realskiers

HA:  Thank you.

There really isn't much new under the sun.
For years newspapers and magazines charged subscribers for content, but their real asset was their subscriber base, and selling access to that asset is where they made their money.  Content was merely the hook, the people were the fish. The ultimate trolling?  That remains the business model of most social media sites; it's all about coming up with the newest "bait" to hook the fish, and then selling access to that asset. Newspaper ad prices were based on the number of readers. The price of super bowl ads is based on the number of viewers, and ad space on EpicSki was probably based on the number of readers.

FWIW, remember that PeakSkierZone has a similar business focus for SMFNEW.  They host the website for free not out of the generosity of their heart, but because they get whatever money they can make selling access to us in the little advertising banner at the top of each screen. But at least the ad banner takes a small percentage of the screen and to me, at least, is not intrusive.