whenhiphopdrovethebigcars said:
It´s just less community spirit. In my eyes, Interference is about the community. Not about classes.
Quiet you lower-class non-premium knave!
*snicker*
I'm just teasing you.
I hear ya, I really do. And I was also here before the paying option.
However, the current non-paying option still allows people to post all they want. The non-paying option allows you to read all you want. And that ain't bad!
I think adding searching for non-paying members is great. But then the argument is, if that is given, then why not PM's? If PM's are given then why not other privileges? At what point can one distinguish between the two? Clearly Elvis felt there was a need to raise $$, otherwise he wouldn't have a pay feature.
As I've known Joel for a long time, and I know he has put in a lot of his own $$ to this site. As such, a $12 a year membership isn't that much to donate. Think of it as taking Joel out to lunch thanking him for creating Intereference.
When I was on WIRE, we often had money drives to raise funds for a new server. I recall two such drives, and we also had several charity fund-raising drives. So Joel having drives or charging is not unique - we've been doing this for years in the U2 community. The best part is that if you don't want to support it or think Joel "has enough $$", not only do you not have to donate, but you can continue posting and reading Interference! Sounds fair to me!
You argue that paying creates "classes" and that's not the real world. But it is! Many places have special privileges for those who donate more. For example, those who donate to PBS or various charities, often get more for their donations (like a "gold member" status or more people invited to a dinner, etc.). And sad as it may be, many countries have a class or caste system in place.
That said, I really don't think the goal is for Joel to create classes. I never felt "better" or "upper class" because I'm a "premium member". I just wanted some extra features and wanted to help share the burden of expenses. I made this decision and accounted for it accordingly. I don't feel "special" because of this and I highly doubt anyone else does either.
I recognize your comment about making Interference more of a community. And indeed having a search feature available for all members would help that to some degree. But I counter that there are far too many new people, those who join and don't post or only have a token post or two, to make this type of openness realistic. That is, do you really want people who join today and are gone tomorrow being able to do searches and contacting everyone? I think by having people pay for that feature, it prevents the "wrong" people from abusing Interference.
Lastly, you said you'd rather see your $12 go to help people who need more basic things. That's a good reason. But then, it seems you've made your decision. This is your sacrifice - and sacrifice comes at a cost. Your cost might be the fact that you don't get all the features on this site that you'd like.
Again, I hope Elvis grants you your wish. But from my perspective, when I hear people discussing how they are going to attend every show they can, and buy every CD single they can, and get all the boots they can, it seems odd that they don't also have that extra $12 for a year's worth of membership on a U2 site. I don't direct this comment at you necessarily, but it is a thought...
But if it were me, I wouldn't change anything. Sorry. 
