I am starting to break into this field little by little and have genuinely utilized this site for advice and information in a short time. However it seems from what people are writing, either re-doing the forums could be counterproductive or making some forums pay only (and it seems the thought of the cost is going up). I also notice that people are associating serious people with an economical success rate that maybe 5-10% of the community here has.
I may not be familiar with this field, but I am very familiar with running a business and running a few sites. I am sure there are a lot of "Serious" individuals that may not have the $$ chops just yet. Personally, I am not sure how "Serious" someone could be if they are making 10k/month USD and they are on this(any) board. They know what they need to do more so then anyone else.
Someone such as myself, take this board as a wealth of information and is attempting to utilize most everything I come across. I am sure there are a lot of people like me here.
Unfortunately, there is a lot of bullshit here and abuse, or whatever you want to call it. While I think Eric has made it clear that he does not want to charge for this forum. That doesn't mean there can't be a VIP section? But the VIP section can be a combination of things. Cost, posts, time on site, reputable sites, real things to battle against bots, etc
Additionally, this gives the opportunity of someone like me to work for it also. I have learned quite a bit in my short time here and I would hate to lose it simply because I am new, don't have the website chops yet, etc.
In closing, whatever is to be done, needs to enhance growth too, not limit it.
mrR
(If this has been spoken on (IE VIP status, etc), I didn;t see it, couldnt find it, looked for it, etc)