I'm with Vance on this. Don't fix what ain't broke. If psubs needs money, just ask for donations. I'm willing to kick in, but splitting the discussions into separate areas will just be a pain. I could never have gotten where I'm at on the sub without the help and friendship from the group. I would be in favor of having a "club" with stickers and pins, and maybe discounts from suppliers or whatever, but why change the mail format? The concept of being "members" would be seen as a good idea to some, but having a preferred status as a "member" doesn't require a separate mail room. This group is really very well known, and I think one of the main reasons for that is the openness of the group. People from all over the world visit and read this stuff. Many are just curious, most will never actually build their own sub, but the site inspires people to dream. As for different subjects like ROV's, I'd like to see more of that, but again, why have a separate list. The subject line takes care of that. Now, if there's too much useless fluff contained in any thread, maybe you could lay down some specific guidelines for naming the posts or something.
As far as having your own "spot" on the site with photos, that's a good idea and is worth paying for. Membership can have specific benefits without adding exclusivity.
Keeping this thing open and "loose" is a good thing. I'm sure it takes a lot of work to maintain the site, and Jon and Ray should be compensated for all that work. Maybe some fundraisers or marketing of the psubs name could provide some relief. Jon and Ray "own" this site, and should profit from it. Remember the Pat Regan thing? it started to get exclusionary, and suffered as a result. I'd like to see the psubs site grow but let's keep it simple. Frank D.