Dakota-- the site runs slower as more people are making moves in games. If a person has 20 games oging but is making ten moves in each game, that slows the system as much as someone who has 200 games but moves once per game. The more moves that non members make, the slower the system rusn for paying members. I often hear about people who have family and thus cannot afford to pay for a membership. Well, i chose not to ahev a family, because I think my hobbies and intreests are more important. why do I have to financially support thr gaming interests of those who chose family as their greatest interest?

This si a running debate that really has no good solution, because the site would not be fun to thep aying members if the 4800 non paying members were not here. What I find sad is that people do not pay but then want fencer to do more for them.

Also, regarding the person you mentioned, the one that supposedly cannot afford to pay a membership-- I still maintain that anyone can afford a membership. We are talking about two dollars a month here. Tihs means that twice a month, she could drink a glass of tap water instead of some other beverage, which would amount to a two dolalr savings. I do not believe that ANYONE has suhc a tight budget that TWO DOLLARS cannot be saved somewhere. Until I actually see a budget sheet indicating otherwise, I will stick to that notion.

This doesn't mean every non paying member should become one just because he or she can afford to. But, if you choose not to become one, be satisfied with what you already have and don;t complain if you have restrictions that you do not like. If you want to pay, then complain, if not, then don't.

Dmitri, your correct when you say "This si a running debate that really has no good solution"...because its true, the more traffic we have the more it slows the server. As I stated before my only concern is I paid to be a member and by limiting non-members I play against adds up to the same as limiting me, I cant go on making moves when they cant, however limiting their games instead has no impact on paying members.

With regard to those who can not afford, I too have no kids but the LAST thing I'm going to do is say how anyone with kids can afford $2/mo. Thats a very broad statement and easy to say when not in those shoes. Another thing to consider is although it may work out to $2/mo it is still a minimum of $10 up front to join.

To address one more comment "The more moves that non members make, the slower the system rusn for paying members"...well many of these moves that non-members make are against us members, again providing us with entertainment without which I would not have paid for. I also like the fact that they make suggestions for improvements for the site as it benefits us all. This shouldnt be about the "haves" or the "have nots" rather it should be a place where we can all enjoy the games. The only difference should be paying members get more of them, and not relegating non-members to a second class status.

limiting non paying members moves DOES negatively affect us. I agree 100%. Thus, I am OPPOSED to any limiting of the number of moves. BUt I do think the numnber of GAMES should then be lowered, as long as a person can move in each game as many times as he wants. Maybe drop the number of games to ten.

If that makes it tough to play in a tournament-- TOUGH. Buy a membership.

if that means you do not get to play as many games as you like, TOUGH. Buy a membership.

When I was growing up, three was a brief period of time when money was very tight. But at no point was 2 dollars a month impossible to attain. I oculd just do an odd chore for someone and make two dollars. There are plenty of ways to do it.

As I have said, if anyone TRULY is so destitute that two dollars a month is too muhc money, then perhaps the person in question would want to consuider playing fewer board games anyway and finding some way to make a few extra bucks.

BUt, let;s be honest here. of the 4800 Brain Pawns, how many of them TRULY CANNOT AFFORD a membership?

3, maybe 4? I doubt it is even that. For someone to TRULY not be able to afford a membership, the person would ahve to

1) not smoke

2) not drink alcohol or soda

3) not buy ANY candy or sweets

4) Not eat out, EVER.

5) not go to a single movie or even rent one from the video store

etc.

Dimitri- two dollars is alot of money...don't forget we're from Canada...and you're 2 dollars is like 10 dollars down here..maybe not quite that much but it is more down here...I payed for a year membership which is almost 30 dollars but translated into our money it costes me more than 50 dollars...so whatever you think is cheap it isn't cheap to others