seem to think of Playboy as something their dads used to read. For that matter, magazines themselves are kind of on the way out… hell, the only reason they still publish comics any more is to keep the brands and IP alive. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heff-says-no-more-thread-bare-hare/734518/68 "2015-10-15T23:02:33Z")
Sucks, but if you were in it for nekkid wimmins, rather than nekkid famous actresses or whoever, Penthouse was better anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heff-says-no-more-thread-bare-hare/734518/69 "2015-10-16T00:50:24Z")
And now Hyatt Hotels has [banned on-demand porn](http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/hyatt-hotels-banning-demand-porn-movies-hotel-rooms-34484480). Clearly we have reached the End Days. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heff-says-no-more-thread-bare-hare/734518/70 "2015-10-16T07:06:41Z")
I’d say my peak Playboy reading days were from 1979-85 (College and just after) and even then there was a sense that the magazine probably used to be a whole lot better. I had a digital subscription more recently, the kind that let you browse all the back issues, and I don’t think it ever had a magical Golden Age. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heff-says-no-more-thread-bare-hare/734518/71 "2015-10-16T11:24:44Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > And now Hyatt Hotels has [banned on-demand porn](http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/hyatt-hotels-banning-demand-porn-movies-hotel-rooms-34484480). > > Clearly we have reached the End Days. > [@](#): > > . Hotel guests are renting fewer in-room movies because they can watch them on smartphones or laptops instead. Sounds like a smart business move, plus it makes them look good. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heff-says-no-more-thread-bare-hare/734518/72 "2015-10-16T11:46:04Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Clearly we have reached the End Days. Or rather the end days for anyone not online, at least in the USA. It’s not just print mags like Playboy or PPV at the hotel, essentially every conventional-media porn outlet is reeling right now. Even online “mainstream” commercial harcore purveyors are still having a tough time vis-a-vis piracy and free reposts, there having arisen no real porn equivalent of iTunes. Of course, HC porn home video did not have the well established system of royalty enforcement in place that mainstream music/film did so that makes it harder to create such a venue. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heff-says-no-more-thread-bare-hare/734518/73 "2015-10-16T13:47:41Z")
The online successor to Playboy exists, and is enormously popular. It’s called [Reddit.](http://www.reddit.com) Reddit does not come with porn if you just visit their site. However, if you log in, sign up and swear that you are over 18 there are all sorts of porny subreddits you can add to your account which means they show up on your news feed. So you get custom-delivered porn along with the news and information that come with all the other reddits. And there are a ton of them. While the writing does not match Playboy’s for literary quality, the amount of and variety of content, and the ability to customize it to your interests makes it FAR superior to Playboy in every respect. Playboy might have great articles, but it does not have the equivalent of the Basic Income subreddit where i can easily keep track of an obscure but to me, very interesting, economic proposal. It’s sad that Playboy is dropping the naked women that made it what it is, but truth is, it’s magazine model of content delivery, which has always hampered it, just can’t compete with the likes of Reddit. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heff-says-no-more-thread-bare-hare/734518/74 "2015-10-16T14:41:30Z")
What was the first Playboy issue to display full nudity inside the covers and what was the first issue to display full nudity on the cover? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heff-says-no-more-thread-bare-hare/734518/75 "2015-10-16T15:04:04Z")
So there are naked women…on the internet, you say? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heff-says-no-more-thread-bare-hare/734518/76 "2015-10-16T15:39:24Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Sounds like a smart business move, plus it makes them look good. > [@JRDelirious](#): > > Or rather the end days for anyone not online, at least in the USA. It’s not just print mags like Playboy or PPV at the hotel, essentially every conventional-media porn outlet is reeling right now. It’s the principle, dagnabbit! ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heff-says-no-more-thread-bare-hare/734518/77 "2015-10-16T18:07:17Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > It’s the principle, dagnabbit! You’re lucky over there where you live. Nobody has yet figured a mobile app that substitutes for a blowjob bar. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heff-says-no-more-thread-bare-hare/734518/78 "2015-10-16T21:06:07Z")
There goes my brother-in-law’s wanking material. He has every issue going back to the original, which probably has some sort of collector’s value. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heff-says-no-more-thread-bare-hare/734518/79 "2015-10-16T21:08:43Z")
On the day the first non-nude issue comes out, I will be wearing one black surgical glove in mourning. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heff-says-no-more-thread-bare-hare/734518/80 "2015-10-16T21:34:50Z")
> [@bup](#): > > So there are naked women…on the internet, you say? Yeah, but you have to pay to see it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heff-says-no-more-thread-bare-hare/734518.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heff-says-no-more-thread-bare-hare/734518.md?page=5)