Pardon my simplistic brain, but what about this: Robin and brother sit down and determine what they need for a salary for one year for them to make it in life, plus another 10% for socking away some retirement money. Let's say it comes to $100,000.00 divided by the two of them for $50,000.00 each.

If Pinside has approximately 6,000 members, that would come out to a 'donation' of $16.67 per year for each member. Of course, we all know that maybe not even half that many would contribute, or perhaps they feel they can only afford to chip in $10 or so, and that leaves us about halfway to the goal. Robin makes an assessment and he finds we are going to be short. He tells us of the low contribution number and then after we see the shortage 'we' set the donation at a suggested $25.00 per year hoping that will make up for the difference. After a few months, Robin informs us that he has only seen about $87,000 of the $100,000 needed. That means the rest of us have to chip in a few more bucks to insure Robin and brother get their annual pay. I predict our grand total of an individual donation would be somewhere between $30 and $50.

ALL of these numbers need modification, but the gist is here. We start with Robin's expectations of what he would like to see as his salary for maintaining this site for a year, and then we all begin the process of funding it. I would MUCH rather CONTRIBUTE a modest fee to keep this site running, than some kind of MANDATORY premium of $50 or $75 per year. To me, that's a little steep. For the most part, this is a generous crowd. Some can afford to pay more than others, and I am CONVINCED some will give MUCH more than the minimum. TOGETHER, we can all chip in enough to keep this going and from Robin and brother from going to the Poor House!

Robin . . . are you up for being candid and telling us what you would expect for income now that you don't have a public job? That would be the start . . . and don't be timid in telling us!
Mike in Kentucky