OP
OP
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From 2004-2011 EMTLife was ad-free with all active members enjoying equal access to features. We took pride in our open access to information, ad-free experience, and for our fierce commitment to remain independent and free. The forum has been, and always will be, advertising-free for members.
Running EMTLife costs money. Like most running websites, I found the start-up costs to be nominal. As the site has grown, especially within the past two years, expenses have increased.
In 2012 EMTLife guests began seeing advertising when browsing the forum. For the first time in the site's history the site is bringing in income to help offset costs.
I don't know what happened with the other community because I'm not an active member there. I do know that we've never required users to register to view forum content and that we've never taken features away from our users. The features added with Premium Membership are available to enhance the EMTLife experience.
If you notice a change in the community because of Premium Memberships, or have seen something happen at another community, please PM me and let me know.
While I don't like change and I don't like the idea of elevating some members above others, I hope that members see Premium Membership as an opportunity to support our community.
For the first time members can request username changes, have a longer period of time to edit their posts, and have increased PM storage capacity.
Memberships are set as one-time payments, and we'll evaluate whether they're a worthwhile feature as we move forward. If you ever notice a degradation of features or a change in the community spirit/mood please let me know.
Best,
