I hated to vote that I would not pay for this forum, because I think that it is very worthwile. The reasons for my vote are the following.
1.) I have a passing interest in this subject, you would not consider me a hard core fusor builder. I have many interests which compete for a limited amount of funds and time (one and the same really). My current magazine and newsletter budget is already too large.
2.) I feel that if you make it a service which must be paid for, people like me will not be reading through the very interesting and informative discussion. This reduces exposure and limits participation. Even though I currently do not have a fusor, I have found myself accumulating components, and if I can figure out how to extend my life to several times the normal range,in order to be able to pursue my many interests, I may get around to building one.
3.) afformentioned currency conversion, management of billing etc.
I would love to continue to stay informed on this fascinating subject by checking the group once a month or so, but I would have to give up one of my more current pursuits to pay for it. I Like the Idea of a seperate web page and a Yahoo group. If they decide to charge a subscription fee and do away with all of the silly adds, I would be more inclined to pay. I already subscribe to many yahoo groups, and they could charge a one time subscription fee to access their system. This would speed up loading and make things less annoying. (This may be their long term plan; wait out the failure of the little guys long enough to get everyone on their "free" system, then charge a fee for use) I hope that this is not the case, but it is more efficient than having a lot of bills for a zillion newsgroups. Good luck to all.
Regards,
Monty
Created on Thursday, June 07, 2001 3:04 PM EDT by Monty Roberts