I fear you may be right on general principles, though I'm blown away by some of the offers of support from regulars here.

You're right, on the Net in general there has been--in the past--a lot of "free" stuff. However, the fact that it was paid for by advertising, and banner ads are in the toilet, is a sure sign that the "free" stuff won't be around much longer. Yahoo/GeoCities, MSN, and the other big names in "free" are working hard to steer people toward paid services. The popups, the annoying "interstitial" ads that hold Web pages for ransom, and the rest are signs of desperation.

It's an open question whether people will break the habits of a half century, fostered by "free" broadcast radio and TV, and recognize that one way or another they will have to pay for what they get or see the Net--the good, the bad, and the ugly--disappear.

--Robert