My thoughts on how this site should work

I am sure it can be improved. I do think it's a reasonable start for a discussion.

I think the trick is to make it clear that the site is for photography, without being too limiting (I expect "photography" to be changing quite a bit over the next few years.

I also have mixed feelings about including "polite". We shouldn't need it, but it is not unheard of for discussions to devolve.

Perhaps in stead of "Photography" it should be "Photography and Imaging" or just "Imaging". As computational photography becomes more prominent, discussions may move in that direction (for instance discussing a camera that notices that there is something that looks like the moon in the image, and automatically fills in the details from a stock shot of the moon).

Yes, I agree. I'd be more than happy to make occasional voluntary donations for nothing in return. I think some forums do have a symbols for contributors. All bobn2's thoughts on governance and Company Limited by Guarantee makes a lot of sense.

I'd like to see whether this could all be done without advertisers first, and then if not, sure go to an advertising driven model.

C.

I am totally willing to be a paying customer if it ensures the future of this project.

Being a part-time pedant, the above needs a second comma after 'pertaining to'.
Regardless, I agree with the sentiment entirely.

Nice to see this going forward! I had a look at the original thread in DPreview and thought some ideas to share, but that filled up and this site became a reality before I managed to share them.

I think this is sensible, and enables what would be my main proposal: governance should be the main perk of membership. Being a partner would give you a vote on all governance-related decision, the most obvious to me being:
1) Election the board members, moderators, and other staff.
2) Setting and approving site-wide policy and guidelines (e.g., long-term planning for the site and moderation guidelines).
I think is crucial to make the site attractive (and ultimately active) that any user has access to all the core features, so putting behind paywalls should be avoided, though perhaps some limitations could be reasonable (e.g., extended storage for photos for Partners). It also seems natural that those committed enough to financially contribute to the site (even if is just a few dollars a year) would be the most keen on the governance discussions, so having a voice and vote on the governance of the site should be a nice benefit.

I am not good at this governance stuff but I thought I would share a link to an organization that I know of that might provide some additional ideas for the structure.

www.idug.org/about/about-idug/bylaws

I am a member in that I have a logon so I can post to the listserve and view the educational resources. My membership has always been free because of the sponsorship of others. Where the free part lags is that I can't view the recordings from conferences until the next year. Paid members get quicker access. But I doubt that DPRv (as I like to call this) is going to be holding conferences anyway. ;) The IDUG board is independent although it has vendor members. IBM does not tell IDUG what to do even though IDUG revolves entirely around their product, DB2. There might be some ideas that could be borrowed.

In keeping with the ethos of DPReview, there should be some long discussions about trivial topics. The small pleasures of a contented life. And brevity is the soul of wit. I suggest: "The purpose of Dprevived shall be to provide and promote information and discussions about photography."

I already offer my "freemium" services twice, but no reply so far LOL

I would substitute "polite" with "civil."

I am willing to pay a bit more than that, but a partnership is not necessary this end Bob. An annual subscription is a great idea if it helps to pay for storage, bandwidth and all on a dedicated server, count me in for a donation. It's looking good so far.

Danny.

This is my off the cuff first pass attempt at a mission statement.

The purpose of DPRevived.com is to provide a friendly and active environment to promote the polite exchange of ideas, assist in the building/enhancing of knowledge and skills at all levels of interest using accurate information about all things related to photography.

'respectful'?