Sigh, I love free forums. But then again, I have an idea how much my friend makes of ads on
www.ls1tech.com from just sponsors. Ad revenue could vary a great deal on this site compared to his. But then again, Abel's pay features could be better than the ones i've seen on other pay-forums. One of the reasons I'm here is because i'm a Texan (naturally) and because Nikonians is a pay site for the most part & they are all in your face about it. Not only that but people from other countries want me to list my personal information & have it viewable by anyone.
I just know that with a few decent sponsors, you can afford a dedicated server colo'd somewhere reputable that will support a huge online community & still have money left over. I feel when you start charging the actual members you start to deter people from joining & participating in the community.
Now on the otherhand, Abel could very well have some nifty ideas that would be worth paying for so I'll wait to see what he has in store for us before I make up my mind.