I’ll see quite a few people who will have like “1999” or “2001” as their join dates, but they aren’t CM’s (or lapsed CM’s). I must thus assume they joined way back when, posted for a month, then lurked for a number of years before free posting came along. So let’s have a roll call of these long-time lurkers.
Hi! 
Join Date: 12-13-2007 (I did have another guest account a few months before that, but I probably shouldn’t mention that).
I don’t know if I’m exactly what you’re looking for, but I’ve been lurking since before the board first started the pay-to-post program.
I didn’t get a full membership because I didn’t have a credit card. Then I didn’t join because I didn’t only want a month here. I knew that if I ever made the leap from lurker to poster, that I’d spend far more than a month here.
Face it, you’re stuck with me now.
I lurked for just a little while.
I joined when it was free, lurked for a while, and then ponied up a couple years ago before it was free. Do I get a toaster?
That would be me - I don’t know when I joined, but it was a while ago (I think I wanted to search for something, and didn’t know guests couldn’t search) and then I was (and still am) too shy to actually say much; I read a whole lot though!
That would be me also. I blame laziness. I like you guys. I like reading what you have to say. I just feel you that there’s always someone who says it better than me.
So I just keep reading…
I didn’t lurk.
I signed up, stayed for about 1880 posts before the pay thing started. I paid for the first year, but so many people that I enjoyed talking to left when pay to post came in, it just didn’t feel the same anymore. I left too.
Last month something jogged my memory, and I felt a sudden nostalgia for the best message board I’d ever been a part of. I googled, and to my amazement, there was no more pay to post!!
Not that the $7 a year was ever a big deal - it just felt like half the party was gone, and I didn’t want to be here without them.
I read sd article about mb costs, and the banner revenues and server costs, ect… sorry no link.
I took advantage of the 30 day FREE trial offer though, but, no wait that was myfico.com
I started lurking during the great airplane/treadmill debate, but I didn’t sign up for a guest membership until I thought we were getting close to free posting. It turns out I misjudged by a few months.
I first started lurking here in 2000, then signed up and began posting in 2003. I ponied up and became a Charter Member for the first year of pay-to-post but, like lolagranola, decided the party was over and didn’t bother to renew.
Since 2005 I’ve reverted to occasional lurking again when the mood takes me …
Long-time lurker…and I finally signed up a couple of days ago. I thought being able to actually post would help me ease the boredom of being at home recuperating from my spectacular car wreck earlier this week. 
And hey! This is my first post! 
Welcome!
I’ve been lurking as a guest for a couple years… signed up for a 30-day trial, posted once, and then lurked some more.
For me, lurking just gave me time to “observe the local customs”, and get rid of my bad habits gleaned from other forums.
I joined in 1998 and posted once in awhile. When it went to pay, I just lurked. Since I didn’t sign in for a long time, I forgot my login info and made another account.
I was a member back before pay to post. Actually I dropped off the board when life got crazy and missed pay to post completely! Recently I found the Barn House Forum, and my way back here. My original account was still good, after all those years. (These people never throw ANYTHING away!)
Joined back before the pay to post started. Posted a little. When it went to pay I lurked again. One year for my birthday I got a membership, and posted a few. Let it lapse as I never really had much to say. Now that it is free again I find myself posting more often.
-Otanx
Bout 6 or 7 years lurking here. Really don’t know why either. I just joined a couple weeks ago and try to post regularly. I think it actually helps me be more social in real life somehow. Who knows…
I’ve been lurking since around 2000 or so. I’m just lazy and didn’t get around to joining until much later.
Yeah, I never bothered with pay to post. I suppose it always seemed like too large of a community to strike up a rapport with anyone, and it’s rare for a topic not to be answered by people with more relevant knowledge than mine. I just like to read.
Definitely the case, Rolken! I was intimidated by the average IQ (or at least, the general clarity of peoples’ messages) that I feel as though I have to pick my words carefully, lest I sound like an ill-mannered clod