 his issue marks the seventh anniversary of the Translation Journal—an eternity in Internet terms, where sites are born and die every day. It has survived thanks to the generosity of its contributors and the loyalty of its readers, whose words of praise and encouragement have sustained the effort required to produce this unique publication. During these seven years, none of the hundreds of thousands of readers that visited the Journal's pages have paid a penny for access, nor have its authors received any remuneration for their selfless work. We have not charged for listings of translators' tools, associations, or events. The meager income we derived in the past from a few ads, which we did not solicit, barely paid for the Journal's share on Accurapid's server and the software used to format and illustrate its articles.
We intend to preserve the non-commercial character of the Translation Journal also in the future; in particular, we do not intend to charge for access, because we believe that even a moderate charge would put the information contained in this publication out of reach of many translators living in third-world countries. However, at one point we must test whether the generous words of praise we have received from our readers over the past seven years will eventually translate into concrete support to make the Journal financially viable. We must also think of the future of the Translation Journal, when this editor will no longer be able or willing to commit the time and effort necessary to put out a content-rich issue every three months and will wish to pass the baton to a qualified successor. This is why, starting with this issue, we have begun to actively promote advertising in the Journal and to ask for voluntary donations. We do not expect to derive a huge income from ads or donations, but, by having a modest cash flow, we hope to ensure the Journal's future by making it more attractive to a potential successor of this editor. We would also very much like to pay our contributors a fee as a token of our appreciation and possibly introduce other services for translators. We have always believed that the Translation Journal is meeting a real need in the translator community; now, this is the time to test whether our readers agree and are willing to show their support with their dollars, euros, yens, pesos, reais, and rubles. If you, reader of the Translation Journal, think that this publication deserves to survive on its own, please, support our advertisers and make a donation to the Translation Journal. And, of course, continue to visit this site and read the articles contributed by your colleagues from all over the world.
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