# How long do you think the SDMB will be around? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 14, 2019, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-think-the-sdmb-will-be-around/841737 "2019-10-14T04:47:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-think-the-sdmb-will-be-around/841737/41 "2019-10-16T23:48:23Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > On the other hand, I am impressed by you being able to find this. I remembered you stating that the board was in a death spiral, so I searched on your username and the word “spiral” and located your the post in just a few seconds. Another interesting thing I remember about the pay-to-post era 15 years ago was a bunch of people here (a few of them still active) stating that they couldn’t afford the $5 annual fee. No joke. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-think-the-sdmb-will-be-around/841737/42 "2019-10-16T23:56:32Z")
> [@Surreal](#): > > Another interesting thing I remember about the pay-to-post era 15 years ago was a bunch of people here (a few of them still active) stating that they couldn’t afford the $5 annual fee. No joke. I believe it was mainly an ethical concern. On my part, I said, “Fuck ethics. This is a pretty cool place.” ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-think-the-sdmb-will-be-around/841737/43 "2019-10-17T00:49:24Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I believe it was mainly an ethical concern. In many cases yes, but some here felt that the $5 fee was prohibitively expensive: [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4658694&postcount=25](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4658694&postcount=25) [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4658603&postcount=18](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4658603&postcount=18) [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4658846&postcount=29](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4658846&postcount=29) [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4658570&postcount=17](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4658570&postcount=17) [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4659291&postcount=43](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4659291&postcount=43) ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-think-the-sdmb-will-be-around/841737/44 "2019-10-17T00:54:55Z")
It’s not the money, it’s the hassle. We are in an era of instant-gratification, I-want-things-to-work-instantly attitudes. People won’t want to go through the trouble of paying a fee, no matter how big or small, to use a message board. ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-think-the-sdmb-will-be-around/841737/45 "2019-10-17T17:38:19Z")
I’m also surprised it’s still around. I’ve been visiting this site regularly for over 20 years now. It was also my first board, so I guess the habit just stuck. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-think-the-sdmb-will-be-around/841737/46 "2019-10-17T18:07:05Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > How much money does it take to keep a message board like SDMB up and running? Any chance it could be acquired or somehow made independent so that it can exist on its own indefinitely? It costs close to zero dollars and likely turns a very small profit (I pay to be here as do some others). I have my own domain that I don’t do anything with and could set up the whole thing again in a few hours on my own if I wanted to. The technology is close to free or at least inconsequential. The only thing that matters is the quality of the posters and material. That is much harder to replicate. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-think-the-sdmb-will-be-around/841737/47 "2019-10-17T18:19:44Z")
I’d say the main thing is some sort of management shake up and someone gets a case of new manageritis and starts making changes for the sake of making changes and decided to shut the SDMB down to prove they’re ‘doing something’ ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-think-the-sdmb-will-be-around/841737/48 "2019-10-17T21:40:13Z")
About 8-10 years. And then it will come back as a Zombie Board… ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-think-the-sdmb-will-be-around/841737/49 "2019-10-17T23:23:52Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > About 8-10 years. And then it will come back as a Zombie Board… Insert your favorite “brains” or “lack of brains” comment here. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2019, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-think-the-sdmb-will-be-around/841737/50 "2019-10-19T02:07:05Z")
When you click on the latest post and [this is all there is](http://hmpg.net/). ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2019, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-think-the-sdmb-will-be-around/841737/51 "2019-10-19T16:36:29Z")
Congrats, Racer; nice finish! Oh, wait! I’m gonna have the postultimate word. I spend a lot of time lurking, and I value The Dope for its informative and entertainment values. Hardly a session goes by for me when I think “Wait, who just said that?”, and back up to see the poster. Very often it will be a name I’m unfamiliar with, and I’ll see that they have posted thousands of times. As a counter to that, I’ll see an unfamiliar name with dozens or hundreds of posts. So, I’d guess that the core will shrink to some critical (heh) number, and newbies will drop in to take the place of those who drop off. And become the current core. At least, I certainly hope so. Dan ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-think-the-sdmb-will-be-around/841737/52 "2019-10-22T17:40:52Z")
You all are scaring me. I already survivor one board death this year (snopes) and would like this to last a bit longer. I guess I need to post more. Not even .5 posts a day. And think about donating. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-think-the-sdmb-will-be-around/841737/53 "2019-10-22T20:12:57Z")
Well, I retired a couple years ago and I’m sure my posting average has gone up since then. Include me in the list of those posting at the heat death of the universe. I’ll bet there’ll be a fair number of us left making jokes (“Heat death of the universe, film at 11”) and commenting about how previous heat deaths were better, etc. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-think-the-sdmb-will-be-around/841737/54 "2019-10-22T20:38:55Z")
The xkcd forum continues to be [down](https://forums.xkcd.com/) after the intrusion discovered at the beginning of Sept. It was already fairly moribund. If it was brought back at this point it would be … moribunder(?). ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-think-the-sdmb-will-be-around/841737/55 "2019-10-22T22:13:27Z")
The guesses of five years seem pretty credible, although I certainly wasn’t expecting the end of the IMDb boards, so as others have said: if someone in management gets a bug up their butt it could be much sooner. > [@Surreal](#): > > 15 years ago you predicted that the board wouldn’t last another 6 months: > > [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4672233&postcount=25](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4672233&postcount=25) That’s stunning to me that you remembered someone’s comment from 15 years ago. Well played. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-think-the-sdmb-will-be-around/841737/56 "2019-10-22T23:35:37Z")
I think we _should_ be asking, what do you want to see more of on these boards? I’m a new member. I’ll do what I can to keep the boards alive. What would it take to keep you interested? More GQ questions? More GQ answers? More debating? More elections? Less politics? More physics? High-brow humor? … need I visit the Pit? I didn’t think there was a financial component but if there is, I could pick up a membership. I should probably do that anyways, I use this site so often. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-think-the-sdmb-will-be-around/841737/57 "2019-10-22T23:43:23Z")
SDMB will last until we finish counting down from 1,000,000 dammit! ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2019, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-think-the-sdmb-will-be-around/841737/58 "2019-10-23T00:03:07Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > The xkcd forum continues to be [down](https://forums.xkcd.com/) after the intrusion discovered at the beginning of Sept. It was already fairly moribund. If it was brought back at this point it would be … moribunder(?). That board is down so much because they removed the link to it from the main comic page. Well that’s the reason it’s dropped so precipitously. > [@Max\_S](#): > > … need I visit the Pit? Not necessary. I never visit the Pit and don’t miss it. > [@](#): > > I didn’t think there was a financial component but if there is, I could pick up a membership. I should probably do that anyways, I use this site so often. The main advantage in becoming a member is that you don’t get ads. At least that’s the reason I keep my membership. But it also means the Board doesn’t get the revenue from showing those ads, so it’s probably close to a wash for the Board financially. If you want to support the board, try encouraging others to join. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2019, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-think-the-sdmb-will-be-around/841737/59 "2019-10-23T00:35:24Z")
I fully expect that 50 million years from now there will still be a Straight Dope with threads like “Upcoming Solar Extinction - The Legacy of Trump”, “Best Used Time Machine?” and “More Annoying Commercials”. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2019, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-think-the-sdmb-will-be-around/841737/60 "2019-10-23T15:29:34Z")
The Dope will ride on, as long as there exists in people a desire to post in left-wing echo chambers. -Just Another Guru In Drag [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-think-the-sdmb-will-be-around/841737.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-think-the-sdmb-will-be-around/841737.md?page=4)