I'll add a few more points to address some recent comments.
1. iMav, you created this community and put in an incredible amount of work to bring it to what it was around when I joined (2013). After that, mkawa put in an equal amount of work, and following his departure the remaining mod team put in their fair share to keep things running and maintained. We sure haven't been perfect, but neither was either of the other "regimes". I have a huge amount of respect for what you've done for this community and this site, but that doesn't mean you're immune from criticism in cases like this.
2. Some people seem to think Zeal has been personally attacked and called out for being a potential buyer and also a vendor. Speaking for myself, I had no such intentions, and I think that in general you'll find he is very well respected in the community (I've known Zeal in some capacity for quite some time, and have had nothing but pleasant interactions). However, a vendor
of any sort owning and operating a community like this is just inherently risky. Even if there is absolutely no foul play, there will always be the
possibility of it and potentially some doubt in (rightfully) skeptical users. And what happens if another vendor makes a claim that Zeal is suppressing their business presence or otherwise acting unfairly - who deals with that fallout and mess? The moderators. This all just reeks of a headache and a mess to manage.
3. To anyone claiming that we have "no right" to voice our minds because we had plenty of time to pay for the site in a subscription model, were you even around when this all happened? iMav made a post out of nowhere asking for money, then vanished. Everyone either assumed he had it sorted out, or as dg alluded to, maybe just didn't think that was worth it. The mods had no clue that a tipping point was being reached, so we had no way to try to figure out a better solution. I would have gladly organized a raffle or other fundraising effort to help out, or promoted the subscription model. It is not at all unwarranted to question such a sudden and short-sighted move.
4. The OP claims that if "the community" can get the funds together and purchase it, he'd prefer to do that. To go back on that after mere hours of the thread being live is just poor form.
5. We're shifting from a free site with volunteer moderators to a revenue-generating site with [
] moderators. Curious to see how that plays out...
6. Also, everything Photo said.
* HoffmanMyster refills his popcorn