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Effective immediately, we are abandoning the paid subscription model for Patron status. It has never worked very well, requiring a lot of manual hand-holding by Mods, Admins and our King of Chickens. We're not willing to mess with maintaining it any more.
We will be keeping the Member/Patron distinction intact with the same privileges. However, as of now Patron status will be free for the asking for anyone with more than 50 posts. For the transition period, those wanting the upgrade should send me a PM requesting it. Once the initial rush dies down, we'll expand that to any Mod or Admin. Existing Patron statuses should not expire.
As for future funding of the site, its needs are modest. Patron fees have historically paid about 2/3 of the roughly $350/yr costs for the site with Scott covering the rest. From now on, we will simply have a voluntary donation period when the renewal fees come due for those who might like to contribute. However, participation will no longer determine posting rights. The mechanisms for donation are still in place so you can send manual donations any time, but we have cancelled all recurring payments that were already set up so nothing else should come out automatically.
Please feel free to post questions about this policy below.. However, there is no need for a drawn-out discussion. I will delete posts that do not ask a specific question to keep this thread concise.
