Why join the Club? Why pay the dues?

This site was founded as an "unofficial club" that later became a formal club with bylaws, which then incorporated and established membership dues.  The Club was formed and dues were instituted for two primary purposes:

1. To help encourage turning “virtual relationships” into real, face-to-face relationships with other enthusiasts, and,
2. To ensure that the site was self-sustaining, to preserve, protect, and add to the wealth of information that has accumulated here. Many websites and forums have come and gone -- this is not just another discussion forum or website, but rather a self-sustaining club...

Dues were initially set quite low -- $10 per full calendar year – and have never increased.  When you consider what you get for $10, many members state that it has paid for their investment many times over. Yet, this rate has proven sufficient – the site was founded almost 20 years ago – and continues to grow and thrive.  The Club has the cash reserves to pay for this recent major site upgrade, and to pay recurring expenses for the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile, the Club encourages interactions by sponsoring social get-togethers with other members, “competitions” such as Tractor of the Month, and club displays at tractor and antique machinery shows across the country.  We are regularly invited to participate at the Gathering of the Orange (GOTO) shows for Allis-Chalmers collectors, for example.  

So, what do I get for the $10? Perhaps most importantly, the satisfaction of helping preserve, protect and build this knowledgebase of information for posterity. In a nutshell here's what it provides:

• Access to view, post and reply in all the forums, both technical and social
• Access to all the additional resources such as the real-time Chat, File Downloads, Links, and Articles
• Ability to create Photo Albums, Blogs, and Tractor Registry entries
• Ability to view more information about other members, such as their location
• Avoid seeing the Google Adsense (or other) ads that are injected into the site for all other visitors

A major benefit is the fellowship -- the opportunity to get to know and meet other enthusiasts with similar interests.  You won't find another site quite like this one, where virtual friends become real friends.  In large part, this is done by gaining access to the restricted areas of the clubhouse with all its resources and access to information about other members.  A summary of the specific differences is included below: