Gold Membership fee now go up to $40.00?

Really not sure what all the hubbub is about as Gold Membership is not a requirement for site usage and the ability to pick the minds of some of the very knowledgeable members here is an invaluable asset and priceless in my opinion. The servers and site maintenance require both time and capitol to maintain and I for one would be the last to fault somebody for making a few bucks for their efforts.

If the fee was mandatory I would gladly pay the dues for some of the members that have responded with very beneficial answers to dilemmas I have encountered.