I think Reddit had a good model in regards to revenue generation (nonintrusive adspace on the page and donations via gilding, although I don't like the idea of locking out site features for non-gilded members. The biggest issue they've run into so far is taking the profiteering a tad too far and now they're running into issues of trying to monetize celebrity interviews and the like.
I dunno, I like the idea of running a site entirely on donations, and if this site turns out to be something I revisit regularly, I would agree with Steve and definitely be on board for an optional regular monthly donation. I just wouldn't necessarily want "premium features" for paying members, the content itself should be enough to sell people on the donations, NPR and PBS have existed for a long while on that same business model. In PA, for instance, we have no subsidies for public broadcasting and the NPR stations here are still very successful and my and a lot of people's favorite stations.
I agree. I am not a fan of money buying features. As I said elsewhere in this post: money is a good proxy for money. Our best user might have very little.I just wouldn't necessarily want "premium features" for paying members, the content itself should be enough to sell people on the donations, NPR and PBS have existed for a long while on that same business model.