faq » Policy » why pay now Up why pay now Payment Discounts Privacy Terms SLA Copy Right Contact Us email legal Should everything be free in the Internet? In our view it’s perfectly legitimate to charge a price for a good product whether that product be a burger, a magazine or a Website. Mostly it’s people who’ve never known the sheer hassle involved in building a Website who are the loudest advocates of free access for all! We would dispute their claim. Constructing and maintaining a website is an enterprise that requires a great deal of time and money, the bigger it gets this effort just multiplies. There are plenty of 'adult sites' on the web which have an offer which you pay for and you feel disappointed after you have parted with your money  - such sites do not expect you to come back. The doghouse is run for its members - it is not aimed at "majority of gays in the Internet" it is a focused and specialist site, that has grown over the years. The position it now finds itself in is one that to best serve the demands placed on the website a choice has to be made - either limit access or allow the costs generated by members to benefit the site and so the members via a  fair and reasonable charge. This means that there would always be a free level of service, but once you contribute you get additional benefits, equally some people want more others less so  we reserve the right to introduce supplementary Premium Accounts when needed. Voluntary contributions don't work I have had a donate button the doghouse for a long time and not once was there any incentive to pay. I have to accept that there are some people that will not pay anything ever. They usually have multiple accounts on gaydar using it to the limit then switching over. Free Lunch Just like the something for nothing angle - since there is no free lunch, money has to come from somewhere  form advertising, hidden payments (like dialler programs). On the other hand if you are upfront and offer a promise and endeavour to deliver of that promise to the best of your ability - then that has to be worth something? As a service you pay for this would mean that the more its used the more money there would be to maintain a high level of operational performance - like the difference of keeping your car well maintained or having it breaking down. What is fair and Reasonable? This has been hard moving from a 'home page' to a website application. For me I looked at how much I spent at Starbucks a month of Coffee. I asked people in the USA and Europe how much the spend on things from porn mags to a lunch time coffee.  Then I asked out right how much they felt the site was worth. Based of this I hope I have found a fair price.   We have the technical expertise gained from working with many of the leading eBussiness, Consultancies and other Blue Chip in Europe and the USA to provide a solid platform on which to build.   What you get is access to the Doghouse content in the best way possible - one that is cognitive of how you want to access it. We intend to extend the quality of offerings with content - if would be easy to offer a message board or whatever from a 'kit' found on the web, but if its empty its just glitter. I am also cautions of words like "unlimited" as that is meaningless, what if one user kills your website, what if I upload huge 24mb pictures, is that ok? I have always preferred substance over cosmetic glitter. I hope to offer substance to the doghouse community that they will value and will empower them also.   This is the offer - you can choose.   Top Dog.