The payment isn't for the friends, but for the environment in which you meet them: You could pay membership fees for a club to be able to use their rooms to ha

The payment isn't for the friends, but for the environment in which you meet them: You could pay membership fees for a club to be able to use their rooms to hang out with your peers. (paid community server) You can meet at your home, where you have to clean up and bring snacks yourself. (personal hosting) Or you can meet in a cafe, where access is free, with the expectation that there will be a different but related financial transaction (food and beverages). ("free" servers paid by ads) I can't think of a good analogy of meeting your friends in a fully public space.