I used to be a charter member. I let my subscription lapse. The title is unimportant. The service this board offers is not worth even a trivial amount of money. At one point you could get good answers here. Now? GQ threads are a mush comprised of Google hits, wikkipedia links, and lame ass joke answers. The other fora haven’t even that much to offer.
I donated my subscription money to the NRA instead.
I wouldn’t say “important,” exactly. I just like it. There’s things I pay a hell of a lot more than $7.48 per year for that I like a hell of a lot less.
It’s a combination of what MsWhatsis and kunilou said. I supported the board when they were having money troubles (and ever since) and I got the spiffy title. Yeah I’m a bit miffed that there is no grace period or something, but I’m not kicking my chair over in the cubical. I asked what would benifit the board more, becoming a member or clicking the ads. Then I re-upped. So while I’ll miss my charter status, it isn’t the end of the world.
Now if I somehow lost my 99’er status…well, that’s another thing. 
Well said, MsWhatsit.
I figure there’s a lot of things out there I spend a lot more money on that I don’t enjoy. The SDMB is one of the few things I do really enjoy and the cost for a membership that will keep it up and running is minimal, so I figure it’s a small but worthwhile expense.
CAN’T! BREATHE! OMFG that’s…I’m gonna have to be using that one thankyouverymuch!
–Inigo, former star-bellied sneech
If you think about it, all “Charter Member” really says is “I’m cheap!” 
…and?
Yes, but it says it so politely!
Actually, though, it says a lot more than just “cheap.”
I’m cheap enough to want a discount, but not so cheap that I’ll accept ads.
I’ve been cheap since at least 2004.
I’m not only cheap, but so anally retentive cheap that I remember to resubscribe by a due date that moves around by a few days each year.
I want to say I’m cheap in a way that makes me look important.
Haven’t you seen the Charter Member’s restrooms?! Solid fucking gold urinals.
Just try not to see them within five minutes of Gorsnak’s leaving.
I’m just sayin…
Anyway, having the Charter Member tag isn’t important to me, but supporting a site that has given me more infotainment than any other internet location is.
And I received an email saying that my membership was about to expire… doesn’t everyone?
Postin’ “me too,” like some brain-dead AOLer.
Losing the Charter Member tag doesn’t bother me as much as no** Location **showing in posts. Sometimes it’s relevant to the thread. In my case, when it is I mention Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA as the case may be.
If it gets me a cheaper subscription, then I’m quite happy.
'cos I’m hanging out to be the last one.
I just lost my charter member status. My account expired while I was on the dope - refreshed a page, and suddenly there were ads. It turns out the renewal notice they sent out got eaten by my spam filter. I signed up again right away, but had to pay the double price. I E-mailed Tubadiva to see if they could reinstate my charter status since I was only a guest for a few hours and fully intended to stay paid up, but she said it was impossible.
Ah well. No big deal, other than that I’m not paying twice what I used to.
No, it means that I like paying for the things that I find valuable. This place doesn’t run on charity, so I feel it’s only right to pay for it. For the same reason, I actually pay for songs I listen to, even though it’s trivially easy to get them for free.
The Charter Member title means I’m kind of a big deal around here!
What?
You say it doesn’t really mean that much, there are a ton of people that have it, and those that don’t have it could really give a damn?
… well it’s still a 50% discount for something that I pull some pretty good enjoyment and education from every year. So it’s worth it for that.
I still think it should affect my self-esteem SOMEHOW, though . . . 
I use it to impress women.
It signifies that you have passed the Nine Sacred Challenges, gaining the wisdom, dignity, and humility required to be admitted to the Chamber of Goats and Brethren.
Me, I got tired of cleaning up after the Goats (and Brethren) so I let mine lapse. I figure I’ve been here nine years and haven’t even hit 3,000 in my post count; as long as I can still read and post I’ll take the free route. Ads don’t bug me.
Sort of. Like others mentioned it sometimes gets eaten by a spam filter. For me, the registered email address with my SD user name isn’t one I use all the time. In fact it’s pretty much only for here. So I only check it every week or so. Hence me getting the notice only 4 days before my account expires doesn’t really help me.
I’d also like to point out that there are probably more than a few of us that don’t pay much attention to the announcements. Why? Because most of the time they don’t apply. I don’t often engage in personal attacks, go to real life meetings, or self-promote my book. So I tend to ignore them totally.