Anybody out there subscribe to any magazines????
No, not just AP magazines, any magazine?? Well, I do. I get mule magazines, gun magazines, leather magazines, machinist magazines, and (Do you really want to hear the whole list) Lets just say I like to read and learn.
I am sure there are those of you out there who get many different magazines also? Why do you get them? To be entertained? To learn new ways of doing things? To find sources for products you want? God knows most are full of adds for almost everything anymore. I guess the point is most of us subscribe to one magazine or the other, because we feel we get some benefit from it and there is some value in the information they provide.
Do any of you get free magazines? I don't, most of mine are $19.99 to $29.99 per year. Sometimes, if I subscribe for two years they give me a discount. But you know, as soon as my subscription runs out and I do not send them more money, they stop sending me the magazine. Imagine that ??? Someone provides a service, provides something of value, then expects me to pay for it? If I don't pay for it they cut me off!!!
Have you ever stopped and thought about the benefit, of say, a forum like this?? I mean it is not much different than a magazine really? Except you don't just get general information, or information about something that does not even apply to you. In fact you get to ask specific questions, about your specific needs, and get specific answers to those questions! Ever try to ask your magazine something? They don't talk much, do they??
The point is (yes, I admit it took me a while to figure this out too) we think nothing of paying $19.99 or more for a yearly magazine subscription, which, when the year is up they stop sending!! But we really give no thought to supporting a forum, such as this, with a donation. Why is that? Is it because we know we can get it for free anyway? Is it because we know they are not going to "cut us off", if we don't?? Does that make it any less worth the price?
I tend to think better of people and give everybody the benefit of the doubt, that just like me, "We just never really thought about it". I mean it did not cost me anything to log on? It must just be free to everyone, Right? Not really, somewhere there is a server, somewhere there is a host site, somewhere there is someone monitoring the site, so that when a virus gets in and keeps all of us from enjoying it, they are there to fix the problem. This all cost somebody money, it is not free. Someone is paying the bill every month, someone is out money, so we can continue to enjoy reading articles and asking questions and generally enjoying this forum.
That someone, (which we probably all know who that is) does not demand payment, he does not "Cut us off" if we do not or cannot pay. He simply provides this forum "Free of Charge" and simply ask for a donation, if you choose to and can afford to support the site.
Is this forum and the benefit you get from it of value, or worth the price of a yearly magazine subscription???

Just something to think about, thanks for listening.