So my thoughts.

1. I don't like ads. They look ugly and people will block them. Also, advertisers prefer sites that have content that is quickly digestible - so that the user will quickly load another page and thus another ad. I don't want that kind of pressure on hubski. I prefer the more thoughtful, long-form discussion that we have now over some quickly digestible memes.

2. I don't like the subscription model. To quote goo:

The issue I see with the subscription is it's a freaking subscription. I could only really see the regulars paying for one without a second thought. When I came here from elsewhere, I would have been immediately put off by the idea that it would eventually cost me money to use this site. Hubski is slow to grow and pull in users, so this may make that even worse. The regulars would all buy one, and then where would we be?

People move on and don't stay in one place forever. At least some of our regulars will eventually move on for whatever reason. If we don't have enough new people replacing them, this place will stagnate and shrink. I don't want to see that.

I, personally, wouldn't have stayed for a second after I had seen that it would eventually cost me money when I was a new user. Now that I've been here for a while, I'll gladly pay, but I wouldn't even do the 30 day trial if on day one I was told this was going to cost me.

The subscription model will scare away new users before they get the chance to see how great this place is. It would have scared me away.

3. I like the idea of the NPR/Wikipedia model. I would pay, and I'm sure that many others would as well after they begin to get involved in the community. If there were other "value added" things, that would also be pretty cool. I also like the "reddit gold" idea of being able to gild a well written comment or post and give someone that subscription to these added perks for a brief amount of time. This would be my preferred model from a user's standpoint. The question is: will it generate enough revenue?

I think that a "hubski gold" model will be more effective on here than on somewhere like reddit. Reddit has a lot of users (but not all) that are just there for entertainment and then fuck off. Hubski has a more thoughtful and discussion oriented user base that cares more about the site. Many redditors wouldn't care where they got their cat pictures from, as long as they get them. They aren't invested in the site. Hubski users are invested in the site and the community. We have friends here. We are more likely to want to support our home.