If this was a PROFIT CENTER and was throwing off cash for the last 11 years, then you would be dead nuts right.
But its not, and it hasn't and there is no real expectation that it will.
Your analogy might be better like this.
The school building and facilities have been owned and operated by Harris for years,
The teachers have been their rooms to teach at their leisure and the students have had free admission.
All the while Harris has been paying for the building that everyone has been enjoying.
And now, after 11 years, they are asking all the students to pay a very small fee to cover all of the costs of that building, maintenance and upkeep.
OMG!!!!!!!!
You did not just make this analogy in response to a post about paying to share your information did you??? In what world of make believe is it that the teachers have to pay to teach?
REMEMBER who here has the problem with paying and who does not, simply most of the people that come here and have very little to offer or don't share info but gain a ton of info are glad to pay for it and so would I in their shoes, some like MH will always work their tails off and pay to do it just for the good of the sport and the community.
While still others will refuse to pay to support your website with content. These are the people you need to worry about and how quickly that group grows or shrinks as THAT IS why the first group comes here. If they disappear shortly thereafter so does group number 1. Then all your left with is Guys like MH sitting here broken hearted because despite their honest hard working efforts it still all collapsed.
Now consider this, Make the site a Not-for-profit organization. IE: By law all the $$ generated must either be reinvested or donated to another cause. Just a thought but that might get people past the idea of the profit potential.
The other thing that irritates me is that there was obviously a need for more capital to run the site, evidenced by the donation tab that was up for some time. BUT, while that was there we never did get an explanation of the situation like we have now after tons of hate, discontent and uproar.
Big D??? Why was a mass PM not sent to explain the situation???????? I know that for me a lack of explanation was the reason I did not donate then. I have a hard time giving money to something if I don't have specifics. There may have been a thread on it but to be forced to go on a treasure hunt for answers on why you should donate money is less than effective.
Which brings me to my final point. No matter the truth of the situation, and we're not just going to take your word for it, we've heard that enough.
Weather or not it is reality, the sequence of events seems awful convenient, first the new Grand Poobah shows up to change the world adds tons of layers to the forum, then speed problems start happening, then all of a sudden we're getting new dedicated hardware, and oh by the way we're now going to a pay site structure.
