I had that idea in this thread where I said:
That thread is, by the way, a good one to read to find out why The Reader won’t take our money. Several good alternate suggestions are also mentioned therein that do not amount to throwing money at The Reader but largely they are not responded to.
I thought I’d move OpalCat’s poll here from Page One for anyone who missed it. On that poll, the totals are:
36: Yes
24: No
Please vote only once. (It’s possible to vote more than once if you change terminals, like in a public library.)
NO
Pay-for would be the death of the SDMB, as several other posters have pointed out. I would (and have,$40 for t-shirts and mugs I didn’t really want) make a voluntary contribution to a new server fund.
No. Good points on both sides. $25.00 is not a lot for a year, but if every cite I went to (message board or other) were to charge $25.00 a year, I’d be broke.
No.
I have a need to explain. There are two of us here that post, and we’re Canadian. By the time I pay for both of us, with the exchange rate, it comes to approximately $77.50 CAN. That’s a little steep for us, considering that we’re a family of six, and I’m a student. $10 US each, probably. That only comes to approximately $31 CAN.
Sorry for the delay, barbitu8:
The Guardian: Notes & Queries (moderated, not real-time)
The Free Pint Bar (mostly, but not restricted to, ‘serious’ questions)
Yes, but with all the same reservations as posted herein.
I would also be willing to buy a banner ad, which, IMHO, seems the most logical way to “donate” to the Reader to keep the SDMB afloat.
Esprix
Thanks Mattk.
Yes, I’d pay.
Also wanna point out that this survey is kind of skewed, statistical base-wise. It’s actually only a poll of “people who happen to come into IMHO, and who feel like opening the thread, and who feel like voting”.
No.
Money isn’t the problem or the issue. Quality is–and the quality in most SDMB discussions just isn’t consistently there. Sorry for the slight hijack, but I’ve often wondered how some SD’ers have managed to post 6,000 - 9,000 contributions over a two-year period. Good God, use some discretion, man!
A related question to the original post is this: if a fee were indeed levied, would the quality of the posts improve or decline? Perhaps a tiny fee could be assessed for each post–so as to discourage inane contributions, dimwitted poetry, wild-assed guesses, ribald comments, mindless drivel, etc.
Here’s my take: GQ is great. Maybe 20% of GD is worth reading–and then maybe 20% of THESE contributions are interesting. Ditto IMHO and MPIMS. Some SD’s have fascinating or helpful things to contribute but, well, you get my point.
I WOULD pay if I posted from home—but I would get fired immediately if I did anything from work that wasn’t free (which is why I don’t read Salon anymore).
So, as it looks like the SDMB will be going subscription soon, I guess it’s time for me to fold my tent and silently steal away . . .
Don’t fold up that tent yet, ma’am. They haven’t decided on diddly/squat yet. 
I just clicked on that link to check the status of the poll, and it’s not there! Wha’ happen?
That link worked for me. Currently, the totals are “Yes: 45, No: 36.”
I still insist that the simplest way is the voluntary donation method like PBS uses. The SD stalwarts would all contribute and newcomers would be seduced as well.
Most of all, there would be no dilution, no obligation to allow posting, no problems with banning. The donation is non-refundable and all of the current terms of service remain in place.
I urge the administrators on the strongest possible terms to please consider implementing this plan before going to subscription based funding.
I have to admit a flat $25 fee would solve all this board’s problems. With the hundred or so users who remained, the traffic would be quite manageable even with the currect system. And after a few months, it’d probably get even better as they left.
I would agree to pay voluntarily to help in the upkeep of this board. I’d even be willing to pay more than twenty five dollars (I’ve donated larger amounts to other boards). But a flat fee? That’s burning down the house.
Yes.
Little Nemo, I don’t know if it would make things much faster. There are still going to be Guests who can read messages & search, etc, which still creates a load.
I think I’d pay $50 if the board’s performance gets no better than it was today! I’m sick and tired of waiting fifteen minutes for a page to load only to get a “document contains no data” notice! I’m tired of posting a message only to get the same thing! I once posted a message that took thirty minutes to show up! This is ridiculous!
The poll is now running:
51: “Yes”
38: “No”
Yeah, I would. I’d pay more than $25 as well, if necessary.
HOWEVER, I would NOT contribute to a donation/pledge drive/etc. I don’t think such things are evil or anything like that–I’m just uncomfortable with the idea that some people are putting in more than their “fair share” while others do not contribute anything. (Personal experience has marked me as someone who gives more than he gets, so to speak)