New Albatross membership...good thing? (Geneva)

Hello,

I have a point of view regarding the new payment proposal and although on the fence as to the justification, I don't think it is a good idea in the long run, it's great for the creators and administrators... am I alone in my thoughts, or am I missing something?

I think those that pay will be a small percentage of current members and an even smaller percentage of new visitors. I strongly believe that micropayments is a big boom industry (skype, iTunes/apps and other minor purchases) - But for use of a website... not really.

Furthermore, I think those that choose not to pay will eventually be squeezed out due to limited access, mail sendings etc and we'll stick to local websites that are free (Glocals, angloinfo, FaceBook etc) - Obviously the creators have given this a lot of thought, so I was just wandering what I have missed that makes payment a sound justification? Usually advertising pays, not users (again Glocals, but on a bigger scale, Yahoo, FriendsReunited etc.) I'd be happy to pay in principal, but not for something that I think will decline rather than expand.

Welcome any thoughts to help me decide if I should become an Albatross!!

Cheers
Dean.