# Hey, I just noticed I was restored from member to Charter member **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 31, 2007, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-i-just-noticed-i-was-restored-from-member-to-charter-member/398239 "2007-03-31T20:54:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-i-just-noticed-i-was-restored-from-member-to-charter-member/398239/1 "2007-03-31T20:54:42Z")
I thought I’d lost that badge forever; Thanks to those who made this possible! 🙂🙂🙂 What prompted the SDMB to change the rule? ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-i-just-noticed-i-was-restored-from-member-to-charter-member/398239/2 "2007-03-31T21:00:16Z")
[QUOTE=user\_hostile] I thought I’d lost that badge forever; Thanks to those who made this possible! 🙂🙂🙂 What prompted the SDMB to change the rule? [/QUOTE] AFAIK, there has been no rule change. Shoulda kept your mouth shut. Quick, edit it out! ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-i-just-noticed-i-was-restored-from-member-to-charter-member/398239/3 "2007-03-31T22:31:25Z")
Grrrr. I have no idea why I’m not a charter member. I must’ve missed a payment sometime or something. I’ve been visiting and posting on this board since it was on AOL. Granted, until recently I’ve been mostly lurking, but that shouldn’t make a difference. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-i-just-noticed-i-was-restored-from-member-to-charter-member/398239/4 "2007-03-31T22:45:51Z")
I didn’t get restored. What gives? ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-i-just-noticed-i-was-restored-from-member-to-charter-member/398239/5 "2007-03-31T22:48:00Z")
Why is it important? ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-i-just-noticed-i-was-restored-from-member-to-charter-member/398239/6 "2007-03-31T22:48:37Z")
Oh dear. Why do I get the feeling you’ve started something? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-i-just-noticed-i-was-restored-from-member-to-charter-member/398239/7 "2007-03-31T22:53:07Z")
[QUOTE=A.R. Cane] Why is it important? [/QUOTE] Charter members get to resubscribe at a lower price. ---
**Author:** ![essell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/34f0e0/32.png) [@essell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/essell)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-i-just-noticed-i-was-restored-from-member-to-charter-member/398239/8 "2007-03-31T22:54:28Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] Charter members get to resubscribe at a lower price. [/QUOTE] So, that would make you … beneath us ? ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-i-just-noticed-i-was-restored-from-member-to-charter-member/398239/9 "2007-04-02T14:29:03Z")
The reason I bring this up was the result of being late with the renewal payment last year (or the year before) which lead to my demotion. My wife never forwarded the expiration notice of to me (she thinks the SDMB is a waste of time anyway :smack: ) and by the time I found out it was too late. So maybe I shouldn’t have said anything. On the other hand, “Charter Member” does have a certain ring to it, doesn’t it? Hell, I don’t care about the membership rate—it’s the principle of it…oh hell who am I kidding? It’s an ego thang… ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-i-just-noticed-i-was-restored-from-member-to-charter-member/398239/10 "2007-04-02T15:35:06Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] Charter members get to resubscribe at a lower price. [/QUOTE] Hunh. I thought it was for the sandwiches and foot rubs. SDMB a waste of time!?! I’m shocked - shocked, I say! Yeah, I’m not a Charter Member of anything else, so it is indeed an ego thang. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-i-just-noticed-i-was-restored-from-member-to-charter-member/398239/11 "2007-04-02T15:50:03Z")
Yeah, I lost mine a while back too. Hey, which reminds me, is it about time to renew? ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-i-just-noticed-i-was-restored-from-member-to-charter-member/398239/12 "2007-04-02T18:04:33Z")
I didn’t get rechartered, but I did notice a change. I actually registered on leap day 2000, but at one point the software upgrades changed it to March. But now I am back to February, Woohoo. ---
**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:** [April 2, 2007, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-i-just-noticed-i-was-restored-from-member-to-charter-member/398239/13 "2007-04-02T18:52:08Z")
I just checked my renewal date. I subscribed on 3/29 and my renewal date is 4/29. Where did the extra month come from? ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-i-just-noticed-i-was-restored-from-member-to-charter-member/398239/14 "2007-04-02T20:37:59Z")
[QUOTE=Honey] I just checked my renewal date. I subscribed on 3/29 and my renewal date is 4/29. Where did the extra month come from? [/QUOTE] Didn’t we get a month free when we first signed up? Or did I just imagine that? Mods? Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-i-just-noticed-i-was-restored-from-member-to-charter-member/398239/15 "2007-04-02T21:04:45Z")
[QUOTE=TV time] Yeah, I lost mine a while back too. Hey, which reminds me, is it about time to renew? [/QUOTE] Click on “Subscribe” and find out. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-i-just-noticed-i-was-restored-from-member-to-charter-member/398239/16 "2007-04-02T21:21:29Z")
[QUOTE=AngelicGemma] Didn’t we get a month free when we first signed up? Or did I just imagine that? Mods? Anyone? [/QUOTE] I think there was a huge subscription drive, telling everyone that they could subscribe at any time, and that the payment went into effect for April 29th (the 28th was the deadline). So all charter members would have an April 28/29 renewal, though you might have paid before that… you can pre-pay up to two years, and those payments just kick in on the date that your previous one expires on. There wasn’t a month free, but I think it took a good month for everything to be worked out properly. The bonus was a life-time of half-price membership and the “Charter member” title. People who didn’t pay by the Apr 28 deadline could stay on for a month, but then they would lose the ability to post… basically, they became guests, but I think they retained their ability to search. That’s how I remember it, anyways! ---
**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:** [April 2, 2007, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-i-just-noticed-i-was-restored-from-member-to-charter-member/398239/17 "2007-04-02T21:25:58Z")
Thanks for the reminder. A couple of clicks and…renewed for another year!