Thanks @Admin for all the work you do to keep this site running and I know it is a big investment both in terms of time and money to make it work.  This is why I'm very happy to be a gold member and to me, it is far more about supporting the site and the community than it is about getting the additional features (although the features in themselves are worth the investment).   However, to my mind, the site is definitely worth the small price of Gold Membership.

Sorry to hear that we had an issue earlier but thank you for resolving it quickly.

Thank you Admins........for your work and Mods and maybe for the money you make??   I remember peesearch.... at the beginning...started Free, by enthusiasts.... then they wanted you to voluntarily take Gold Membership...then they tried to force you to take gold membership, then anyone who joined new had to pay.....Then it became harder and harder for Free members to log on, until......Well now???   is this a subsidiary of peesearch???    I always thought Peesearch was sold to a non enthusiast who just wanted to make money.

previously saved the site when it was failing and I believe he has put much of his own money into the site and it is not run to make money.  The investment in better servers, hosting and forum tools continues and none of that comes for free.   Some income is obtained from adverts, but to me, this site is worth a lot as a place to meet like minds and share stories and information.   There will always be different categories of users and each will reap what they sow as in the more you put into a community like this, the more you get out.   Often people start with basic appreciation of the site and gradually work through the types as they become more engaged and more comfortable:

- Lurkers who read loads and don't register get the basic access to forums etc., but are looking in from the outside only.

- Members who register, but don't contribute - they will again get access to the stories, photos and such like, but they don't engage so don't add anything to the forum and don't get any direct feedback.

- Contributors - Comment on other posts and and give feedback to others which then leads to a bit of a relationship and appreciation.

- Content Producers - Add stories, accounts of real experience, ask questions of others, upload photos or links to videos etc.   These people are now seriously engaging, building relationships and producing content for others to enjoy.   They are generously providing input for all other members and lurkers to enjoy.

- Gold Members - recognise that the site is a valuable resource and wish to support it financially in a small way.   They benefit from additional features which are only available to Gold members.   A small caveat - you don't have to be a Contributor or Content Producer to become a Gold Member, but it is highly likely that if you have concluded that you wish to support the site then you probably already are a contributor of sorts.

There will always be more lurkers and non contributors than contributors and the Gold members will be a handful of people willing to support financially, but we all have our place and that is what makes it a varied and interesting community. 

It is definitely true that people always want something for nothing but it is equally true that everything has a cost somewhere - it is just a case of who is bearing that cost - so for this site, some cost is born by advertisers, which then in turn means that visitors to the site put up with seeing the adverts.   Part of the cost is born by Gold member contributors and they get the additional advantage of not seeing the adverts.   Part of the unseen cost is the many hours of voluntary work put in by @Admin and the team of moderators who ensure that the site is managed and is a great place to be.

and I could go on for a day.

I quite quickly understood, as Admin entrusted me with a bit of his personal knowledge, that this thing is REALLY a way for him to fund the forum, he is a young human being that cannot spend all he got to fix a forum which gets bigger EVERY DAY

And after all, if a small percentage of what he earns ends up in his wallet, people please help me understand, WHY THE FUCK SHOULD IT BE A PROBLEM???

Doesn't he deserve something out of everything he does???

Why people are so convinced that ALL must be there for them, FOR FREE, even maybe with an excusation for not being perfect enough or similar enough to their wants?

People who put themselves into something, and most guys ignore how much Admin does, should have something BACK

And anyway, he really puts 95% of the earnings into the forum maintenence, believe me

Whoever read this and still has doubts, get your head out of your ass and realize that this forum