I Changed My Mind About Paid Subscriptions
It's a little harder on me, but it's what I want to do with this site
Recently, I put up a paywall for all posts over 90 days old. I just took it down.
What I originally wanted to do was to limit comments on my posts to paid subscribers after they’re 90 days old. Substack doesn’t have such a thing in place.
There are all sorts of different paid subscription plans, but none of them were exactly what I wanted, so I’ll do it myself.
I will manually change the comments from everyone to paid subscribers only after 90 days or so. I know I can do it because I’ve worked for local government agencies for over 30 years, where workarounds are something of a job requirement.
It will take me quite some time to go through all of my posts, but I’ll get there. And it’s worth it, because I really hate paywalls in general, but I do need to both generate a little more revenue and come up with a consistent way to limit troll attacks, which often involve replying to a ton of older posts at once.
It hasn’t happened to me yet here, but it has happened to me elsewhere and I’ve seen it happen to some friends of mine here, so I’m being proactive.
There, that policy’s done and I feel better. Everyone can view all of my posts forever, but I will charge to comment on my older posts. Of course, you can always restack anything I write and say what you please about it that way.
It’s nothing I don’t do myself on an almost daily basis.
The price won’t change, either. $5 a month, $30 a year(which is $2.50 per month which is pretty damned cheap), or you can always make a one-time donation by buying me a coffee.
Thanks for reading and understanding.
Wonderful! 🙏
I mentioned in a previous comment that, after many years of living outside of the system (or "economy-stupid", if you will) that it is my faith in the Divine, in God Almighty, that sustains me.
What I've found over the years is that as soon as I let go of my fears, anxieties and nervousness regarding money or my material well-being, then the Divine steps in to provide for all my needs, and more.
I began this journey back in the UK. I left my 3 bedroom, 2 sitting room house, gave away all but the bare essentials, and hit the road with my now husband, first living in his campervan, then in a small caravan, moving from place to place, seeking the "good life".
Many adventures later, one very cold winter, up in the Pennines, at a loss as to what to do, or where to go next, but past the point of worrying or fretting, out of the blue, we were invited to join a couple of friends as they set out on their own adventure in Portugal. (Hubby being an engineer and a bonefide genius had a lot to do with that invitation!). Just 4 months later, here we were, and just 18 months after that, here we were practically homeless (that couple had a state of the art solar system designed and installed by hubby, as well as a domestic water and irrigation system... etc, etc, etc, etc!) staying with a Portuguese friend. I was distraught!
Then came the fire! The big fire of 2017 which was hugely devastating, but which saw me surrender to Divine will... again!
Now here we are, living high on the south-facing slopes of "our mountain", on land that has been placed in our care, for the remainder of our lives, wanting for (almost) nothing, living in service to the highest good, helping the aging local community, of which we are a well-loved part, as much as we can to tend their land, harvest their produce, etc... The work is hard, and the mountainous terrane tough, yet the setting is magnificent! This is God's own country, and every day, no matter how difficult or arduous our circumstances, our souls and our bellies are nourished, and our spirits soothed by the sheer magnificence of the place, and by the hand of God.
Osho, who I rate highly as a spiritual teacher, says to "let go with the hands and the feet" when facing difficult choices, trusting that the whole universe is there to support you. In my experience this is absolutely true! That's how I know that financially/materially you'll be just fine.
And as for those pesky trolls, delete and block and don't give them another thought... unless they're useful to you. 😁
Very best regards, Mr B. With much love. 🙏💚🪷
Your posts are well worth the money ,OB!