I left the site for a year due to financial difficulty and when my income stabilized I just immediately re-subscribed and found out that the board is free to post…
Not that I really regret subscribing… (PayPal sent me USD 10 for doing a developer survey and I got some leftover cash there from some ebay sales, so I thought ‘why not?’)
What are the benefits of subscription now?
It’s not free yet I think.
For now you get a lot less adverts and the ability to PM people and search the boards.
If I’ve missed anything I’m sure someone will fill in the blanks shortly.
We are not yet in the “free to post” mode; it still takes a subscription to be able to post here.
When that great getting up morning comes that the board will be free to post and subscriptions will only deal with display ads, we’ll be sure to let everyone know about it. That day has not dawned . . . well, not so far today, at least.
Well, others have pointed out it’s not really free yet. But here’s what you get for subscribing: you don’t have to look at banner ads and such. So one way or another, everyone still pays. You just have a choice whether to pay straight up, or pay by being a person they can advertise at.
However, I don’t see that anyone would have to leave due to financial constraints (unless they are total jerks who are almost universally despised). AFAICT, lots of the folks here are willing to sponsor memberships for those who wish to be members but lack the funds. Don’t know if that will continue to be the case once you can subscribe for free but have to see ads.