Let s look at it this way...
theres a few places that offer a  discount for AULRO membership. hell I've tried it on at TJM by telling them that I read the ad for 10% off on the AULRO website banner advertiing...
$30 of off a $300 item and hey thats almost 3 years worth of base subscription.
but from my personal perspective.
if it offloads the time wasters who in the past I've gone out and done one offs for or vehicle inspections for only to never hear from them again then thats worth the pittance that my vendors is worth let alone the one cup of coffee that I could buy with the $11 for stock member ship (and even then, Ive been to places where $11 doesnt even cover a coke)
IF it means that the standard of the people who still frequent the place is on the average raised by seperating out the chaff then all the better, because it means that when the chips are down the people that are more likely to help are more likely to see the call for help. Want some examples....
Last ditch effort fri/sat 19/20dec
the money and time saved on that alone for parts run by bob10 and the help Jboot put in easily outstrips the petty cash cost of membership. want to guess at what a mechanics offsider is worth for a days work? how about an on demand courrier run on parts? on a saturday no less
K type thermo Probe Needed.
the end result of that thread has potentialy saved me an engine by returning the ability to drive to the limits of the EGT and given that I have to drive over 2000K through an area where diesel is over $1.60l by driving on the EGT for economy I'll save the base subscrition money on fuel alone.
A quick stopover in darwin 22 jan 15
Thats saved me at a minimum the hours of walk from the bus depo to the airport or a taxi fare whih last time I did it was about $30. I'll also quite happily wager that into the bargin I'll get a coffee and a nibbly thrown in, maybe even a beer and a feed. 
If you want a really cynical perspective on it all (and if you 
need to read this next bit to sway you then you probably shouldn't be here any way) 
discounting the paid jobs Ive negotiated from people on site, Discounting all the camaraderie and entertaining stuff like the funny pics thread (which is worth the fee by itself)
add up all the stuff Ive done for others (feel free to search that up or pm me if your really curious),  the outlay for vendor, The time spent researching and posting tech chatter stuff take away things like on the job accommodation beer and food.
That's what its cost me to be here doing this all told. 
now add up all the free accomodation IVe had, all the help IVe gotten, the stuff IVe had moved, the favors Ive called.
thats what I gain out of being here.
basic cost vs gain and Im in front, by a long way. 
heres the chase.
its not $11 to access a forum, its a fee to access a barter trade system. 
If your opinion is that minimum subscription fee or even the full blown cream of the crop subscription is such that leaving is our loss and not yours then you probbably have confued your ambition and abilities.
 
			
		
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