# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2015, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/21 "2015-08-01T21:47:58Z")
12/23/99 I didn’t post much at first, but now I run the Death Pool! ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2015, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/22 "2015-08-01T23:43:35Z")
2000 for me. And every time the renewal comes up, I ask myself why I’m wasting the money. Then I justify it by saying that I’m paying a fee to not be bombarded with bullshit advertising. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2015, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/23 "2015-08-02T00:11:29Z")
Charter member (and mostly lurker) checking in. I’m paid up through 2017, so I don’t accidentally lose the title. I pay for the SDMB like I donate to NPR or pay for Pandora. Yeah it could be free, but I get tremendous value and enjoyment out of it, so I vote for continuation of the service with my dollars. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2015, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/24 "2015-08-02T01:02:57Z")
'99er and Charter Member here. Happy to pay the fee if it keeps this dive afloat. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/25 "2015-08-02T01:26:22Z")
I’ve been here since back when tying onions to your belt was still in style. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2015, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/26 "2015-08-02T01:39:12Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > … > > The Internet’s a wild, open space. I’m curious of who’s left of those ‘unwashed masses’ as Mike Lukas once put it… Mike might put it that way, but around here the masses are known for their teeming. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/27 "2015-08-02T02:56:59Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > The board started out with free access. There were no paying members. Then the board switched to a pay only membership, with no free guests. Those that paid became Charter Members, as they were paying members right from the start, and received a discount. Actually, when the board went pay-to-post, they were still just members. People who didn’t pay still had their accounts, and were made “guests”, and guests had a very limited number of posts they could make - IIRC 10. When the board revoked P2P, they created the Charter Member status for anyone who was a paid member during P2P, and they got half price fees for life, as long as they kept current. Fail to keep current, _poof_ it goes away forever. Subsequently there was a period it would be reinstated if you made the right sacrifice to the right gods, but I think that’s no longer an option. So there are plenty of 99ers who never were "Charter Member"s, and there are plenty of CMs who lapsed and no longer get that status. All paid members get no ads and a higher PM limit IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/28 "2015-08-02T06:27:48Z")
I’m happy with my Charter Member status, the no ads, and the discounted subscription fee. What I’m unsure of is whether '99er refers merely to the calendar year of registration, or if it implies being a member when the board was on AOL. Whenever I see a reference to '99ers, I hesitate to count myself among their number. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/29 "2015-08-02T09:24:02Z")
Well, I’m still here, as a Charter Member. Hard to believe that I’m coming up on 15 years of membership, but there you go. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/30 "2015-08-02T09:56:44Z")
What I have always thought is more interesting is not whether someone is a Charter Member, but their ‘joining number’. For example, in this thread, Rico is the earliest - being number 207. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/31 "2015-08-02T10:09:00Z")
I believe I’m still a Charter Member. This post will tell. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/32 "2015-08-02T12:06:24Z")
> [@NineToTheSky](#): > > What I have always thought is more interesting is not whether someone is a Charter Member, but their ‘joining number’. For example, in this thread, Rico is the earliest - being number 207. This has always puzzled me, as I don’t know, for as long as I’ve been here, where to find the joining number. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2015, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/33 "2015-08-02T12:43:02Z")
Click on user name, go Public Profile, Contact Info, at the end says u= and a number. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/34 "2015-08-02T12:53:57Z")
Or, even quicker, just hover over the name, and look at the bottom of the screen. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2015, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/35 "2015-08-02T13:51:18Z")
Wow. Learn something every day! ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/36 "2015-08-02T14:10:06Z")
**Salutes** ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/37 "2015-08-02T14:49:07Z")
> [@NineToTheSky](#): > > Or, even quicker, just hover over the name, and look at the bottom of the screen. Thanks, 58207! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/38 "2015-08-02T18:00:16Z")
I’m one of the lucky ones who lapsed, and got the moniker back. However, I lost the discount. It’s still a bargain if it keeps the lights on. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/39 "2015-08-02T18:35:37Z")
Back on November 28, 2011, **spinky** , using computer skills that are beyond my keen, produced an 11 megabyte text file, [http://sdmbexample.nfshost.com/profiles2.csv](http://sdmbexample.nfshost.com/profiles2.csv) , which included the member listing as of that date. If I’ve done my research correctly, that file has 730 Charter Members, including a handful who have never posted. (Their favorite movie is “Run Silent, Run Deep”.) Perhaps if we ask nicely **spinky** will update the list. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708/40 "2015-08-02T18:52:12Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Thanks, 58207! 🙂 Wow. I knew I was early but not THAT early… I must have come signed up as soon as it was announced on AFCA. Are there many other active users below 1000 that aren’t mods? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-members-who-and-how-many-are-left/726708.md?page=3)