# Charter Membership and Custom Titles **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 15, 2017, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-membership-and-custom-titles/786643 "2017-05-15T12:43:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [May 15, 2017, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-membership-and-custom-titles/786643/1 "2017-05-15T12:43:55Z")
So, I just paid for another 2 years of Charter Membership. There was another category below it regarding paying for Custom Titles. I was under the impression that if I paid to maintain my Charter Membership, I am allowed to create a Custom Title below my name. Please confirm. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-membership-and-custom-titles/786643/2 "2017-05-15T13:19:57Z")
A Charter Membership does not include the ability to create a custom title. If you are a Charter Member or a Member, you may, for an additional fee, purchase a custom title to go under your name. Maintaining your Charter Membership allows you to keep renewing it at a significantly reduced rate. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-membership-and-custom-titles/786643/3 "2017-05-15T15:47:30Z")
I recommend the Custom Title. It’s a great way of letting people know exactly where you stand. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2017, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-membership-and-custom-titles/786643/4 "2017-05-16T14:46:04Z")
I continue to get emails from SDMB telling me my Charter Membership is about to expire. I paid through PayPal over the weekend and have the receipt to prove it. I keep replying to the emails. I get no answer back. I want it well documented here that in fact I DID pay in advance. Yanking my Charter Membership after I complied promptly - and we all know that once it’s gone, it’s gone- will deeply puss me off. I PAID. RECOGNIZE THIS IN WRITING. Cartooniverse. Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-membership-and-custom-titles/786643/5 "2017-05-16T14:53:12Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > I continue to get emails from SDMB telling me my Charter Membership is about to expire. > I paid through PayPal over the weekend and have the receipt to prove it. > > I keep replying to the emails. I get no answer back. > > I want it well documented here that in fact I DID pay in advance. > > Yanking my Charter Membership after I complied promptly - and we all know that once it’s gone, it’s gone- will deeply puss me off. > > I PAID. RECOGNIZE THIS IN WRITING. > > Cartooniverse. > > Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk First, you should have the confirmation number from the renewal. Second, [this thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=825367) > [@SDMB Subscriptions](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-subscriptions/785812/39): > > It’s not something you need to be concerned about. It was not a phishing attempt and we have not been hacked. You do not need to change your password. > > It’s basically a test site that we use to test changes to the SDMB software. We have been testing some things, and since the renewal time for all of the charter members is coming around, our test copy with our modified SDMB decided to send out reminder messages, just like the real SDMB does. We are testing with an old stale copy of the SDMB, so if you have renewed your membership, the test copy isn’t aware of it, which is why it kept sending out notices with incorrect dates on them. > > Sorry for the confusion.