My vote is no. Everything costs us money now, and I'm not interested in increasing my bills yet again. I was on a hunting forum that went to a paid membership, which is just one of the things I have lost to this. I got priced out of hockey when I was a teenager. Can't afford snow sports. There is almost nowhere you can launch a boat for free, and those prices are going up. Public land hunting requires insurance, and even groups like the UTRCA require membership. Quicker and quicker, my only option if I dont want to spend money is stare at the walls, or sit in the backyard. If you want to get in shape, not only are you paying ridiculous fees at gyms these days, but most places tell you theres certain exercises you can't do (like deadlifts and really anything that requires maximum effort/grunting) which I need to stay top of my game at work). My extra money has to go to my baby, and our home.
2 things that really turn me off of this, first is how this forum responded to covid-19. I wouldn't pay for an experience that could become a dumpster fire at any moment. Increase mods? Increased censorship. Cuss words is one thing, but where is the line? I'm told more and more in my life what I can, and cannot say. We know how polarizing politics are, just mention trump or trudeau and all the lunatics come out (would the word lunatics even be allowed?) Fishing and hunting is my chance to get away from that, and here it is infiltrating the outdoors now.
2nd is the idea that members who contribute a certain amount of content get free memberships. Seems very vague, but also what if senior members just plain don't like you, and you never get that free membership? Then we have 3 classes of members.... no membership, paid membership, and free membership. Looks like a division of classes to me, shouldnt we just be a group of people that love the hunting and fishing at long point? I 100% agree with sponsors gettin on free tho, in the event that their dollars are keeping this site going. That's what it's all about, right? Supporting them with our money in the storefronts so they can operate successfully? Especially with the economic climate we are in and about to endure, I would think supporting sponsors becomes a priority vs "I dont like the earwax ad". Or whatever your flavour happens to be (not a shot at anyone that specifically said that, just the first example that comes to mind).
Everything we use has ads. How many people here use youtube, facebook, Instagram, or some other social media where it's not only littered with ads, but you are targeted based on your computer history or usage of the site? You can bet I will never sign up for YouTube premium, and the only reason I still have facebook is because it has become such a large part of our society that many small businesses and groups are unreachable if you don't have facebook.
If you guys go that way, so be it. I'm just one guy and a relative newcomer at that. Whatever it takes to make things work. But I will be signing off at that point, which will be a huge bummer on account of how much knowledge is on this website. The things I have learned have been incredible. But if an old timer at work was passing down knowledge, then handed me a bill, I'd tell him to pound sand.
I'm sure plenty of people can poke holes in how I look at this, but that's just the way I see it, and again I'd wonder where the censorship comes into play on it (obviously the attack on Trevor M was ridiculous, I'm not defending that attitude in the slightest... just to be clear).
Maybe we could look into supporting our sponsors better, then they would see value in supporting our forum? That's just a guess tho I don't know what the return is for them advertising here.
WOW I hope you feel a little better now that you got all that off your chest @HotPickle. ?
