Well, no. Possibly, you could argue that: Anyone who HAD the title “Charter Member” but lost it due to late payment, who continues to pay full membership price, should be given the title of “Charter Member.” I see no justification whatsoever for someone who joins up today for the first time and pays membership dues and wants “Charter Member” title.
In the past, our perception has certainly been that people who lose “Charter Member” status are concerned about the loss of the status – lower fees, etc – and not just the title. I’m not sure whether you do indeed speak for 99% of those who have lost the status. The complaints we’ve received have always been about the loss of status, not just the loss of title. So far as I can remember, this is the first time that anyone has suggested restoring the title (but not the status.) That’s undoubtedly why there was confusion about what you were asking and what we were saying.
And, please, saying things like “fuck it” and “playing God” and calling us “not very bright” doesn’t help your argument any. If anything, I tend to turn away from arguments that resort to such.
And, if our discussion should be against you, it’s not “playing God” or being “not very bright” to not want to take on more work. I don’t know how many people there are who have lost status but would like the title; I don’t know how difficult it will be to confirm that they had that status but lost it; and I don’t know how often that title change will need to be redone (possibly every year at subscription renewal? ) The result of that discussion could be that this is a great deal of work on the part of the mods/admins, and that would be good reason to reject the concept… and will have nothing to do with “not being very bright” or “playing God.” If it goes that way, it will have to do with us mods/admins being unpaid volunteer positions who are already way overworked.
Meanwhile, let’s please put things on hold for a few days for the mods to discuss.