ASJ wrote:


I hope he doesn't start loosing lists as that's one the main uses I have
for
the site. That said it costs money to run it and he has to make money
somehow. Maybe this will work for him, maybe not? I certainly hope it
doesn't go away!

It is an interesting problem, common to too many "middle man" businesses:
the set of parties that pay isn't exactly the real consumer. In this case,
the site visitors are the users while the businesses pay for the listings.

Economically, it would make more sense for the listings to be free and the
site to be available only to subscribers (or with a "value added" section
available only to subscribers). Those that accrue the most value are
paying for the site in that situation. More, there's no economic incentive
that reduces the site's quality.

Given how much we here like the site, I suspect that this would have been
the smarter move.

As it stands, there's going to be a drop in quality of the site because the
need to pay is going to cause some businesses to balk. The drop in quality
will mean, long term, fewer visitors. That in turn means that businesses
are less likely to pay.

It's a downward spiral from there.

- Andrew