RAFO started out claiming to want to be a serious SFF discussion board that would draw in a lot of discussion about books from a lot of new people, but it's turned out to basically be a nostalgia board for ex-Wotmaniacs to hang out. That isn't a problem, as I enjoy the discussions here and interactions with a lot of the people here anyway (which is, as people say, the most important thing), but RAFO cannot go on to be a huge success by comparing itself constantly to the hugely flawed Wotmania. It needs to tread its own path, and at the moment it isn't doing that.

If you're asking people to pay money you need to offer something that is worth the cash. Some sort of book club with discounted prices perhaps, or, as Larry says, maybe hosted blogs and something along those lines. What is on offer at the moment is silly. Sure, I can just not pay out the money, but I like the site and I want to support it. Offer me something that is worth the money and I will.