>Here on the UT we have a tradition of a friendly helping people, no matter the their religion, opinions and the country they come from. Some people simply cannot afford a PUTM, because they live in some 3rd world country. I really hate to see that they would be excluded from the UT.
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Walter, this is not supposed to be a social welfare program. If you feel that strongly about it, put your money where your mouth is and write Michel a check to make the necessary improvements. As somebody who is NOT a PUTM member, you really should not express an opinion on why others should fund folks not willing to pay. Let's not put the UT on the same par as solving the problems of world-hunger. The MS newsgroups are free and open to everybody. MS is one of the biggest companies on the planet. They can afford to underwrite that endeavor. The same is not true here....


>It also burdens people to get a member because they're not sure it this is what they're looking for, or if it's worth the costs. Personally I think I wouldn't be here when I didn't have the opportunity of getting on the UT for free.
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>I think it would be a major mistake to close the UT for non-members !
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Like I said before, you give people an out. If they don't like the service within a 30 day period, they get thier money back. It is of no risk to the owners and it is of no risk to the customer.