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I think it would be a mistake to convert this forum to paid membership participation before exercising all options.
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Why is that?
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this approach would allow everyone to continue their membership.
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As mentioned earlier, those who could not afford to pay would be given consideration under a paid membership fee setup.
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I also think that the membership here is a very attractive audience for certain advertisers. Obviously Dick Blick thinks so.
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Nope, that's on a affiliate basis. I've made about $20 in commissions since that link as been up there.
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Perhaps if we knew the exact dollar value that needs to be met, the membership might also be able to come up with some creative ideas for meeting that goal.
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When I'm talking about covering expenses, I'm including part of my time spent each year on various aspects of the Forum, which has been sizeable. And certainly, if a sizeable sum came in, I would be happy to share with the moderators. However, it's diffcicult to say an exact amount ahead of time.
For example, I've done nothing except Forum work the last two days. I couldn't have predicted last week that this would be the case. Also, we're in a situation where a software upgrade is needed in order to plug possible security holes that have apparently been bringing down the server. I don't know at this point how much time that will take, but it will be sizeble.
But, as mentioned in earlier parts of this thread, there are other reasons besides covering expenses to charge a fee.
Thousands of artists pay a fee to join portrait societies every year, for magazine subscriptions. And, as Peggy points out, an annual fee of $25 is about the price of pizza and beer.