If the site software can't detect between a non-paying member and a paying member that are both just browsing without logging in, how can you be sure that it is visitors consuming the bandwidth?
I contribution a chunk of money a few years ago not realizing that it did would not contribute for future years (i.e. $50 divided by $6/year wouldn't pay you up for 8 years. Yes my bad for not reading.)
But even though I was a paid member, I never logged into the site unless there was a picture I wanted to view closer up or I wanted to reply to some post. I would guess that 98% of the time I view this site (and all other woodworking sites) I do not log in therefore I am counted at being a "visitor" consuming bandwidth, correct?
I also understood that as a contributing member you could manage not viewing ads. So until the advent of Ad-blocking software, all visitors had to view the ads.
For the record I do not use ad-blocking software ever. If it is a free site, that is the price of admission.
Most of the target ads on this site are useless to me. I see them but I am not enticed to click on them. I have bought from LV, Grizzly and Wixey but that was when I was looking for something particular and normally came through a Bing or Google search page. I wonder how many other folks do the same thing. Seeing the Johnson Plastics, Grizzly Industrial, Trotec Laser, Lee Valley, Vectric, Laguna Tools, Felder Group USA, Wixey, Kern Laser, SCMGROUP, Delvie's Plastics, Robust Lathes ads or the car and other ad-choice ads don't bother me, but I have no need to click on them. New visitors would be more likely to I would imagine.
The question is, is it just a matter of clicking on the banner ads that generate the revenue stream or do the follow-up with actual purchases from the site you click off to?
If it is just a matter of clicking on the banners I would be more than happy to click on five or ten per visit here, just to add to the revenue stream.