Anyone whose been coming here for more than five minutes HAS to realize that the administration of this board has the business IQ of retarded dirt. Microbes living in the GI tract of a dead monkey could run a message board better, and to a greater profit. Why so many people are acting surprised at this is beyond me. I looked at my wife when they announced a return to “free” posting and said “How much you wanna bet they fuck us for our yearly fee before they switch?”. She wouldn’t take the bet. Good thing for her too, cuz I woulda just won.
I’m sucking up to…Er, supporting the board. Keeping the “Charter Member” tag so I can lord it over you cheap guys.
I only noticed when there were Google ads after the second post… I really noticed when I tried to post and was told my guest membership was up… I really really noticed when I saw my susbscription had expired. I paid and now…
I’m still a charter member… well hooray for me and boo for the non notice!
Well I didn’t keep track of the exact date my SDMB membership expired because they kept extending it due to down time and such. I just figured they’d send an email notice in advance like they have every single other year. Besides which, I’m on vacation, so I’m not paying attention to shit like that.
Sure, I got an email notice – the day after it had supposedly expired. And it wasn’t a nice one either, actually rather threatening:
I had renewed that morning already, only because I accidentally clicked on Ed’s latest thread at the top, also dated a day late, which says nothing specific about subscriptions expiring, and decided to check my expiration date just for the heck of it. But wow, now that I see that email. . . I wouldn’t even be able to access the Straight Dope if I didn’t pony up? What kind of bullshit is that? I think I hate these new owners already.
What Weirddave said.
Same with me.
They like me, they really, really like me. 
It’s at the point that the best I hope for is them simply admitting fault without lying. Which is still too much to ask for.
Technically, since the “Charter Members” are the ones who seized on the half-price deal, aren’t they/we the cheap guys?
(I renewed a couple of days early. So I didn’t get the email notification that I might not have got anyway. And now I’m wondering what my status will actually be, when I hit “Submit” in a few seconds’ time. The anticipation is delicious. Or something.)
When Thieves Fall Out.
:rolleyes:
You know what I thought when I read the title of your thread?
I thought that you bought a submarine sandwich at a convenience store and it had gone bad and it didn’t have a sticker on it and you got food poisoning or something.
I’m sorry for your trouble with the message board but I’m glad to hear you didn’t get sick!
I paid up, because I like this place, and it’s probably given me about 1000X in value compared to what I paid.
I would pay even if it brought no benefits other than a, “Thanks for helping out” from Ed Zotti. Really, $7.50 per year for a couple hours of entertainment a night has got to be the best deal I’ve ever had.
As for the google ads, I like them. They are unobtrusive enough that they never feel they are in my way or making me work harder or anything like that, and sometimes the matching algorithm puts up some amusing ads.
I did see the other ads for a moment when my subscription expired without notice, and it just made me extra glad I’m paying.
And I have to say, this is a very positive switch. I always thought that forcing everyone to post to pay was a really bad idea. This is the best of both worlds. I hope it brings in enough revenue to keep the SDMB going for a long time.
Well, fat rats!
I don’t check my email for this board very often (and haven’t been here a lot recently), but this thread reminded me of the whole subscription thing…
I just now re-upped. I still was given the half-price thing. Let’s see what it did for my “charter membership”.
[sub]Not a complaint, mind you; I’m having difficulty getting around to things in general these days.[/sub]
W00t!
No blaring color flashing anything, and STILL a Charter Member!
::wipes sweat from brow::
I don’t think the price is unreasonable, either; although I certainly understand the beef about having to pay for something that used to be free.
'Tis the way of the world, folks…remember when the reason you paid for cable tv was because it wouldn’t have commercials? Maybe you don’t, but I do.