Then maybe just a one time fee not sure how many users you are having on your relay but 10000 sats a user nostr wine also does it similar way

That's a good thing because it helps us get to the truth of the matter. We should not gaslight ourselves thinking we have a reliable system when it requires not only passion but charity. v4v is an aesthetic but reality operates on mass (users) and energy (money).

BlueSky runs on woke fantasy and VC funding. Nostr runs on passion and self-funding. Nostr and truth win when we know the costs and dutifully pay them. View quoted note →

So what? If you plan to shut the relays down on a whim, why should people donate? If you plan to fight to bring them back if something brought them down, just not necessarily the same day or week, tell us so and we will not complain if it's down a day or two. Also something being free doesn't stop people from complaining when it goes away, so it's all in your head. I would prefer if you charged for things that are easy to charge for, namely relays. If people pay for that, you at least know why and when to scale them up. The zaps here should be for what's less constant and less directed to specific users.