Firstly, I respect your thoughts on marketing, and think you've got some kick ass ideas.

So, I'm no marketing guy at all, but something strikes me as wrong to have to pay for advertising a free game. In a certain sense, if I saw some paid advertisement for CF, claiming it's free, I'd be thinking to myself, "hey what's the catch", and probably avoid it. Some people, myself included, are attracted by the "grass-roots" feel of certain things, be it music, art, or something like a MUD. Just my two cents. Again, you all have great ideas I'd love to see something put in place someday.

Also, keep in mind that we're not trying to optimize a strategic plan for marketing. We're trying to start one..