There is the mail option, I have never had a problem with paypal, and I prefer paying with them over any other paying option.
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Donation sent. Thanks for providing such a great platform to exchange information.
Oh and thereās always gonna be folks who donāt like PayPal. There are alternatives, perhaps some better, perhaps some worse. At least sending money from a bank account (ACH) is free with most (including PayPal).
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Donation sent. I echo the the other members. Thank you very much for all you do to make this forum possible.
Scott,
Donation sent. Thanks for all you do.
Dave
If it aināt broke ā¦
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I just chipped in via PayPal. Smooth sailing. Thanks for hosting the forum!
Sent my contribution via PayPal, this site is a treasure trove of information. A true gem and I thank all those involved for keeping it rolling 
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Donation sent. Words cannot express my gratitude for this site and your hard work.
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Nothing kills a website/message board/online newspaper etc faster than requiring a subscription.
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Thank you Scott for running and taking care of this site. My donation is on its way to you.
Have a nice Thanksgiving to you and all the people here on this site!!
If Scott says the current fund raising method is the least work for him and he is happy with it, then of course that is all the reason we need to stick with current model- for sure. But I do get @Ahmad 's point. Obviously the current model does have the classic āfree rider problemā we learned about in Economics 101. Some people pay, and their money supports others who get the same benefits (ie free use of an incredibly good web site) without paying. I wish there was a way around that, but greater minds than mine have been struggling with that issue since the first cave men worked to build a trail to the water source and then others who didnāt help build it came along and used it. haha. As a local government guy, we deal with this problem constantly. We use local tax dollars to build a library and then those who live outside the city limits and donāt pay city taxes come and use the library (and roads or parks orā¦etc). User fees like @Ahmad suggested is often suggested as a solution, as are other things, but none are perfect or would likely work any better than what we are doing.
I for one am astounded at how well this site and its members have made it work (owing mostly, of course, to Scott and then to the admins and then to the members who contribute the expert answers/advice and then finally to members like me who arenāt experts but can at least share our personal experiences and observations.) I have long held the belief since joining this site that people who grow fruit are, for the most part, just better human beings on average. I know that sounds a little arrogant but true is true! It reminds me very much of that classic quote by Tagore:
āHe that plants a tree knowing he will never sit under its shade has begun to understand the meaning in lifeā. - R. Tagore
That does take a special person, and I like to think all of us are a little like that!
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That is often true, yet plenty of people get sick and tired of growing fruiting plants eventually and sometimes that can bring out the worst in them. Very hard to understand unless you have become familiar with seeing people like that. I think that those people take on way more than they can handle, too many plants, disagreements on how things should be done, disagreements on who can do what, they take their frustrations out on people. At times there can be a fight for power or for control. Being a plant collector can lead to fame, that can lead to hot hotheadedness, and to a ton of pride. Lucky that has not been a problem on this forum.
I donāt think that paid membership would work for a forum because of the following, inactive users would very likely cancel their membership when they would have not cancelled otherwise, paid membership can scare people from joining. If it was a requirement to pay then some people would expect the forum to get even better than if it was free, I am not sure how this forum could be improved. People who could not afford to pay, and people who have no way to pay online would not be as excited about the forum, and they may feel worse about their situations.
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Check sent. Thank you.
Personally, i resent being forced to pay for internet content. I suppose thatās not rational, but so much internet context is free. When a website requires me to pay, i usually just look for another website. When it politely requests i support it, i think, āwill i be back?ā And if the answer is āyesā i usually do support it.
So i wouldnāt be here if the site required a subscription.
Is that a problem? I have more money than many fruit growers. (And less time and less land and less experience.) Iām happy to donate cash. And i benefit from people who donāt pay but who answer my questions and write interesting observations.
A website needs good posters even more than it needs cash. I donāt want any barriers keeping good posters away.
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Well said Ginda!
Let people contribute what they can. This site is a wonderful place to meet others with both practical knowledge and enthusiasm for growing fruit and other plants.
Some of the best things in life are free, and I will happily help keep this site one of them.
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We are here to help each other, not to watch who, when and how much. If I can do better on donation than somebody else - it is not because I am better and another person is a rider. It is because I got lucky in some way so I can do better. And it is my obligation and my honor in the same time do what I could, as a āThank youā to Scott, to all of the fellow growers that made this fine community, to the Universe, that was kind enough to me. I do not feel comfortable to know that fellow grower will have to choose - subscription or new pruners. Donations are just for that - so people can have something they couldnāt otherwise.
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Sent via paypal. Iāve learned more from this forum than any other website on the internet, and Iām thankful for Scott and the other moderators continuing to donate their time and energy to keep it going.
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Thank you Scott for your efforts! I sent via paypal.
Sent via PayPal . Thanks for the forum.