Member fee!

[TheAnalogGuy]

I think we should have some form of member fee, like US $ 100 per year for example, to get rid of the freeloaders!

 

[DanielScott]

Charging a fee to be a member, especially to get rid of supposed "freeloaders", would be the quickest way to completely kill this forum.

Also, supposed "freeloaders" contribute plenty of valuable content to forums like this. Money isn't the only valuable resource, especially for sites like this where knowledge can be priceless. I don't understand why you would use such a disrespectful term like freeloader for those of us who are also contributing to this forum in ways that don't involve money. As far as I'm concerned, gatekeeping is what needs to go.

 

[Lubos-PM]

Who's the freeloaders? The one who just looks here occasionally, or even the one who posts regularly with information or with photos? I certainly wouldn't be in favour of a compulsory fee, I'm not opposed to a voluntary contribution in an amount according to the financial means of the person concerned. A manager in a prosperous company has different options, a retiree in some of the poorer countries has different options. But even he can enrich the forum!

 

[OhLook]

FACT: If you charge a fee, then you're a for-profit business and you become subject to regulation and taxation. So no, in addition to the reasons already stated.

OPINION: Money is already used as the measure of too many things. Extending this application of it is lamentable.

 

[mrfixitx]

$100 a year is excessive and could be financially prohibitive for some people, it is also a guaranteed way to kill the forum. Fred Miranda forums have a fee for their buy/sell forums but I understand that is mostly to keep the scammers away.

I am not sure if Pekka ever shared the exact details of hosting costs but I highly doubt it is anywhere near $100 a year per user.

 

[Levina de Ruijter]

There is not going to be a member fee of any kind.

We will give people an option to donate (that is in the works), but it will be strictly voluntary.

 

[OhLook]

I am not sure if Pekka ever shared the exact details of hosting costs but I highly doubt it is anywhere near $100 a year per user.

From memory: in his thread about closing POTN, he posted that the server fee was about $300/month.

 

[TheAnalogGuy]

From memory: in his thread about closing POTN, he posted that the server fee was about $300/month.

Well, it’s not free to run a forum like this! I think a modest fee will be right, but then again, it’s me!

 

[Levina de Ruijter]

Well, it’s not free to run a forum like this! I think a modest fee will be right, but then again, it’s me!

I thought I was very clear when I said there isn't going to be a member fee. Not now, not ever. Donations will be possible in the future but they will be voluntary.
That means there are no freeloaders as everything is free for everybody.

 

[Anton Largiader]

IMO (of course) there should be a suggested donation amount that, in conjunction with the number of users that might participate, would cover the costs. Can be adjusted over time to match the actual participation level. I think there is way more voluntary support available than gets taken advantage of, because some people don't know what's appropriate.

For instance, maybe at first you just assume 1/3 of the people will participate so if you have 3000 people and $3000 per year in costs then everyone would have to chip in $3.

The next year you see that people actually contributed WAY more than that (which I think would be the case, I think most of that 1/3 of users would contribute more) and you dial it back. Or tune it however is appropriate. Publish the numbers so no one thinks it's just a money maker. If you come up short, merely saying that is probably enough to increase the donations.

The point is, just suggesting an actual amount will take the uncertainty out of it and people will donate. If you're relying on very few people to donate larger sums, then there's less control.

$100 per year? Even if you only had 100 people (which would be a pretty boring forum) that's $10,000. What would all of that money actually be for? And there's nothing wrong with freeloaders, as long as the costs are covered. The variety in content comes from greater participation. Users ARE the content. I don't see any need for everyone to pay. Mandatory payment is a roadblock to participation that doesn't have enough payback, given how unnecessary it is.

 

[Levina de Ruijter]

Since there isn't going to be a member fee, this thread doesn't need to continue.