I've read the messages about MMD's tenth birthday with interest and
it got me thinking about what a unique resource this is.  I've been
active in Internet discussion groups since the late 1970's (it was
still Arpanet back then) and MMD seems to be unique for the high
information density maintained over a prolonged period of time.
For a long time I wondered why not just set up a Usenet group or an
ordinary listserv to carry the discussion with a lot less work, and
perhaps more immediacy.

Lately, and as Internet resources of all kinds have been swamped by
spam and trolls, I've really come to appreciate the hand editing and
gentle moderation provided by our Editor.  The discussions remain
civil, on point, and well indexed so that you can find them again
later.  The architecture chosen creates a permanent resource: whenever
I Google something related to mechanical music typically five of the
top ten hits are now to MMD articles.  It has become the largest single
repository of knowledge on mechanical music in the world, and it grows
daily.

So, what this brought to mind for me, and perhaps will bring to mind
for you (with this prompt) is that I, for one, have been lax in paying
my way here.  I've remedied that; there is a PayPal link at the bottom
of every MMDigest that will allow you to do likewise in less than 30
seconds.  The value added to our hobby by this service is enormous,
the request for support made by the providers is very modest and
understated in the extreme (I, for one, would appreciate a subscription
reminder, at least!).  I'd encourage you all to click the PayPal link
and encourage Robbie and Jody to keep this going for the next ten
years.

Cheers,
Roger Wiegand
Wayland, Massachusetts, USA
http://www.band-organ.com/