"I'm commenting to bump this post back to the top of the discussion."Think about it as your site membership dues. Just because it's called a tipping comp doesn't mean you have to tip. If you get something out of this site and you have the means (i.e. can afford 3 x beers) then pay the money and keep the place ticking over for another year.
Dan never asks for money because that is not the sort of guy he is. Everything on the net these days is subscriber based / user pays. Help the bloke out and donate to keep the place running. It's not like he is making a profit from Silvertails.
@Dan - other option maybe like a Wikipedia model, a "donate" button where people can choose how much they want to contribute on an annual basis. Every little bit helps. Or don't have a fixed entry price for the tipping comp, set a minimum of $5 and allow users to choose their price point at sign up time ?
Big chance for the members and the silvertails community to express their gratitude and support the site.