# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/41 "2009-12-09T20:20:17Z")
Because it looks good on my business cards. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/42 "2009-12-09T20:21:01Z")
No ads is worth every penny. ETA: Dammit–I guess I let something lapse at some point. Anyhoo, no ads is worth $14.95. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/43 "2009-12-09T20:21:52Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Let’s say I’m having a hard time getting a good table at a very expensive restaurant. That’s when I pull the Maître d’ aside and in a low voice, I say, “You know, good sir, I’m a _Charter Member_ at the SDMB.” _sniff_ > > Then I slip him a Washington. > > It never works, but it’s so worth the bemused look and grimace that appears on his face. You’re obviously going to the wrong restaurants. They always sit me next to the kitchen, so my food gets to me faster. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/44 "2009-12-09T20:22:07Z")
I joined in 2004. I’ve spent hundreds of hours here. Well worth the money. I do like not seeing ads. I’ve met great people here. I play fantasy sports with members. What’s not to like? ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/45 "2009-12-09T20:47:41Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > Is it the price difference that makes you refuse to pay? $15 is too much, but you would pay $7.50? Or is there something about “charter”? Nah, I don’t really care about the price difference. The annoyance, for me, is that TPTB can’t get me back my “Charter Member” title… and, since that was the only benefit my money got me (since I don’t see ads even as a guest), I’m protesting with my money. The only benefit I was getting that I cared about was the title. If I can’t have the title, it’s not worth it to me to pay the fifteen bucks a year. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/46 "2009-12-09T21:02:04Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > No ads. A small price to pay, in my book. There are ads? ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/47 "2009-12-09T21:09:43Z")
Location….33 Post Count..........49 Private Message Folder…$.99 No ads…$5.69 Tons of new friends expressing themselves in every which way possible…priceless. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/48 "2009-12-09T21:25:41Z")
> [@Yeticus\_Rex](#): > > Location…$.33 > Post Count…$.49 > Private Message Folder…$.99 > No ads…$5.69 > Tons of new friends expressing themselves in every which way possible…priceless. But the “hidden costs”: New keyboard after a particularly amusing post/thread “…Blimps…” for example. Spilled coffee. Broken mugs. Cleaning above coffee off computer screen … again. Time spent emailing the post/tread to friends. Easily worth the millipennies/hour I spend here. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/49 "2009-12-09T21:29:11Z")
I spend so much time here that I was starting to feel guilty not seeing ads\*. I let slip that I’d pay if I could afford it, and someone volunteered to cover me. \*I mainly use adblock for security purposes. Heck, we just recently had an ad that installed malware on people’s computer here on the Dope. Sorry, I’m not risking foobaring my computer. > [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I was going to say that ads don’t bother me because I use adblock, but I use Chrome on my sucky laptop and am very glad not to see ads there. It would take years to load. If AdBlock cost $20/year, I’d pay it. It’s worth it. Try [Adsweep](http://adsweep.org/) on your laptop. it’s even better than Adblock, as the servers don’t know you didn’t load the ad, so your visit still generates revenue. If the Firefox version was more reliable, I’d never use Adblock at all. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/50 "2009-12-09T21:39:09Z")
$15 is what, about 20 pence? I spend more daily on novelty gummi bears than I do yearly here. AND I get to laugh at some of the bigger assholes. Win-win. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/51 "2009-12-09T21:45:24Z")
I was a “Charter Member” but when it became free again, I didn’t realize my dues had expired, so now I’m just “Member.” But why do I pay? Because I love this place and spend a lot of time here, and get a lot of enjoyment from it, and the dues are inexpensive so I might as well make a donation. I hope the Dope stays around for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/52 "2009-12-09T22:59:58Z")
For starters, I don’t find 2.05479 cents per day to be particularly burdensome a price to pay for something I enjoy. I definitely don’t find 2.05479 cents per day to be too much to pay for blocking ads. Finally, I appreciate that the Board acknowledges a group of people who, when the Board was in real danger, put up some cash to keep it going. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/53 "2009-12-09T23:05:53Z")
Another vote for supporting the community that I love and can’t live without daily. It’s just such a small thing that I can’t imagine me not helping this little bit. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/54 "2009-12-09T23:53:21Z")
Same as most everyone else - to support something I get a lot of enjoyment from. The extra features are mostly irrelevant (except no ads). ---
**Author:** ![gravitycrash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@gravitycrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gravitycrash)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/55 "2009-12-10T02:05:53Z")
The Republican party pays for my membership so that I can report back on the goings on in this here cesspool of liberal thought. Plus I kind of like it here. ---
**Author:** ![Fugazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Fugazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fugazi)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/56 "2009-12-10T02:08:31Z")
I used to be a charter member until this year. This year when renewal came up I was temporarily without my ATM card. Had to cancel it due to some fraud and was still waiting on a replacement. Like Lightnin’, I’d pay if I could get my charter member status back. Since I can’t, why bother? ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/57 "2009-12-10T02:25:12Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > Same as most everyone else - to support something I get a lot of enjoyment from. The extra features are mostly irrelevant (except no ads). Ditto. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/58 "2009-12-10T02:26:58Z")
I get more entertainment value from the SDMB than any other source of entertainment in my life. I pay a lot more for 2 hours of crappy entertainment at a movie theater than I do for an entire year of the some of the funniest, most thoughtful, and definitely most informative material I’ve ever read. The SDMB is woven into the fabric of my life, and is indelibly linked in my mind with Sept. 11, 2001 (which I spent jumping back and forth between television coverage and the SDMB), the 2008 Presidential election (which I also spent jumping back and forth between television coverage and the SDMB) and everything in-between. $7.95 is a ludicrously small price to pay to be a part of this community. But mainly it’s for the Charter Member title. ---
**Author:** ![GythaOgg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@GythaOgg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GythaOgg)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/59 "2009-12-10T04:25:41Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > 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! This is kind of where I’m at with it too. I’ve been here a long time, even if I don’t post much, and I like having the title. I like having no ads no matter what browser I use or what add-ons it has. The SDMB is cheap in internet terms - I pay five times as much a year for no ads and extra icons on LiveJournal. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592/60 "2009-12-10T05:19:40Z")
I can’t add anything other than my voice to the choir. I get way more enjoyment here than the price and my payment is my “vote” to let TPTB know that the board is important enough to me pay even when I can get everything free. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-help-me-understand-why-do-you-pay/520592.md?page=4)