Folks,Let's see if we can all get on the same page here.My post was not intended to be an attack on anyone, least of all Justin and FSGenesis, neither of which were even mentioned. Other sites also offer Membership arrangements as well. I was just elaborating on John's original post. While it might have been worded differently (and perhaps my post as well), I think his basic concerns are valid, but rather than speak for him, these are my own issues.* There is a lot of mesh available, payware and freeware, and it does vary in quality, ...* Not everyone knows what mesh is or how to evaluate it. (See Billg's original, and later, posts in this thread)* Information about mesh is almost as varied in quality as the mesh itself.I listed some basic steps to help folks learn more, both about mesh and the reliability of information about it. I don't question the motivation or the wisdom behind decisions to purchase those Memberships. Financial or otherwise. And I respect your enthusiam for the products you've received. By listing specific points you all contribute to the hobby and help others identify issues they should be considering. But about the sweeping generalizations, ...I would prefer to see enthusiasm for the benefits of enhanced mesh, payware or freeware, distinguished from similar enthusiasm for a specific source. This might help others distinguish the apples from the oranges, both of which are important. I won't try to respond to each of your mostly valid responses, and it is probably too optimistic to hope any consensus will be reached.Perhaps what we need in these forums are a set of identifiers to distinguish different categories of information:personally created and tested, validated by anotherpersonally tested, validated by anotherpersonally tested but not validatedpersonal opinionsomething I read somewhere (please - provide a link, if possible)pure speculation...Each is a perfectly valid contribution, but each has even more value if correctly identified. In deciding on which classification to use, posters may even gain additional insight themselves! OK, so I am an optimist. Peace!Steve

Fair enough ;)Racartronit means something, but I just can't remember what

Steve, thx for the clarification. I find myself agreeing with a lot of what you're saying now. :-)Btw, you have a great site. Very informative--I learned a lot, and will go back to learn some more. Thx!rgds,billg

Okay...now that I got an hours nap...Looking back over the entire thread....I just want to appologize to steve. We are all after the same goal. More realistic scenery. Point taken...Sorry again.

"Steve is merely pointing out that members indeed find themselves loyal, after the fact."Not me, Bob. If I'm not happy, I'll say something to the vendor. If the problem isn't corrected, I stop buying from that vendor. And I tell my fellow simmers about the experience.A membership is a way for the vendor to sell more, and the buyer to get more for their money. It's marketing. This hobby is so dynamic and mercurial that to guess what will be 6 months from now (and which developers will be around) is futile.I undertsand Steve's original point, and to that end he is right. But that isn't what motivates buyers to opt for a membership. It's all about getting the most for their money. They are loyal because they are happy customers. Simple as that.I still believe that if Justin's product and support weren't any good, he could GIVE AWAY memberships and it wouldn't make a difference. Folks wouldn't want his products.And I'm not a member. Just a businessman. I have both Justin's and Steve's products on my hard drive.Cheers,