Yes, at first it really bothered me, since I was used to free outside contact with ex-T and MC. And I was upset at first with current T because I thought he said the first one was free and also that it was OK to have one longer one a quarter with no charge. Then he charged me for a fairly long response he sent me a few weeks in, and I was upset, because I thought it would be free. He was able to schedule a half session with me the next day to talk about it (I didn't realize he'd charged me till I was in the car and looked at invoice, and didn't want to have to pay for an e-mail to resolve it!), we worked it out, and he reversed the charge.

But now, like you said, I kind of do appreciate it that it's more of a clear boundary/rule. He said part of why he charges if it's a longer e-mail that takes more than a few minutes, then he really wants to focus on it and write a detailed response, which could take a half hour. Rather than just dashing something off. That if a client took the time to e-mail him, he wants to take the time to think about it and respond.

But yes, like you said, it does take away the whole "Is this OK? Am I taking up too much time?" part. Because I'm paying him for his time. Though I was still concerned he'd be bothered by my sending the e-mail (but clearly he wasn't, though I don't think he'd want me to do it every week!).