[Wayne Luke]

Both Tora and Thewitt raise valuable points.

For people looking to the subscription model, think about what added features you can offer your subscribers. Whether that is an email alias or some neat new features. Don't take features away from your existing members though because they will go elsewhere at this point in time.

However recent studies have shown that people will be willing to pay for internet subscriptions if they feel there is value and that the subscriptions will provide for stability. In the same study, people have proven that the Internet is a research resource and they use it like a library. They would still pay for these services but not without samples or some basics for free.

When I roll out my subscription memberships, my existing members will lose nothing in fact in the past week they have gained 2 different new features that gives them more control over their accounts. These include the ability to turn the forum descriptions on or off and the ability for them to choose the forumdepth shown on the index page. There will be more features like this both for subscribing and non-subscribing members.