annamill,

It is an interesting question, and one I think is germane to the type of forum you get if people pay something to use it. I mentioned in another thread today that I thought it was interesting that so many people equated free access with a quality forum.

My answer, yes I would pay. I don't have any magazine subscriptions, so I've already been thinking about subscribing to one or two online forums like The Well, to see how much I use them, and how useful I think they are.

As the whole "pay for access" idea seems reasonable if it is for a yearly subscription, one of the off-putting factors for me regarding The Well is it seems too pricey for an annual subscription. So I'd go with Stilly River Sage's idea, except closer to the cost of Mother Jones magazine for a year...more in the $15-$20 yr range.