# Charter Members: Who and how many are left? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [August 1, 2015, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708 "2015-08-01T06:07:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**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:** [September 1, 2015, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/181 "2015-09-01T12:32:45Z")
Quick question: is there a way to set it up to automatically pay every year? I’m just wondering if those few are autopaying somehow. It seems odd to come to the site just to re-up your subscription. Even something like paying a lot of money up front, which I believe was possible at one point–though I’m unclear if it’s possible now. (My two years of membership were sponsored.) ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2015, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/182 "2015-09-02T23:35:26Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > How many charter members remember the switchover from the pre-threaded AOL message board to the newfangled AOL “push pins” threaded message board? I’m pretty sure I joined before that seitchover. But to be honest, I don’t remember. Then again, I cannot remember the first name I was using as a Soper !!! Really weird. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/183 "2015-09-03T05:05:18Z")
Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/184 "2015-09-03T15:29:46Z")
Um. Wow. And I read that before posting, too. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/185 "2015-09-03T15:42:22Z")
> [@spinky](#): > > 447 out of 493 charter members have been active in the past year, so only 46 haven’t been “active” in that time. There’s no “last post date” so I can’t calculate whether they’ve actually _posted_ in the past year without doing a search, which would totally kill the hamsters. > > To answer the original question of who’s still around, [here](http://sdmbexample.nfshost.com/charter-inactivity.txt) is a list of all charter members, ordered by how many days they’ve been inactive, most recently active at the top. I just want to point out that this list is incomplete. I was a charter member though I’m not anymore, and I’m still around. But maybe ex-charters don’t count. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/186 "2015-09-03T15:51:15Z")
> [@spinky](#): > > To answer the original question of who’s still around, [here](http://sdmbexample.nfshost.com/charter-inactivity.txt) is a list of all charter members, ordered by how many days they’ve been inactive, most recently active at the top. Hrmm, I don’t show up on that list. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/187 "2015-09-03T21:04:23Z")
Another 2000er here. I can’t believe it’s coming up on 15 years now! :eek: I paid for (and kept) my charter membership because I like supporting the board, like the title, like the ad-free experience at a discount, and feel that I get my money’s worth. I’ve gotten close to missing the renewal date a few times, so I now have an annual reminder on my calendar. Last year, I renewed for two years, and plan to keep renewing annually, so I’ll have a year’s cushion going forward. I don’t post as much as I used to (and I was never all that prolific) but I lurk almost every day. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/188 "2015-09-03T21:44:03Z")
Here. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/189 "2015-09-03T22:26:56Z")
So there are some Charter Members who have been inactive for over 5,000 days, but still keep their membership active? That’s amazing. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/190 "2015-09-03T23:28:16Z")
Does inactive just mean they didn’t post? Or does it mean they were never logged in during that time? ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/191 "2015-09-03T23:55:41Z")
> [@spinky](#): > > 447 out of 493 charter members have been active in the past year, so only 46 haven’t been “active” in that time. There’s no “last post date” so I can’t calculate whether they’ve actually _posted_ in the past year without doing a search, which would totally kill the hamsters. > > To answer the original question of who’s still around, [here](http://sdmbexample.nfshost.com/charter-inactivity.txt) is a list of all charter members, ordered by how many days they’ve been inactive, most recently active at the top. Missed me! 😛 ---
**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:** [September 4, 2015, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/192 "2015-09-04T14:20:39Z")
It missed me, too. I believe \*\*spinky \*\*mentioned that Custom Titles throw it for a loop, though. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/193 "2015-09-04T15:08:53Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > … > Although no one has asked yet, **Cecil Adams** is #31. So, 31 is a transcendental number? Reading all this, I’m wondering what the correlation is between age and Charter Membership. I know it’s not true, but it sounds like you guys are rotund white hair club members reaching for the port and talking about the Winter of Aught-6 when your legs were still spry. ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/194 "2015-09-04T22:15:21Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > It missed me, too. I believe \*\*spinky \*\*mentioned that Custom Titles throw it for a loop, though. Yup. For some reason, when you have a custom title, the profile page sticks your real title in a completely different place. It’s not simple like on posts, where the regular title is directly below the custom title. When I wrote the page scraper long ago, I wasn’t particularly interested in getting the accurate titles, so I didn’t bother with those edge cases. If you look in the big full data dump, you’ll see that you’re actually in there, but your title is listed as your custom title. Perhaps next time I have occasion to collect all the data again (which takes hours to run), I’ll update the code to look for that other title field first. ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/195 "2015-09-04T22:26:18Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Reading all this, I’m wondering what the correlation is between age and Charter Membership. I’d be willing to bet the average age of the charter members increases at a fairly steady rate. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/196 "2015-09-04T22:49:48Z")
I lost my charter member status when I was a few days late in renewing my membership. I have been around since the AOL message board. Is there anyway to get it back? ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/197 "2015-09-04T23:43:50Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > … > Reading all this, I’m wondering what the correlation is between age and Charter Membership… > [@spinky](#): > > I’d be willing to bet the average age of the charter members increases at a fairly steady rate. 😃 I thought immediately after I posted that “correlation” is too clever by half. OK: average age of all you old farts. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/198 "2015-09-04T23:44:51Z")
Or do I want median age? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2015, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/199 "2015-09-05T00:37:19Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Quick question: is there a way to set it up to automatically pay every year? [Snip] > Even something like paying a lot of money up front, which I believe was possible at one point–though I’m unclear if it’s possible now. (My two years of membership were sponsored.) I don’t know if threes an auto pay, but if you pay, they will take your money and extend your membership. > [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Reading all this, I’m wondering what the correlation is between age and Charter Membership. > > I know it’s not true, but it sounds like you guys are rotund white hair club members reaching for the port and talking about the Winter of Aught-6 when your legs were still spry. Well, the board membership does lean toward the white-haired crowd, but I coulda been one, and I’m only 44. > [@Icerigger](#): > > I lost my charter member status when I was a few days late in renewing my membership. I have been around since the AOL message board. Is there anyway to get it back? Email engineer comp geek and beg hard. You might get the title restored, but have to pay full rate. Or they can’t do it any more. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2015, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/200 "2015-09-05T01:05:02Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > I lost my charter member status when I was a few days late in renewing my membership. I have been around since the AOL message board. Is there anyway to get it back? We’ve changed secret handshakes, and zeroized our decoder rings a few times since then. You may have to be re-initiated, and briefed to the new procedures. You’ve got some serious begging to do if you want your Top Cecil clearance back. Whatever you do, during your polygraph, do not touch the big red button that says “Answer Phone.” That’s the landline to the Illuminati, when they need to call _us._ Tripler That’s the biggest rookie mistake. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708.md?page=11)