Thank you so much for your response and well wishes! I also don’t believe we’ve ever interacted, but it’s nice to meet you!
As for Behind [name_m]The[/name_m] [name_f]Name[/name_f], I have been there a few times. Nameberry has just always been my go to site. But I do like Behind [name_m]The[/name_m] Name’s database and I think that it’s a great alternative. Thank you for the suggestion, as I had forgotten about it.
Also, please don’t worry that you were speaking out of turn. [name_m]You[/name_m] weren’t, as I was mainly talking to everyone. And, even if that wasn’t the case, I still appreciate it when people take the time to respond to me. Anyone who has something to contribute to the conversation is welcome to. 
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I have to say, it doesn’t thrill me to come to a discussion between the people we’ve just worked really hard to give free access chatting about going to another site.
Please don’t take that the wrong way, @pam! Nothing could ever replace Nameberry. It is, by far, my favorite name site. It’s just that I really can’t afford the subscription for the site right now and I’ve still got to work on my books. I am definitely grateful for your hard work to give us free access to the forums and I’m so sorry you feel like we don’t appreciate that. I never meant to make you feel that way and I don’t think @ashthedreamer meant to either. She was just giving me an alternative option until I can afford a subscription. I don’t think either of us intends to leave Nameberry to go to a different site permanently. And I certainly wouldn’t use any other name forums. The Nameberry forums are, and always have been, where I belong. I could never have the same connection with another site as I do with Nameberry.
Again, I’m sorry we made you feel like your efforts aren’t appreciated. That was not the intention at all.
EDIT FOR CLARITY: When I called Behind The Name a great alternative, I meant short-term. It’s not as organized as Nameberry is and I don’t consider it to be quite as trustworthy. As soon as I can, I’ll pay for a subscription to Nameberry’s main site. Also, Behind The Name may be great as far as name sites go, but Nameberry is by far superior in my opinion.
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I want to echo what @GeographyDragon said—the intention was never to undo the hard work that you and your team have done, but while bugs are being ironed out, the truth is that we don’t have access to Nameberry’s database of names. Yesterday I couldn’t see any data for a name I clicked on to view. [name_f]Many[/name_f] of us are not going anywhere and we are trying to be patient through the bugs, but if she needed another temporary solution, I was offering up a site I knew to be reputable. Nameberry is my favorite corner of the internet; I’m not going anywhere, and would love if nobody else did either. It is hard, though, to deal with comments like this when we’re all just trying to do the best we can in a hard situation. But I’m sure it’s equally hard for you, fearing for how all your hard work is falling apart. I’m trying to extend as much grace to everyone as I can right now, and I wish you all the best in all the decision you have to make… but I’ll be here until you kick me out 
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[name_f]Pam[/name_f]—
Absolutely a call in and not a call out—gratitude and frustration can co-exist.
Those of us who have been here for years built this community. We continuously build it. We have done this without intervention or encouragement. I came here from Yahoo!Answers to just kind of read and observe at 14 years old. After making an account, I never left. We’ve given this community hours and hours and hours. We’ve come to know each other beyond names. We’ve stayed, through all of the changes and the decreased functionality and the switchover from the old way to discourse, the ads, the glitches—we’ve hung on even when the site worked against us. I’m not an SEO expert, but I do know that repeated visitorship and clicks and time spent mean something.
It’s very easy and natural to feel slighted by a community you feel you have gone above and beyond for by provided them access to something you’ve developed and own even when you don’t feel you “owe” them that. You’re in a tough financial situation just as we all are. I have empathy for this feeling.
I do encourage you though to consider the impact of your public statements. Those of us who have been loyal to Nameberry in some sense for years are well-equipped to deliver constructive feedback. I understand it feels as though you’re in a lose-lose situation! Conversely, please try to recognize that you did not build success on your own. We build it every day.
We can hold gratitude that we are able to continue to access the site with no monetary change to our user experience, and it would be meaningful to acknowledge that we are real people, with complex emotions and perspectives regarding this just as you. Ownership (both tangible and emotional) is really tricky when you’re real people! We all owe each other something.
Thanks for your work! I have a lot of stake here because it’s part of my life. [name_m]You[/name_m] do too. xx
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