I think it's probably fair enough. I wanted to earn a decent amount before paying - I mean in the first month, I earnt $1 and concluded it was harder to get work accepted by publications than it was to get paid writing work in the real world. It turned out it was a bad start. Things have much improved! But it didn't make me want to pay for the privilege!

Now I wouldn't mind paying, although I'd like to earn a bit more for the time invested here. I see this as an extension to my work, albeit an enjoyable one, so earnings equivalent to the minimum wage would be a start.

But I also know that building these things up takes time. And there's the dilemma for a newbie, I guess. Would I grow more quickly, if I was signed up? I don't know. I can read plenty, to be honest. But if people were more inclined to follow me, that could be a worthwhile payback.