I'm not exactly sure when it started, but I think the fee has been around for a few years. See: http://www.metafilter.com/newuser.mefi

Anyway, I do agree that the requirement to log in is a key factor in terms of evaluating the difference in community between the two. 

On Feb 1, 2011, at 11:44 PM, Ole Palnatoke Andersen wrote:

On Wed, Feb 2, 2011 at 4:13 AM, Steven Walling <swalling@wikimedia.org> wrote:
Note the other huge difference at Metafilter: you have a pay a small fee
just to create an account, ...


I may be old, but when I signed up ages ago, there was no such fee. I
see a larger difference in that you cannot participate in MeFi without
an account.

We should perhaps invite Jessamyn West to this discussion, btw - she's
a moderator on MeFi and a Wikipedian.

-Ole

--
http://palnatoke.org * @palnatoke * +4522934588

_______________________________________________
Gendergap mailing list
Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap

Steven Walling
Fellow at the Wikimedia Foundation
wikimediafoundation.org