This is to give people insight as to why we make the decisions we make, using real examples.
A member was working on his/her hard drive. It was set to expire the next day. Member A came to me and asked if the drive could be extended. Understanding that life sometimes gets in the way and we don't get things done when we should, but also knowing that member A had the drive for 71 days(or ten weeks)and that there was ample notification that the drive was set to expire and taking in the needs for the member who needs the drive next, I gave an extension of two days. Normally we don't give any extensions, but in this case since the drive wasn't going to be used right away, staff would have time to reformat the drive, and taking in special circumstances, assuring that the extension would be a one time deal the extension was granted.
After granting the extension, member A asked why we didn't allow members to pay an additional fee to allow members to keep the drive (and by extension other equipment for additional time). Now keep in mind that once the drive expires, the member can reserve another drive to start immediately if there is one available. There are two reasons why this would not be acceptable.
1. It would be unethical to allow this behavior. Allowing members to buy their way to additional use flies in the face of our mission. If members are allowed to buy more time, then it puts people who don't have the funds at a disadvantage over those who do. It begins to feel like we can be bribed to give preferences to members who can afford to pay for them.
2. It doesn't take into account the poor member who has the drive or gear after Member A. If we allow members to start buying additional days then we have a more difficult job of juggling competing needs of members.
