Interesting concept, Liz53, but I'd sure hate to see user fees destroy the very things that make this place so great!

This site carries advertisements that all of us see when we journal and pursue other activities here. There is no denying this is a very valuable site to its users. And no one wants inconveniences.

However,once a fee-for-use is levied, it does tend to increase. This could cause a whole lot less dialogue here with young people and students who need the site but who might be disinclined to pay for services that are available in other formats elsewhere free of charge. The economy still has not recovered, too, and some people are still struggling to make ends meet. This site helps keep us all aware of the hazards of eating less expensive foods and fast foods that we know aren't good for us.

Also, it's the dialogue with young people on the forums here that is very valuable to me, as a 65-year-old woman with disposable income. The young people here -- (or, youngER people) are very bright and quite engaged and I haven't found that elsewhere. The international aspect of it also is unique and useful.

I'm thinking it might be a lot of trouble for the techies that are keeping this running to set up a two-tiered system whereby paying subscribers get certain services, such as fast online saves, uploads, and downloads and those whose memberships are subsidized by advertisers do not.

For one thing, as the demographics changed, so would the advertisers. Secondly, the vitality here would be adversely affected. This site strikes me as a unique labor of love, and that is one of its strengths. It is not glossed up with fancy graphics or so many colorful photos and alluring viewer-enticing layouts that you cannot "meet" each other easily or get to know other subscribers.

The content is -- for the most part -- pretty visible even so. And it available to all. Thank goodness! What a wonderful, wonderful service to us all. Our subscriber base is intelligent and also relatively well educated and there is tremendous enthusiasm, friendliness, goodwill, and helpfulness here.

As long as it is this good, lets not ask the site-owners if we can
"pay for better service." Let's not look a gift horse in the mouth. This place is terrific just as it is, and I am sure that Tamarian is going to do his best to find a solution to this situation.


Not that I am not grateful for the site. But I'd sure hate to see it based on any other premise than what it is right now. Everything would change, and it would not benefit us, as subscribers, I fear.