I think the main issue here is that companies have realised the potential of how a good mod can raise their company profile or at least product profile by simply being involved with a high profile modder.

I've never been involved with a company who insists i add banner ads to my logs but in the past i have taken it upon myself to add banners to the first post as i think it only right i show my appreciation, gratitude and support for a said company who has put their faith in me to show off their product to the best of my ability but in no way has it ever been a stipulation to receive hardware, in fact far from it.

I think most companies realise that the viewing public are pretty switched on when identifying products and will know the different hardware used and if for what ever reason they don't, they can always post in the thread and ask so i think most companies are happy that the individual modder has chosen to use their product (which, lets face it, is usually because its decent kit) and glean what ever publicity from that alone.

I've always looked at modding as a hobby and whatever tips or tricks i can pass on along the way to a forum community is an added bonus so charging to show a prod log in my opinion is a no win situation as i as a modder won't get the exposure, the companies won't get the publicity and the viewing public won't get to view the prod log.

Seriously, i would rather change my hobby than pay to have my work seen on a forum that should be quite frankly looking at other avenues to generate revenue rather than trying to exploit the very people that have made the community in the first place.

In fact, i might start charging forums to post my logs