I am so encouraged by the many comments of support and positivity regarding this change!
Regarding the comments about Patreon - people make some very good points about not being aware of it and it being a great way to donate - all of which are very valid. And the Patreon is helping and the subscribers are absolutely appreciated.
The challenge is, we could make a big Patreon push or donation drive and get up to the monthly goal or have some reserve funds, and then in a few months time or a year, subscriptions may dwindle and another push would need to be made, etc etc etc. The benefit of ad-revenue complementing donations (not replacing them), is that they are more passive in nature and can help to supplement funds without the need for continually asking for money or reminding people of the Patreon, etc. The issue of raising funds to maintain the site is something Dain has been managing for years and has a lot of experience with. As he stated, he has put a lot of time and thought into managing all of this and there are long-term reasons for needing to explore this route as opposed to just quickly raising funds for the short-term. Additionally, Dain has very selflessly tried to make this place not about him and the need for funds, and I believe does not want a heavy focus on asking for money up around the site at all times, despite it potentially increasing donations.
I'm not trying to discount or ignore people's suggestions, but just trying to explain that there are many reasons for this, some of which involve the amount of time and work involved with requesting funds. This is a way to supplement revenue with significantly less work and minimal impact, and doesn't require people to spend their own personal funds. I think it is a great balance.