[ToraTora!]

Originally posted by thewitt
It will be interesting to watch the dynamic in the online community space, as people move from one free community to another.

I suspect that many will leave as the community either becomes flooded with ads they can't stand to have pop up all over the place, or when the site becomes pay-for-use.

Most Internet communities are not driven by the owners, they are driven by the members. When the members feel like they are no longer members but paying customers, I suspect most will go somewhere that feels more like a community than a pay-and-get-in club.

As a paid service, you will also be expected to provide higher level of support and services, and when the service is not received, you will not get those customers to sign up again unless you go out of your way to provide other significant value for the money.

I'm not suggesting that anyone not go down this path - only that it may not be exactly what you think it will be in the end. I left the pay-for-talk services like AOL, Compuserve and Genie when the quality of talk on USENET was higher than those subscription services. I never looked back. I suspect others will do the same in the new Internet order of pay-as-you-go forums.
-t

I could not of said it any better. There are sites that can pull this off from a information, and service route, however there are quite a few that basically hit on topics that a thousand or more sites do as well, that have no pop-ups, or advertising to speak of.
There will be a major shift down the road from members jumping to other free services and forums. Unless there is really something special to offer, or the site that is tied in with the forums, somehow has something that is a stand out from others, people will find the next free thing, and stay with it until that site decides that it wants to become a pay site.

Members, or customers, all have one thing in common when it comes to raising prices. They feel they have contributed already by visiting the site or establishment. Religiously, they have visited the site or establishment dozens of times, and whether or not they bought anything during that whole time is irelevant to them.
They feel, that you owe them something. As narrow minded as it sounds, it is the truth.
There are people out there that feel no matter what you offer for thier membership, it is not enough to cover thier loyalty, and as such, will leave to another free site or establishment, to openly bash your site or establishment at any given moment. Hense, one walks out, he will take more.
That can mean potential customers, or current.
Give something, to recieve something is all i am saying.
I think Luke's approach is a good example of how to approach the sensativity of "pay" or not to "pay" for members.

people are not dumb enough to extort themselves for the good of others.