Yeah I have to agree on different opinions. Most modern-day children can't even start to like fast paced shooters and stuck to realism/COD style.
3) Then you should start to doing something with it. Look where is your Trem without money and where is Natural Selection with money.
Natural Selection got official support from Valve. IdTech didn't care about its mods much, except probably the really popular ones CPM and Defrag. However they did support its community in modding.
NS was also supported via money from Valve but not through its community money as much as other commercial games.
I will get this game if it becomes free, but I have a slim chance of buying it if it costs money. Well your opinion.
With money, you can advertise more on websites but then your living costs need to be supported as well. Right now T2's state is really low for a commerical game. I suggest you to get a job then advertise the game using a portion of that money while the rest supports your living expenses. As for the money earnt through the T2 community, well I don't know.
Basically I'm saying it's more beneficial if you get a job (or get your previous one back) and use the money earnt to support this project rather than relying on the community which is pretty much bleak now.