[pezz]

Exactly what I did.

I mean, damn people who use a free thing that then get screwed, through no fault of their own, not wanting to be charged $25 for a part of the service that they would never need to use otherwise.

You're either free, or you're not -- StartSSL is a mish-mash of "free" and opportunistic costs.

[guan]

I think some people are exaggerating how aware Class 1 customers were of the revocation policy. It’s in the FAQ, but the site also advertises “100% Free”. I think the expectation is that free services have automated infrastructure, and that they’re a way to advertise your paid services—and I did, in fact, start out as a Class 1 and later paid for Class 2.