I agree Carol that the forum should not be one which prevents people who can't afford it from being able to come here. But I think the nominal fee which has been suggested would not be beyond anyone's means who has access to the internet, and has been proposed as a way of providing a more effective way of removing those who would abuse Meat and other forum members and prevent their easy return.
The internet provides a wide open playground for those who enjoy upsetting and abusing others, and this kind of safeguard is one I think we will see more and more web-based clubs introducing, as it's the simplest means of putting a lock on your front door rather than leave it wide open to anyone.Sadly few of us these days live in an area where we can safely leave our front and back doors unlocked. And the internet is no different, in fact it's arguably more vulnerable than our homes.
Voluntary donations would be a good idea if this were being done merely to raise money. But from what Mike said when he raised the issue, this is not the prime objective, but rather to be able to have a site which was more securely protected from those who would seek to abuse Meat and others. I don't think it's hard to see that those who do would will be unlikely to volunteer. The strength of a nominal fee system is that it will prvent most people from re-registering if they are declared persona non gratis.
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