>Well that didn't work as planned, huh? :-)

No, it did not...<s>
>
>Just to throw in my 2 cents, I have no problem with the rate increase and will continue to pay no matter any UT or MS status.
>
>Taking away the free basic membership would do both the UT and the VFP community a huge disservice by cutting active participation at this site down to a fraction of its current level. I would have never found the UT if I had to pay to see it, because I never would have paid, even with the promise of a refund if I am dissatisfied. I was active here for nearly a year before I coughed up the dough, and I know that many others did the same.
>

Me too... I remeber back in 1995-1996 when alot of this started. And, I remember the FoxPro Yellow Page days from 1993 or so... As far as I am concerned, the whole service should be free. Let the funding come through advertising... I think we would be in agreement there.... That is typically how other sites operate.

>And Walter has a very good point- it is difficult for westerners to comprehend the value of even $50 in some Eastern European, Latin, or Asian countries. It is 25 minutes pay for you- a week's pay for some. There are lots of valuable presences here that would not be here if they had to pay from the very beginning.
>

Once again, I am for making this a free service funded by advertising...

>I agree with your points about the performance though. The performance gains should be evident before any announcement of increase in cost. But is $125 really that much? It's still a no brainer for me. The amount of time that the UT has saved me makes it an easy decision. I vaguely remember someone here saying recently that someone one consider the real value in terms of time and/ or development saved when deciding how to price a product. Well $125 is the bargain of a lifetime.
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My beef was with linking improvements to getting cash through the increase. Those improvements should be made now. If it is an issue of funding, that is another/separate topic....