perhaps color coded to show what range of donation the member made
a "Hall of Fame".. list the screen names of those who donate.
Possibly there could even be additional levels of functionality made available to those who donate.
food for thought.
Thought it and spit it out! Respectfully, don't start this kind of stuff. It would ruin the debate. It's high school, elitst, and not Republican (except at the countryclub).
I respectfully diagree with your assessment.
First of all, virtually anyone who can afford to be on-line can afford to chip in five or ten bucks a month to FR -- hardly a country club level financial burden. (Believe me, I am in no position to join a country club myself).
Second of all, as for being "high school," well I haven't been in high school for thirty-four years, so I can't speak to that.
Thirdly, as for not being "Republican," well although I am second to no one in my disdain for Democrats, whom I hold in only slightly higher regard than Muslims these days, I remind you that on the FR Home page it states, inpart: "Free Republic is not affiliated with any political party . . . ." But that point notwithstanding, I fail to see how recognizing people's contributions to the cause is "un-Republican."
Lastly, if it is true that only two hundred or so Freepers are funding this site, then I would like to know how they are. And when I see someone complaining about the policies here at FR, or taking certain political positions, I want be able to see whether they have put their money where their mouth is, so that I can better assess the value of their comments. (Just like we can see the date that a Freeper joined, and often use that to evaluate the relative merit of their observations.)
As far as I'm concerned, any regular Freeper who can't make an occasional contribution to this site is a freeloader. If such people are humiliated by the fact that those who donate might be acknowledged and recognized for doing so, too bad. Wanting to spare people the "humiliation" of being freeloaders is, in my opinion, very "DemocRATic."