As referenced in a previous article by Stas about Netflix, many Netflix subscribers who return movies quickly have been subject to Netflix "throttling." These customers do not get priority on new releases in favor of customers who rent fewer movies or are new to Netflix. Though this practice has caused issues with some customers, Netflix says they currently have an unbelievably high customer satisfaction rating. Netflix executives say they simply use a "fairness algorithm" to determine which customers get movies faster.
However, in response to a class action lawsuit filed by several unhappy Netflix customers, Netflix will soon be giving out free DVDs for a month to anyone who was a Netflix subscriber prior to January 15, 2005. According to the article Netflix Mulling Revision to Settlement, almost 4.1 million former Netflix subscribers will be offered a free month of service, while another 2.08 million current customers will be offered a free month-long upgrade.
