# Charter Members: help me understand! Why do you pay? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 9, 2009, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592 "2009-12-09T15:13:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/21 "2009-12-09T16:23:51Z")
I do it because I love to lord it over others. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/22 "2009-12-09T16:31:20Z")
Cold harsh cash in the hands of the board owners seems to benefit me, because I want the boards around and would be happy if they thrived, not just survived. My impression of the SDMB masses is a bunch of liberal, granola-eating cheapskates who don’t make enough money to pay for a little membership to a great board because they are but a disproportionate number of misfits stuck in their rooms gaming, watching “LOTR” and/or underachieving in some way, but blaming it all on our horrible country and government. And I want nothing to do with that image! Charge me a 100 per year and I’ll pay. But I love all of you. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/23 "2009-12-09T16:37:40Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > …My impression of the SDMB masses is a bunch of liberal, granola-eating cheapskates who don’t make enough money to pay for a little membership to a great board because they are but a disproportionate number of misfits stuck in their rooms gaming, watching “LOTR” and/or underachieving in some way, but blaming it all on our horrible country and government.. Do you have cameras in my house?! ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/24 "2009-12-09T16:40:26Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Just a regular ole member, and don’t mind paying $15. For the amount of enjoyment I get from hanging out here, it is truly a bargain. +1. I don’t post that much, but I figured from all the time I have spent on this board, and all the enjoyment (as well as some frustration) I have got out of it, I owe it some financial support. Plus, I like belonging to things. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/25 "2009-12-09T17:15:27Z")
I want to support the board (even thought the new Pit rules are idiotic), and the 7.50 is nothing to make the ads go away during the time I spend here. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/26 "2009-12-09T17:21:26Z")
I love the SDMB and it’s brought me a lot of joy over the years. $.67 per month (or thereabouts) is a pittance. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/27 "2009-12-09T17:30:18Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > It’s cheap, cheaper than most magazine subscriptions. You get to keep your post count and you get a small title plus some additional perks like added space in your Private Massages folder. Private massages? Man, I really need to pay more attention to the VBulletin features. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/28 "2009-12-09T17:36:16Z")
It’s cheap, and I don’t have to see ads. Or load something to block them, which I can’t be arsed to do at work especially. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/29 "2009-12-09T17:36:38Z")
$7.50/year? It’s like my public radio membership. While I could use both of them for free, I feel it’s worth the membership to help keep around something I value. That, and I can’t run ad blockers at work, so no ads is a very nice item. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/30 "2009-12-09T17:44:01Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Because I gain a lot from this message board, well worth the amount I pay. Even though I could get this without paying, I want to “show my support” and contribute toward the board’s operating costs. > > I also like not having ads. I’d rather pay with money than pay by being advertised at; it seems more direct and fair. > > And, I’ll admit, there’s a bit of inertia involved, from when you had to be a member to post (for more than 30 days). > … What he said. I’m not rich but c’mon, the price is less than what I’d pay for a cocktail at an airport bar. And I like having a little title under my name. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/31 "2009-12-09T17:45:48Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > … > My impression of the SDMB masses is a bunch of liberal, granola-eating cheapskates who don’t make enough money to pay for a little membership to a great board because they are but a disproportionate number of misfits stuck in their rooms gaming, watching “LOTR” and/or underachieving in some way, but blaming it all on our horrible country and government. … …and? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/32 "2009-12-09T18:35:53Z")
What most people have said - this is a community I like, and I want to support it, and $7.50 USD really isn’t too much for me to afford. And I’ll go ahead and say it…I _like_ being a Charter Member rather than a Member or a Guest, for no other reason than misplaced pride and snobbery. I know it doesn’t matter, I know AdBlock can get rid of ads, I know you can still see a user’s post count, location, etc in their profiles, and I don’t even use PM all that much so don’t need the extra space. But I’ve been here for a long time, and when they went P2P I chose to stick around, and that special little title (and the discount) was a nice little bonus for signing up. I’m not a member of much else online or in the real world, so I take my stupid little nuggets of false prestige when I can get them 🙂 That said, I don’t think less of Members or Guests, and in fact I only notice someone’s title when I’m looking for their location in order to understand a post or situations like that. Heck, I barely even notice who posts what, and I have no idea who is cool or not around here. I just like being a Charter Member when other people ask “what’s the big deal about being one?” or “how do I get it back?”. It makes me feel special, even though I’m not! ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/33 "2009-12-09T19:08:17Z")
I am richer than Croesus, so I’m happy to dispense largesse to the masses. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/34 "2009-12-09T19:21:05Z")
I hope in some way my small contribution will help the board continue to operate. I’d miss it if it were gone. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/35 "2009-12-09T19:28:08Z")
I keep my Charter Membership to piss off the management here - they want me to see ads, or they want me to pay full price, but if I keep my Charter Membership, I keep getting the discount and no ads! MUWAHAHAHAHA! Hmm, perhaps I’ve said too much… ---
**Author:** ![Hedda\_Rosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hedda_rosa/32/1204_2.png) [@Hedda\_Rosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hedda_Rosa)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/36 "2009-12-09T20:05:36Z")
I give just like I give to NPR; sure I could use it for free, but use of this community means more to me than a lot of the stuff I’m compelled to pay for. The “charter” is like the tote bag I get from NPR, doesn’t impress anyone but I like to have it anyway. And for less than 8 bucks, I feel the cost is pretty damn reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/37 "2009-12-09T20:07:21Z")
No ads - that’s the biggest reason, really, since now even guests can search. ---
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/38 "2009-12-09T20:11:08Z")
I want to contribute. It is important to me not to be a taker, but rather be a more complete part, and that means an obligation to help out. This is not just applicable to the SDMB, but I try to be consistent in life. Social contract and all that. (And in terms of cheap entertainment, as much as I use the board, my costs are probably less than a penny per hour) And no ads. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/39 "2009-12-09T20:14:36Z")
I haven’t really been paying attention. Posting to see if I am a charter member. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/40 "2009-12-09T20:15:23Z")
> [@NurseCarmen](#): > > I haven’t really been paying attention. Posting to see if I am a charter member. Your awesome nonchalance fills me with inexplicable glee. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592.md?page=3)