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CS started because someone messaged a load of university students so he could stay on their dorm room floor. I discovered it with a dumpster-diving friend in UCSB in 2009. It stays legal by involving no money. (Airbnb's subletting issues do not affect CS). Hosts let people stay in their house: whether a couch, sleeping bag, or spare room. Guests message hosts in advance, asking whether they can stay. Reply rates vary. It stays safe by a reference system. My girlfriend, parents, and everybody on the Internet knows exactly where I was sleeping each night. CS built a large community through word-of-mouth, and was non-profit until 2011. Then the admins decided to make it a B Corporation, and promised not to charge. BeWelcome was founded at that time. I stayed, and I'm glad I did, because I joined weekly meetups in Amsterdam, Kaohsiung, Taipei, Tainan, and Auckland, and made many great friends that way. If this were about COVID, a temporary fundraiser to help the admins get through this tough time is reasonable. A monthly fee is not. I can't do subscriptions. My visa will expire in 6 months, and then I'll need to leave - no more income, no more bank account, different SIM card. A friend who knows some people in HQ said that this had been planned for a while. Doing it now, while all the meetups are temporarily suspended, is cruel and foolish. Not consulting the membership is also unacceptable. I wish that internal reform will be possible, and the admins will change their mind. However, I worry that it may not happen, and that's why I think we should start exporting our data and creating new profiles on BeWelcome. |