Will the new fee system turn DU away from discussion and into an echo chamber?

[NightWatcher]

Will those who dont fit in on 100% of the issues be coerced out, leaving only Yes Men (and Ladies).

Some at the Supreme Court believe that Money=Speech, but I believe that Money shuts people up.

[phleshdef]

1. View ads. Continue incessantly bitching about everything for free.

Its really not a big deal. At all. And no one who thinks about like this a sane adult would for 5 seconds would believe otherwise.

[SidDithers]

24. +1...nt

Sid

[Arkansas Granny]

2. According to Skinner's post, even those who don't purchase a star

will be able to post on DU so money won't have any effect on being able to participate in discussions. There are features now that you need to have a star to access.

[Coyote_Bandit]

8. It is unclear whether

non-donors will be able to post on all of DU or whether the current distinction will be carried forward that prohibits non-donors from posting in groups.

[Codeine]

16. He specifically stated that non-donors will have Group access.

It's not even vaguely unclear.

[Coyote_Bandit]

22. I didn't see that

I will re-read skinner's post.

thx

[Enrique]

3. how would it do that?

i'm not following the reasoning

[NightWatcher]

7. will people at odds with the status quo here feel like donating/participating?

That's the question I was getting at.

I'm on the other side of a few issues from the mainstream here at DU and probably wouldnt pay to play if I felt that I was being shit on. Will everyone else who feels opposed to the mainstream ideas here refuse to donate and in turn, participate less, turning this into an echo chamber consisting of only people who agree with each other on 100% of everything?

[Me.]

10. People Don't Genera;;y Stay At Places They Don't Like

And that has nothing to do with money. Skinner has made it possible for anyone who wants to be here to do so.

[SidDithers]

25. Ability to donate and ability to participate are not related...

You'll be able to post and read as much as you want at DU3 for free.

Sid

[Lars39]

4. People who are disabled and/or retired on fixed income....those are voices

we need to hear...whose experiences we need to learn. Same with the unemployed. Also, those on dial-up will have an even harder time spending quality time on DU. :(

[libodem]

9. god, thank you

I'm a bit disabled, unemployed, and you made tears smart my eyes, to think someone out there might care a crap what I have to say. I'm flunking out of life, I feel wanted, here, regardless.

[Lars39]

12. I hope you'll always feel welcomed here, libodem.

I view DU as a community, and hopefully as one that cares. :hug:

[idiotgardener]

26. ad blockers, Firefox, etc.

Those concerns have been addressed in several of the threads.

[RegieRocker]

5. Don't we already view ads?

[Pab Sungenis]

17. Those who don't donate view more.

There are ads plonked in the middle of threads, for example.

[RegieRocker]

23. No popups is my rule. Ads are fine as long as they are not pulled

in externally and are required for page to load. These two things are a site killer.

[JCMach1]

6. no

[Ruby the Liberal]

11. Can someone please explain what this is all about?

I read Skinner's post last night and have followed the discussions, but honestly, I am not getting the drama over posting. How is anything he said going to change how the board already functions today? People keep posting about how their voices won't be heard or something, and I honestly don't get that. What about the board remaining free to visit/post did I miss with this apparent 'lockout' discussion?

[dionysus]

14. people are acting as if not having a star somehow means they get shut out of DU, or are

"second class citizens"

which is bizarre because if you don't have any money, you can still use DU for free...

[MineralMan]

15. It's an ideological dispute, I think...

Actually non-donors will be able to post in all parts of the site, including groups, which they cannot do now. As now, non-donors won't be able to use some features on the site. It will be a little more costly to donate stars to people, and that's too bad, really, but I can't see a lot of other changes that will affect anyone's ability to read and post here.

I don't look to see if a poster has a star. I read the post. That's how I determine the worth of the post.

[Pab Sungenis]

20. The way it is now

it's a purely voluntary system, and people can give what they can afford to spare. Back in happier economic times I would sometimes give $50.00 or more when the fund drive. Now that the economy is beyond life support I can usually only give a token amount, if I give at all.

Basically, what the new plan does is set a minimum donation amount before your contribution is seen as sufficient.

Sort of like Public Broadcasting: you have to give $40.00 before you get the tote bag.

[RC]

21. No, you haven't missed anything.

Some people just do not like change, period. Never mind this is supposedly a progressive web site.

[dionysus]

13. i don't see how, being as it's free to participate on DU...

:shrug:

[LoZoccolo]

18. No.

You can still post all you want for free.

[Codeine]

19. Loads of people use DU for free.

One imagines they will continue to do so without any change, agreeing or disagreeing as they see fit.

[Spazito]

27. No n/t

[Yo_Mama]

28. That seems like a ridiculous question????

(To me.)

If I understand this correctly, what is being changed is the fee for a star. Not having a star doesn't stop anyone from posting or commenting, so how could the new fee system shut down free discussion?

If I am confused about the new fee system, please enlighten me!

I suppose I understand why some are upset, but DU pays fees to keep the board up and running, and those are defrayed by ads and the contributions. DU is a pretty big project and it's up all the time, and objecting to either the ads or the fees is somewhat short-sighted as far as I can see.

[timtom]

29. Oops. Tee Hee!

Too late.