A general reply, thoughts and comments, not a response to Russ or previous post.

Not worried about my name being out there; it is already. And unless you google or search with the exact name as it appears here you won't make it to the posts on this forum (I tried mine without underscore; five pages into the search and still no references to ETS; I only found my posts when I put the underscore between my first and last). However this could be an issue for others, due to their employment or whatever. And as I said in a previous post I would be more comfortable buying from Blast or Ironraven than John Smith or Edward Jones. Keep the handles and only submit verifiable personal information confidentially to ETS. Or like nighthiker said names are only visible to those in the membership area (I would still like the handle attached to it though for reasons already stated). Blast may have a point, though, with respect to all the nut-jobs out there. I don't think that would include anyone here eligible for benefactor status though. Dagny has a point too. I've discovered many people's names via PM and private e-mails. But to be honest (and to ease any worries for those who have) I only remember them for a little while and eventually just go back to looking for the handle again. Nothing personal, just the way it is.

A chat feature might be nice. It is one of the features that makes interaction on facebook quicker. Not sure I agree with archiving chats though. It would be too easy to forget that others would have access. IMO, if someone is having an earth-shattering chat, they should go ahead and make it into a thread anyway. Otherwise keep chats relatively private.

Definitely NO naked doug bobbleheads (no offense DR).

Start at $12 a year and go from there. Those who need a bigger tax deduction can donate more on top of that.

The digital tools is a great idea. I assume you are talking about a way to remind users it is time to replace items in their kits, change smoke detector batteries, send mom a birthday card, etc. Of course that may not be as appealing to those with blackberries or similar devices that do that already.

I really like the idea of a discount on purchasing the DR gear. That would have been real nice before Christmas. But, like someone else said, it shouldn't offset the ETS benefit too much. Perhaps even a discount on other gear purchased from various manufacturers. Or a discount at a particular online store. I am sure they would not mind offering such a discount for reaching a fairly large buying audience. A discount on purchases alone would be worth the cost. The numbers (i.e. percent of discount) should be easy to figure out.

Meetups, not so much of a benefit. We can do that already (campfire forum, "Hey guys lets meet at X," done). Not much of that goes on anyway as someone already mentioned.

Access to video content doesn't really interest me but others might like the option.

Sales could be in a new forum that is, as Dagny suggested, closed to all but "premium" members. Sounds like this is off the table anyway. But then who is to say that regular members couldn't slip a hint that they have extras of item X and anyone interested can pm them? Perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned that?

I still think there needs to be an "or" in deciding who is eligible for membership. Those with x posts and x time; OR those with more than x time. But as I said before, in the end, someone will be mad or offended and leave. On the other hand, everyone should understand that there has to be a cut-off somewhere. Perhaps if you are close to a criteria an exception could be made. Let's not make this more difficult than it needs to be though.

As to what other benefits would be available, that is the 64,000 dollar question. Sounds like early access to shot show reviews is out as is a marketplace of sorts (although I kinda like those myself, don't see why they would be a problem either). Other good ideas are discounts for purchases; chat; digital tool; opportunity for special purchase items (like a knife collecting society does sometimes but for things in addition to knives like a DR signed heatsheet - the RSK in M4 steel would have been a good example of the type of special purchases membership could offer); access to early announcements of new products, first purchase opportunities, or guaranteed purchase opportunities (such as for the RSK M4 or the PSP Plus); access to special areas of the website (not 100% sure what those might be but a marketplace or swapshop would have been nice); opportunity to help DR/ETS test new gear; access to local DR seminars, say once a year; or an ETS newsletter via e-mail. Of course if you don't like a certain feature, no one says you have to use it. You can still pay your dues, get a tax deduction, and access the features you want.