which begs the question... would you still frequent the website if it were behind a pay-wall?

Does the user agreement include the ability to use information posted on this web for the hard-copy issue and/or other purposes? Is any of this "content" protected in some way?

As you mentioned earlier, this is the model the internet survives on. While I may or may not agree, I have come to accept the inevitable to a certain extent.

I guess my more pertinent question is why Rick's web-store isn't performing as expected. I doubt it is due to pricing. Is the format out-dated? Is it being marketed to the wrong demographics?

It is well beyond my skill set (I fell off the bus with ENIAC), but you social media gurus could possibly offer a world of help to keep this the flagship site it hopes to be.

I typed this on a punch-card to upload...