How on Earth can anyone believe that this is a make money site? In fact I'm pretty sure these print ads didn't even exist until 2007 at the earliest. Besides, look at this place. It's a shrine like obsession, and we're all the better for it.
It's also pretty silly to believe that any of us push this place along. Almost all of the traffic comes from the videos and the lessons. The forum is just gravy. In fact this forum is tiny compared to PDF, which for example has over 3000 viewing their general discussion section as we speak. And I'd be scoping the videos anyway here if there was no forum, rest assured. It's also us being connected to the site that make our discussions more credible in the eyes of most in the industry. We draw a better group than some of the whining fools at some places, while encouraging a wider cross section than those tragically hip sites that think they have all the answers but are only deluding themselves, when they discover that merchandisers and the larger number of pro drummers don't won't to be around a bunch of frustrated cocky guys mouthing off . Believe me, I've tried them all, and I always end up coming back here, because I'm already on the site anyway, because the site is why the forum exists.
And no, you don't get the same thing with youtube. You come here to see a tightly edited video that is so clear you can count the arm hairs. Try evaluating a traditional grip on youtube. I have, and can tell you without a doubt that it's tough to learn from a recycled foggy blur. And some of you middle school school guys try and deny that you haven't lifted Bernhard's bios for social studies reports, and called them your own work.
This site is unique to the world of percussion, and it's why other sites who are trying to be DW, who really are trying to make money, are envious of it. I know this is true because I lol at the comments they leave on their own forums every time DW wins a DRUMMIE and they don't. Then humorously enough, when these same people want to blatantly advertise some new little thing at their place, where do they come to first for a free plug? You guessed it, they come here. And they do so without contributing another thing to DW, and from what I observe, Bernhard lets it go. That's a pretty cool attitude if you ask me.
I'm sorry, but the other motive thing doesn't seem to fly here. I also don't buy this I work with websites baloney either. People who say they know all that stuff are always notorious for low balling the estimate, which is why I scrapped my website in the first place. Besides, how about the intellectual property and the actual material itself? Is that free?
bobdadrummer is also right about what happens when make these things pay for play. Go to the Buddy Rich site and see what's happened. That used to be a busy place. I'm a pretty cynical guy, but there has to be limits to the bitterness, geez.