I agree with those possibilities, and the often ruinous effect of money. The damnable thing is, we can't run this place without it. Thus, we are willing to experiment to find a way that is better than those that have been tried.
I really don't want you to take this personally, because I respect you and value this website, apparently more than i thought because the very concept of this system fills me with dread. It feels like you're saying "Hey. We're looking at selling out here and we want you to take part in the whole sellout process." That's a painful thing for me to say but that's how I honestly feel. I don't even want to think about how this could attract all of those lame pakispammers we see. They'd probably try to flood this place in hopes of being able to cash out twice and they're bad enough already. You guys originally talked about turning to your users for patronage, and I've even see people step forward asking for a way to donate. What ever happened to that? I know I personally would be willing to give you guys every last cent I give to NPR each year and probably even more on top of it and not ask for or expect a single thing in return. I know I'm not the only one who feels that way.
Don't worry. I don't take it personally in the least, and I appreciate you sharing the concern. I think we have a pretty good track record when it comes to pursuing our goal. But, we are also ok with trying crazy shit along the way. Let's see how things look after this plays out.