There was lots posted about it when we were first told about the introduction of subscriptions … for example:
Posted by jdavis (Administrator) on this thread
The amount you pay for subscription renewals is not dictated by your user name but is coded into the subscription process by when you signed up.
Everyone that got in by the early adopter deadline will pay the reduced “Charter Member” rate; all others that came after, you’ll pay half of the current rate. (THIS IS WRONG, INCORRECT, PLEASE SEE MY CORRECTION BELOW. TUBADIVA)
It has nothing to do with your user name; we could in theory assign you any user name under the sun and it would have no bearing on subscription charges.
The User Name issue is not totally resolved yet. We may come up with other title(s) to style as needed for the varying types of members that we have. We may come up with some other solution. (I’m still a big fan of allowing custom titles for big spenders, but that has yet to be approved.)
We’ll let you know when we figure this out. In the meantime, please carry on.
your humble TubaDiva
Administrator
I should not post while half asleep . . . let me try this again:
For everyone that subscribed before the early adopter cutoff (the folks that got in before April 26, 2004, 12 noon CT), the promise made was this:
For everyone who subscribed before that cutoff date, the current renewal rate will be US $7.48.
For everyone who came after, I assume that means it’s going to be $14.95 a year, period.
I’m sorry I misspoke earlier. I hope this explains it to you in better fashion.
(Even at $14.95, it’s still a bargain.)
your humble TubaDiva
Administrator
BTW, what will the renewal process be? Will posters just keep track of their anniversary and re-apply? Will we be sent a notice?
I looked for this in the stickies, but couldn’t find anything.
Not sure (we haven’t had this come up yet, and won’t for a while), but I would imagine you’ll get some sort of pop-up telling you you’re getting close.
I’m not sure if your existing card will be charged again or if you’ll simply get a notice telling you to go manually do this. I guess we’ll find out when we get there.
Check back with us in April, please!
your humble TubaDiva
Administrator
Er … I would hope not. I think most of us who sponsored other members did it for only one year! :eek:
Or…it could’a been the 27 beers you had!!! 
[sub]Cecil. That was obviously someone else using my name to post here[/sub]
Off-subject again, but, I was quite sober usually. I was the bartender and The Straight Dope became a regular draw, until it was gone.
In the future will us newbies get extras because we are paying more? 
Yes, the “extra” is available now upon membership enrollment. Newbies are allowed to benefit from the superior wisdom and insights of the Old Crowd.
I see that logic. It only works, however, if you follow it through. In ten years time I will still be paying $15 subscription every year compared to someone who joined 1 month earlier who will still be paying $7.50. There is no recognition of the superior wisdom I will hopefully have accrued in the intervening years. I might feel that I have invested in acquiring 99% of the experience of my co-member without having a commensurate fiscal reward. This might leave a more bitter doper than I feel like he was getting stiffed.
I’m sorry you didn’t find us before the Charter Rate offer expired.
I’m also sorry you didn’t buy in to Microsoft when Bill Gates was a punk kid with an idea.
So much in life is about being in the right place at the right time.
Why feel bitter? You’re here NOW.
your humble TubaDiva
Administrator
Please address this issue! I do not want to be charged multiple times for having served as a proxy or sponsor.
!!!
Furthermore, if we became a member on May 1, 2004 but renew on April 14, 2005 just to make sure we remember and so that our membership doesn’t lapse, will our next renewal date be May 1, 2006 or April 14, 2006?
I seriously doubt that will happen.
The person you paid for will most certainly be dunned at some point; since you signed in as them, they’ll be the ones getting the bill, I would think, and not you.
I’m sure all paying members will doubtless get some little nag screen as they get closer. It’s still quite a ways off, though it’s nice to see you’re all budgeting for this when it does come.
your humble TubaDiva
Administrator
Can someone answer this please?
It’s May 1. When the subscription process started, some people accidentally paid twice, and they became members for two years, not twice for the same year.
He really looks like a combination of Toulouse Lautrec and Woody Allen without the appendage or sex appeal.