On Fri, 24  Feb 1995 07:03:19 PST  Dave Gomberg <[log in to unmask]>
said:
 
>So you see, I am very happy  with what is happening. It is LONG overdue.
>Do you agree?
 
No, I don't agree :-) The lists we're talking about are clearly not idle.
If they  didn't generate  any traffic in  months, people  wouldn't bother
sending 10 requests for help a week each  to find a new home. If you find
that the lists aren't worth your time,  you don't need to be asked for $1
a month to sign  off. You can ask yourself the question  even if the list
is free -  adopt a policy that  you won't stay on lists  unless you think
you would be willing to pay $1 per month for them :-)
 
Again Dave the  problem is not having  to pay $1 per  month, but actually
performing the payment. Let's say you're  on 10 lists that each require a
$1 contribution every month, and  let's further assume that you've agreed
the contents are worth $10/month to  you. If a central organization would
automatically debit $10  from your credit card every month,  you would be
happy. But that's  not the way it works. There  will be several providers
and several list owners.  You're going to have to make  10 payments to 10
different people - individuals who can't take credit card orders, besides
you can't  bill $1 on  a credit  card and make  money unless this  is all
handled by a computer (I'm not even  sure you can debit as little as $1).
Even quarterly payments of $3 would still  be a royal pain. You'd have to
go  with yearly  payments to  reach a  level where  the overhead  becomes
reasonable. And imagine  the list owner having to  process 200-500 checks
every year. Now, that's assuming you're  paying $1, but in fact you won't
be paying $1. The list owner won't  want to make a profit, just cover the
charges, which  are some  $500-750/year depending on  size (I  don't have
handy access  to our  price list  from where I'm  typing this).  So we're
talking about collecting $1-2 a *year*  from hundreds of people. Loads of
fun...
 
  Eric