6 out of the 10 recent paid memberships happened after Fencer made his announcement. One out of those 6 was for a month. However if the site goes dark after Jan 1, 2018 there is not much lost. It will be harder for those who purchase a year long membership to renew as the year goes on as they may not get their full value for the money spent. If someone were want to buy this site, one would want to know they have a solid paid membership base to start with. If less people renew into the new year, it will look less attractive to a prospective investor.