I, too, would gladly pay to help support the website and keep it stable. I agree
that it has changed (and continues to change) my life. My God, look at the amount I
spent on booze and related stupidity.
However, I understand and agree with RJ's desire to keep the website/support group
free of charge. Many people who have drinking problems may not be able to afford a
subscription. It may take some people months of lurking and reading posts before
making a commitment to quit or moderate. Some newcomers might be turned off and
think it's a money-making scam if there's a charge for it. Not to mention the
criticism from the "traditional" (read: 12 step) recovery community.
I know that server outages and connection problems are inevitable in the long run.
But yesterday's experience was frustrating and, dare I say it?, a bit traumatic. It
was like an alcoholic in early recovery showing up for a meeting that had been
cancelled. What's he gonna do? How's he gonna feel? Or what if he tells his
friend about a great meeting at such-and-such location. His friend musters up the
courage to go there, and finds no meeting, and no sign up to explain.
So yes -- I'll pay to help keep that from happening again. But I think the person who's at
the end of his rope and looking for help shouldn't get the message that he's going
to have to pay (right away or after a trial period) for the support. I just think
that's not the spirit of the community we have going here. We're more like this: :l
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