>Just when I was starting to actually enjoy hanging around UT, here comes the clincher. If you haven't checked out the link at the top frame "Register to the Universal Thread" (I think it should read "Register *for* the Universal Thread" -- well, IMhO) please do so now.
>
>Does everybody agree to this? Do we have a choice?
>
>What about those of us actually *struggling* to make a living? Can we afford this?
>

Alistair,

you don't have to pay the 35$ (a year..) to send,recieve or
participate in conferences - so u can still get the tech-support for free
the 35$ is for the extra features as described in that link

IAC, Mike has been putting many hours into this site not to mention that he has to pay for the running costs (to the ISP + the dedicated server for UT etc.)
and IMHO 2.92$ per month for the extra feature is not that much money

Arnon