Perhaps folks took you seriously without you even noticing it. Even when others take you seriously, it’s good to not take yourself too seriously. 
Then, you’d become boring, as I fear I did, rattling on in my previous post. :smack:
I’m a Charter Member, and I plan on staying that way.
Partly for the prestige (what little there is).
Partly for the craic (of which there is plenty – and let’s face it, what else would I do all day when I’m meant to be working?).
But mainly because half price is a bargain in anyone’s books, and with the exchange rate the way it is…
Yeah, I’m cheap.
What is your problem here? Liberal answered a question. You posed another question, in essence offering an alternative indication of importance for the term “99er” which indicated that '99 was different because of the fact that it was our first year of existence. Liberal responded by noting that it was also the year of something completely trivial. I am certain most here understood his post to mean that your attempt to distinguish your alternative from his was a distinction without much value. In response, you stated, “I mean, literally hundreds of things happened in 1999.” This appeared to miss the point to Liberal’s commentary. Thus, I offered that you had been whooshed by his comment.
Now perhaps you consider the suggestion you’ve been whooshed to be somehow insulting. In that case, I can only say that I’ve been whooshed enough around here that I’ve grown bald from the backwash of the engines, and I’ve never found it upsetting if someone points that out, as long as they aren’t horribly impolite about it. After all, it’s not like Uncle Cecil himself is known for his charitable, kindly manner when spotlighting error. So I hope you aren’t all upset because of the simple comment “whoosh.”
Otherwise, I’m not sure why your tone has to go all wonky here. I don’t see where anyone was “condescending” in tone at all. And, in the future, if you have some particular problem with anything I say or do here, please feel free to send me a polite, private message with your concern. 
Not meant to be cruel, not at all and I’m sorry you feel so disappointed.
The Charter Member offer was made one time and one time only. It was a promise made to you and a promise on your part.
Our promise to you: Charter Members pay half the going rate for as long as they stay subscribers.
Your promise to us: You will keep subscribing every year.
That’s really all there is to it.
Once Charter Membership is lost it cannot be regained. If you stop subscribing and the subscription expires you are no longer a Charter Member.
(In the interest of full disclosure I will mention we have had ONE person regain Charter Member status, but that was because he was in the U.S. Armed Forces and did not have access to the Straight Dope while overseas, many websites are blocked on military computers. Under the circumstances we felt granting that one exemption was reasonable. We don’t plan on doing this a lot; if it’s up to Jerry it will never happen again.)
All you have to do to keep Charter Membership in force is to continue to subscribe. If you stop subscribing, it’s over and Charter Member designation is lost.
It’s as simple as that. It’s as clear as that.
We remind you when it’s time to resubscribe – there’s announcements on the board, we send you email – more than one email, in fact – people talk about it. It’s not a secret.
I always hate it when someone becomes unhappy like this but dammit, what can we do? I can’t fix retroactively what you didn’t take care of in the first place. I routinely receive email from people who feel they’re still entitled to be Charter Members and request reinstatement. When I explain the situation they become angry and hurt. There’s nothing I can do about any of it.
I’m in with the “In” crowd
I go where the “In” crowd goes
I’m in with the “In” crowd
And I know what the “In” crowd knows
You know what? No worries. That was yesterday, today I’m more than over it. It’s not your fault if I didn’t remember the terms of service when I registered.
I was only mostly kicking myself for bringing it to your attention. :smack:
(Do people really get “angry and hurt” to that degree?? I could see maybe over the discount but over the title?)
Thanks,
She who was Formerly Known As CharterEmmaJane
Is the username “Charter Member” taken?
Yeah, angry and hurt.
Been called everything except a child of God sometimes.
Been taken to task quite a few times in email and on this board and elsewhere.
Some of them would pay more than the going rate – if they could just keep the title. No fooling. It’s the bling of the board, baby.
::: sigh :::
Hey…you know, come to think of it, I never did get my tote bag. :dubious:
I gotta say, this statement made my day. I’m a Charter Member and it’s a blingful thing? Sounds good to me!
And if the word “blingful” didn’t exist before, I want full credit. 
OK, so here’s the current list as I know it:
[ul][li]Charter Member[/li][li]Member[/li][li]Guest[/li][li]Moderator[/li][li]Administrator[/li][li]SDSAB[/ul][/li]
So what’s up with THIS?
You forgot
-Suspended
-Banned
-Posting Sabbatical
-Perfect Master
I wanted “Village Idiot”, but Tuba said no. 
There’s a waiting list for that one.
I’m a charter member, although at the time the board went pay-to-play, I didn’t even have a credit card. (I think my then-girlfriend helped me out the first year and Dante got me the second year, but I could be misremembering.) Today I pay my own way, as I am a millionaire with a mansion and a yacht.
Jesus, Mary and Joe Cocker, I’d trade “Charter Member” for that in a second.
Elmer Fudd? Is that you?