I didn’t renew, economic crisis and all. However, I think the guest tag is ridiculous. It makes me feel well, like a guest. When someone is a guest in my house, they get waited on and pampered. When a friend is over, well, they know where the glasses are kept and the bodies are buried. I think the ability to tell that someone is actually new here is valuable. Evidently, the powers that be don’t think so. Nor do they think that someone that has been coming here for about 5 years, should be made to feel any more comfortable than a Jehovah’s Witness at the door.
Mostly, I haven’t paid out of protest for the level of respect given to those that have been providing content for them for years. SDMB was the first board I ever paid for. I did it gladly. Now? Nope.
What ADs? You mean the ONE on every thread after the OP’s first post? A couple links at the bottom of the page? Don’t even notice them. As long as ads don’t intrude upon the experience, like pop ups, then I don’t find them offensive. I am on another ‘Car Nut’ site that shows the sponsors on the side bar, there to click if you are interested or ignore if not.
The whole Charter Member, Member, Guest thing is an outdate business model, in my opinion. $15 bucks? to eliminate adds, not interested. Ads for things that might interest me? Might spend a couple hundred dollars per year on your sponsors.
Making it easier to post pictures of what is being talked about, interested. And WTF is with the ‘hidden links’ such as; look here instead of just posting the link as everyone else in the world does?
I really like this site. Some very intelligent people on here. But whoever is managing the site as a business is really old school.
It isn’t that I’m being treated like a newbie, I just think it makes it harder for us to find the actual new people, when so many have the tag “guest.” Maybe it is years of noticing the tags that makes it cumbersome. shrug I just wish we had a better way to recognize someone might be new to the flock. Heck, put squatter under my name, I don’t care, but making new folks feel welcome seems rather neighborly, which is what we used to be able to do quite easily.
I don’t use the email I used when I first signed up. Didn’t get a warning or anything, just became a “guest” one day. Pretty seamless actually. I’d be happy to send Cecil $15 if I knew how. I’m not giving that SOB whatshisname who thinks he owns the place a dime, however.
I’m fairly certain you don’t lose the number via guest status. I compared mine to other posters in this thread, Guest and Member, and it seems properly sequential and unaffected.
Personally, I don’t think Member status on this board offers or represents anything worth paying for.
