Your opinion, please. Annual fee for Simple Living Forum use?

[Mrs-M]

This one ought to stir it up a little and draw out a few recluses from their dark nooks and crannies.

The lights and heat (related to this forum) are kept on by members donations, that's a fact, so what is your opinion on making this a fee-operated forum site?

[Gregg]

Oh Mrs-M, you're going to end up on the naughty list if you stir the pot like that!

On the real world side our hosts, The New Road Map Foundation, wish to keep this operational strictly on a donation basis. I think that is the best way to go overall with the sincere hope that anyone who feels they have received value from these boards will be willing to return the favor. It just feels a little more autonomous (IMO) if all support is voluntary.

[treehugger]

If you genuinely want to encourage lurkers to post and infrequent posters to participate more and new people to drop in and decide to stay, mandatory fees are not the way.

Kara

[catherine]

Well, Rozie cited in her SLN stats that there are around 200 active posters, and only about 30 have contributed voluntarily. I don't think we're being cheap, I think we may need a simple reminder, like Dave used to have at the end of the year. Not to put more on the administrators, but I'm pretty responsive to annual pledge drives and things like that...

Consider me reminded to make a contribution.

I would rather try a gentle soft-sell before a mandatory membership fee.

[bae]

I think it would turn SL into even more of a ghost town.

[leslieann]

Nope, no fee. But encouragement to donate is okay. I don't love the pledge drive by my public radio station but it does motivate me (did...when I lived in the US).

So go ahead and donate! Keep the lights on and the servers humming (or whatever they do....). I for one would miss this place.

[freein05]

Come on people I am one of only 30 people to contribute. At least I am in the 1% in something.

[libby]

My opinion is no fees but more reminders of the donation end of things would be o.k. People do forget about donating or are maybe not aware.

[herbgeek]

I would go away if a fee was mandatory, even though I just donated towards 2012.

[shadowmoss]

I would not come here again. I might donate if it is optional. I probably should donate, and have no real excuse. But DEMAND it? I'm outta here at that point.

I used to hang out at the Motley Fool a lot, daily for long periods and followed a lot of the threads. They made a BIG DEAL out of making the place fee-based. Never been back. They offered a lot of folks a free first year. That made me feel not wanted since I wasn't one they offered the free deal to. That kind of backfired for them, I think.