Question of the Day: I'd like to buy ad space on REALNEO.us

Today I received an email with the message below, and I've received several like this recently, inquiring for text-link ads. I've seen those popping up on many sites, and I bet they work pretty well, for a while. But I can only imagine where such text-links may lead... and wonder what are the best ways to commercialize content via REALNEO. Is it this...?:

Hi Norm,

I will send you $25 in exchange for placing a small text for an international phone service on this page:

http://realneo.us/FBI-taps-cell-phone-microphone-as-eavesdropping-tool [1]

Please let me know if you are interested.

REALNEO is moving toward a legal co-op structure and members and the co-op will need to collaboratively address issues of value of their content, as we move forward. Based on traffic at our site, REALNEO content has commercial advertising value, which shall only increase in the future.  Some content will have more value than other... some writing, photos or videos could become quite valuable. Jeff Buster and I have been approached to use our photos found on REALNEO in magazines around the country, for compensation (which I have not collected). I'm sure other members have been or will be offered compensation for content, as well.

Seeing as this question is popping up more and more, I'll open it up to the REALNEO community... should members be able to accept an offer like I received today and/or should REALNEO have a commercialization strategy, like including some text-links, ad blocks, a banner or a sponsor? Feel free to discuss other funding options as well, including grants.

One proposal I'll make is to offer the option to sell prints of photos found on REALNEO, on demand... e.g. being able to order the header image (which could be any size up to 16 feet wide, priced per foot), and to offer logo items like hats and t-shirts... perhaps even licensing the brand, as I'm thinking about renaming Brown's Market [2] the REALNEO Cafe.

Your thoughts?