my sister was thinking of signing up for PBS but said there was a note about charging 10-20$ a year in the future. this scared her off. does anyone know if/when this might happen? hopefully my sis will change her mind. i enjoy PBS so much! thanks!

PBS is working on ways to postpone any fees.  This is why we now have the gold key and the links to Amazon and the Market.   But the language about the fees has been included for several years, just in case.  After all, PBS does have expenses, such as the servers.

I seem to recall that when I joined 2 1/2 years ago, there was something about fees being possible in the future.  I think this is just PBS's way of making sure you understand that they will not guarantee that the site will be free forever.  Just sounds like CYA to me.

Same thing when I joined in 2006.  I remember being a bit nervous about that at the time, since I didn't know the site yet, but the Terms of Use say "If we do add any fees, you will be given plenty of notice and have the opportunity to accept or decline the charges."

I've also been a member almost 5 years.  During my membership, PBS has been upfront that fees may be a possibility in the future...but they don't seem any more imminent today than they were several years ago.  So as others have mentioned, I consider it a JIC disclaimer.

Yup, that notice has been there since I joined in 2005. I'm not worried about it.

Cheryl

As its been said, the fee thing has been around for awhile.  I wouldn't think twice about it; and if there was a nominal fee to use this great site; no big deal for me.

-RD

If it helps, you can always assure her as Patty pointed out above that if it ever comes to charging fees in the future, every member will have advance notice to accept the fees or not. 

But generally I think PBS has done a good job of offereing extra services (like postage, the market, or gold key) for a fee to those who choose it, rather than passing a flat fee onto every member. 

I personally don't worry about a fee because I would pay it and think it was worth it!  I love PBS!  LOL

However, I've never really understood when people who worry about the fee and claim they couldn't afford it.  I mean, if you can't afford  $ 20 a year how can you afford to mail out books.  $ 2.41 adds up quickly. 

I'm not saying the OP's sister is worried about that but I have seen threads in the past where members have said this.  I've just always wondered......................