I have to agree that this letter has created a "knee-jerk" reaction. Some responses sound like the person has been personally attacked by the suggestion a site may have to charge money or disappear.  It might be worth it before spilling poison in the waters to ask ShareCG to clarify some of the points of contention that have arisen, such as Will creators have to pay to upload freebies?

Before reacting, it might be helpful to get all the information one needs to make an informed decision about whether or not they will chose to pay or whether or not to continue hosting products at the site.

Some things to consider:

Having a centralized freebie site is extremely useful. (Having to dig around all over the place for freebies at sites my computer may not like is essentially time wasting. Time which could be better used in creation).

Do you as a freebie provider have the time (and the know-how) to keep a site up to date and running? What happens when your provider (and it will happen) decides to charge you for your usage?

Is it really a good idea to let good sites wither away due to lack of support so that we are eventually left with only a minimum of choices which will eventually limit creativity? Do you really want only 4 or 5 comprehensive sites available when trying to find what you want at a reasonable or free price? Remember, when competion is limited, the big guys are free to charge what the traffic will bear.

New content users have enough problems without putting more obstacles in the way of their creative process. I don't consider $10 a year an obstacle for a site that provides so much. (And, yes, I also have been in the position of having to chose between food and shelter for my children, but I also made sure to provide the things that would help their "soul"--for lack of a better word atm--grow.)

BTW, even altruism stimulates the reward centers of the brain, so while it may not be "ego-stroking," there is an incentive for people giving away their creations that is not 100% selfless.

I was going to say that was my nickel's worth, but I seem to have given a dime. = )