I knew this day would come eventually. Although many of the members of the community may have been more receptive to donation solicitations a la erowid or PBS, token $20 per year for /. seems reasonable to me.

I see a lot of talk about perl filters and other technological solutions to the ad issue. What I don't understand is why anyone thinks it unreasonable to spend a sum of money that, on an individual level is absolutely nothing for the majority of well-paid /. readers. I routinely spend 5 times that in a single evening when I go out to a bar. Last weekend, I gave my waiter a $10 tip for the first found of drinks he brought us, and at the end of the night he ended up with more than $20 of my money in tips. And he didn't even come close to enriching my life the way that /. has over the past three years.

I've wasted hundreds of dollars over the course of my life on crap that I never use. I've seen people drop $25 and up on sachels of party favors that they consume in one evening. Twenty or so dollars per year is simply not a big deal, and /. is well worth it, IMHO.

Still, it would have been nice to have had the option of voluntary donation, instead of this carrot/stick strategy. I would've sent Taco et. al. more money under a donations regime.

-Rene