Technical Support Forum

Then you misunderstand me. I'm not trying to get in a contest about money management.
I help keep an ark server floating for other free members.
I support a few youtubers who don't run ads, yet run their channels as their full time job.
I contribute to the patreons of a few indie game and app devs who offer their projects for free.

That's the way the digital marketplace works. Those most interested in projects support it in such a way that the general public has free use. It's a pretty good system, on the whole. But as an example of what I've been saying, I wouldn't be interested in supporting the ark server if I didn't have a host of free members who enjoy it more casually, that I can interact with. The presence of the free members is symbiotic, not parasitic.

That said, I, nor can anyone, contribute to every service we enjoy. We have to prioritize what we're willing to pay for. This service does not break the point that I'd be willing to contribute to it.

My whole point in posting the OP was to clarify this point, in case it weren't already known, and warn of the pitfalls that accompany cutting off free members. But, if SM measures the interactives on this site as not being financially worth it, and isn't interested in making it easily available for the general public, that's fine. That's his call. I totally understand wanting your product to be profitable.

In regards to the more direct friction that's been brewing up in some of these posts. So be it. If we're not wanted, we're not wanted.