# Bait and Switch at the SDMB **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 26, 2004, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bait-and-switch-at-the-sdmb/256946 "2004-07-26T16:31:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bait-and-switch-at-the-sdmb/256946/21 "2004-07-26T19:11:02Z")
> [@Rysler](#): > > I paid… so I could respond to crap like this, instead of just reading it. > [@Andros\_X](#): > > …the only thing you are entitled to by subscribing is the privilege to post. 😕 I was allowed to post as a guest…many people have posted as guests. The main benefit I’ve gained from subscribing is the ability to search the board. Was there a time when only subscribers could post? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bait-and-switch-at-the-sdmb/256946/22 "2004-07-26T19:16:43Z")
> [@catsix](#): > > $3? Where’d you get that amount from? > > I paid $5 for this year. Next year, the absolute least cost would be $15, which is not ‘$3 more’ it’s 3 times more. Those of us who subscribed during the $4.95 window will be able to resubscribe every year for 1/2 the going rate. $7.98 for next year, I believe. **misnomer** , guests can only post for 30 days, then must either subscribe or go back to only reading. ---
**Author:** ![Andros\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Andros\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andros_X)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bait-and-switch-at-the-sdmb/256946/23 "2004-07-26T19:19:58Z")
$7.98? I thought it was $7.50… ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bait-and-switch-at-the-sdmb/256946/24 "2004-07-26T19:41:59Z")
> [@catsix](#): > > Pretty slick of the Reader though. ‘Hand us your money and we’ll give you virtually nothing in return.’ Yup. Along with the added bonus of losing people who, had there been no sign up fee, would have stayed and made a good contribution to the board. There are fewer and fewer off the wall wonderful people bringing something interesting and new in. (Yes, I’m looking at you, **NCB** ) As well as people who tend to piss everyone off, but I think those people serve a purpose. They’re sort of like the SDMB self correction valve. Every system should have one. People are so afraid of being banned, they’re VERY careful now of what they say, as opposed to not careful enough. Because, you’re not just getting banned, you’re losing money. And I think that’s rather sad. I mean, this is the PIT. I used to be afraid to come in here. Now it seems like…a bastard child of Great Debates and IMHO with swear words. And, while I didn’t agree with certain people, I respected them for coming out and saying _exactly_ what they thought, damn the tender feelings, cuz, FUCK, it’s the PIT, and you say what you think! _cough **Diane** cough_ It was so rabid in here I damn near developed a tic. Ok, wait, where was I? Oh, yes. I didn’t mind paying to keep the SDMB running. But, I thought it would just be a continuation of the SDMB that was. This is not what I signed up for. And yes, I realize the door’s that way, thank you. Put your nose back in joint and lower it about three inches. Unfortunately, I’m like that heroin junkie…always hoping the next fix will be as good as the first. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bait-and-switch-at-the-sdmb/256946/25 "2004-07-26T19:48:41Z")
> [@](#): > > **minty green** said: > Dear Ed: > > Thank you. > > Sincerely, > m.g. Well at least you’ll be happy. I’ve disagreed with you, and I’ve been heated with you, but if you said you very likely wouldn’t resubscribe, I wouldn’t cheer about it. Sorry to see that you are. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bait-and-switch-at-the-sdmb/256946/26 "2004-07-26T19:56:01Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > 😕 I was allowed to post as a guest…many people have posted as guests. The main benefit I’ve gained from subscribing is the ability to search the board. Was there a time when only subscribers could post? Nope. **Six** , I’d hate to see you go. (even though that’s a long way off) ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bait-and-switch-at-the-sdmb/256946/27 "2004-07-26T20:09:53Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > 😕 I was allowed to post as a guest…many people have posted as guests. The main benefit I’ve gained from subscribing is the ability to search the board. Was there a time when only subscribers could post? Nope. But until recently there wasn’t any subscribers. The board was totally free. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bait-and-switch-at-the-sdmb/256946/28 "2004-07-26T20:26:26Z")
> [@This Year's Model](#): > > **misnomer** , guests can only post for 30 days, then must either subscribe or go back to only reading. Ok, I forgot about the 30 days thing (even though I’ve been around here for less than 30 days, myself… :smack: ). I thought maybe there was some kind of purgatory period in SDMB history where the only ones who could _ever_ post were subscribers. Thanks! > [@clairobscur](#): > > Nope. But until recently there wasn’t any subscribers. The board was totally free. Yeah, I figured that much out…I was puzzled by some ‘not able to post’ comments, but **This Year’s Model** set me straight. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bait-and-switch-at-the-sdmb/256946/29 "2004-07-26T20:58:12Z")
> [@catsix](#): > > $3? Where’d you get that amount from? > > I paid $5 for this year. Next year, the absolute least cost would be $15, which is not ‘$3 more’ it’s 3 times more. > > I said I’d give it a year, and I figure that at the end of this one, considering that I’ve seen no improvement whatsoever in the operation, I’ll not renew. > > Pretty slick of the Reader though. ‘Hand us your money and we’ll give you virtually nothing in return.’ “Virtually nothing in return”? Um, we get to continue using the message board. That’s something big, apparently, since a lot of people paid for it. You see, this was a money-losing operation on the Reader’s part. The fact that _they paid our way for us_ in the past doesn’t mean we’re entitled to having them do so in the future. But I, apparently like some others, will be counting the days until you leave us. Have a nice day, catsix. :wally ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bait-and-switch-at-the-sdmb/256946/30 "2004-07-26T21:10:44Z")
There’s lots of people on the boards who I don’t see eye-to-eye with and some I’ve debated quite hotly and seriously, but I dunno, I really wouldn’t cheer for 'em leaving. Not even Diogenes after all the penis remarks from the gun threads. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bait-and-switch-at-the-sdmb/256946/31 "2004-07-26T21:15:33Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > “Virtually nothing in return”? Um, we get to continue using the message board. That’s something big, apparently, since a lot of people paid for it. You see, this was a money-losing operation on the Reader’s part. The fact that _they paid our way for us_ in the past doesn’t mean we’re entitled to having them do so in the future. Despite the fact that several people (many of whom have since left) offered donations which were graciously declined. However; we are indeed, paying for a service, at least IMO. “The right to post” is grasping at straws. I have the “right to post” at several other places as well, as do many members here. And we exercise that right. I’m sorry, but I am not some mindless drone who accepts the establishment’s “Because I say so.” ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bait-and-switch-at-the-sdmb/256946/32 "2004-07-26T21:29:23Z")
> [@Maureen](#): > > Despite the fact that several people (many of whom have since left) offered donations which were graciously declined. Are you choosing to completely ignore the fact that the Reader \*couldn’t \* accept donations, or at least find a legal way to do so? I’m sure if you took the 4 seconds to do a search, you’d have plenty of reading material on the subject in the form of thread after thread after thread. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bait-and-switch-at-the-sdmb/256946/33 "2004-07-26T21:37:32Z")
No, but by the same token, neither am I choosing to ignore posts by mods/admins stating “If we were operating with some capital, we’d be able to make upgrades to the servers and it would run faster, however…” Being told “Sit down, shut up, and take what you’re given” and then actually doing it isn’t “fighting ignorance.” It’s encouraging it. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bait-and-switch-at-the-sdmb/256946/34 "2004-07-26T21:46:48Z")
> [@Maureen](#): > > Despite the fact that several people (many of whom have since left) offered donations which were graciously declined. > However; we are indeed, paying for a service, at least IMO. “The right to post” is grasping at straws. I have the “right to post” at several other places as well, as do many members here. And we exercise that right. I’m sorry, but I am not some mindless drone who accepts the establishment’s “Because I say so.” So why did you pay the $5? ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bait-and-switch-at-the-sdmb/256946/35 "2004-07-26T21:50:30Z")
Scroll. Up. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bait-and-switch-at-the-sdmb/256946/36 "2004-07-26T21:57:44Z")
> [@NurseCarmen](#): > > Ha! The conspiracy continues! The servers are no loner recognizing my ones! And your _g_’s, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bait-and-switch-at-the-sdmb/256946/37 "2004-07-26T22:03:34Z")
> [@Maureen](#): > > No, but by the same token, neither am I choosing to ignore posts by mods/admins stating “If we were operating with some capital, we’d be able to make upgrades to the servers and it would run faster, however…” > > Being told “Sit down, shut up, and take what you’re given” and then actually doing it isn’t “fighting ignorance.” It’s encouraging it. Then in the interests of fighting ignorance, please educate us as to what you’re complaining about. The mods and admins have been completely forthcoming about the fact that paying for subscription would not guarantee faster response times; faster response times would be a side effect of there being fewer people using the boards at first. The more people try to use a resource, the slower it gets. That’s pretty much how computers work. How businesses work is that they provide something to customers, the customers pay them for it, and if they don’t like it, they choose not to pay for it any longer. ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bait-and-switch-at-the-sdmb/256946/38 "2004-07-26T22:09:53Z")
It _was_ really slow for me this morning, and I thought we might have to reboot, but then it cleared up and is zoomy again. The user load at the time was about 640, which is a lot but not outrageous. And since going pay-to-post I think the board have improved a lot…I remember waiting _ages_ for a page to load and getting server errors all the time. And the multiposts! Every day, tons of multiposts. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bait-and-switch-at-the-sdmb/256946/39 "2004-07-26T22:15:09Z")
Seems to be going pretty slowly here, taking about 2 minutes to load a page. Considering that I am currently the only person in the building pulling bandwidth and there’s a full T-1 here, the slowdown probably is not on my end. If subscription fees are not being used to purchase bandwidth and/or equipment for the boards, and the admins/moderators do not get paid for their services, where is the money going? Does the Reader have to publish an annual financial statement? ---
**Author:** ![LolaBaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@LolaBaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaBaby)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bait-and-switch-at-the-sdmb/256946/40 "2004-07-26T22:18:18Z")
> [@catsix](#): > > There’s lots of people on the boards who I don’t see eye-to-eye with and some I’ve debated quite hotly and seriously, but I dunno, I really wouldn’t cheer for 'em leaving. > > Not even Diogenes after all the penis remarks from the gun threads. 🙂 I’d like you to stay. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bait-and-switch-at-the-sdmb/256946.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bait-and-switch-at-the-sdmb/256946.md?page=3)