As I've mentioned before, I believe in paying my way on the Internet. So, when I download and use a program that is released as shareware or donateware, I pay the fee. I reckon that if an author has created something with the expectation of getting paid for it, then not getting paid would tend to reduce the probability of his or her continuing support/updating of their creation. Hence, if the program has worth to me, and I wish to use it, I will pay the author.
One of the places I visit on a regular basis is Dr. Jerry Pournelle's site. As he puts it, his site is paid for using the public radio model. That is, he asks for reader donations and as long as enough comes in to pay for the place he will continue to post. It sounds fare to me. He is a professional writer and wishes to get paid for his creations. What I write is for free and I don't expect any such payment in return.
One of the ways to pay for Dr. Pournelle's place is via Paypal. Paypal is a relatively painless way of making Internet payments. It's by no means the only way, but it is fairly common.
In any case, as I have done in the last three years, I recently paid my $36 using Paypal (I paid by credit card in prior years) but noticed that Paypal was calling it a subscription that would automatically renew unless I specifically requested termination. The help screen says there would be link to terminate the subscription but when I looked for such a link, I couldn't find anything.
If I take Paypal at face value, then my account should have been automatically debited last year and should automatically occur again this year around the end of the month. I know it did not automatically occur last year but can't say what will happen later this month. If I remember to check back, I'll let you know what happens at the end of this month but I sure hope I don't get charged twice...
