# How were we supposed to find out about this (now-expired) policy? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 21, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-we-supposed-to-find-out-about-this-now-expired-policy/688967 "2014-05-21T22:17:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-we-supposed-to-find-out-about-this-now-expired-policy/688967/1 "2014-05-21T22:17:46Z")
> [@](#): > > PLEASE NOTE: Starting this year and going forward there is a change in a board policy that was instituted a few years ago. If you fail to renew your Charter Membership now you will not be able to regain it by paying additional money to have it reinstated. We are changing back to the original board policy that you have to renew your Charter Membership before its expiration or you lose it. I inadvertently let my subscription lapse a year or two ago, then renewed it. In the process, of course, I lost my Charter Member status. I’d have liked to have kept it. But I was aware that the policy was, once you lose it, it’s gone. Only apparently it wasn’t - for awhile in there, [according to this announcement](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/announcement.php?f=2), I could have paid some money (how much? who knows, but it would have been nice to) and become a Charter Member once again. It’s really not that big a deal in the overall scheme of things, but still: nice of you to tell me about the ‘new’ policy through the announcement that you’ve gone back to the original policy. It’s not like I’ve been absent from the boards for the past few years, but I can’t recall any “regain your charter membership” announcements. And I checked my email account that’s linked to this board to see if there had been anything in that time period about this policy. Couldn’t find anything going back to 2010. So thanks a bunch, guys. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-we-supposed-to-find-out-about-this-now-expired-policy/688967/2 "2014-05-22T02:38:15Z")
I’m not a charter member, never have been, and never will be (unless the board gets really desperate for cash, hint hint), but even I’ve been aware of this policy for a very long time now. Tubadiva has mentioned it in many threads where people were discussing their charter member status. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-we-supposed-to-find-out-about-this-now-expired-policy/688967/3 "2014-05-22T02:46:23Z")
Maybe you could e-mail Tuba and ask her nicely? ---
**Author:** ![j\_sum1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8baadc/32.png) [@j\_sum1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_sum1)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-we-supposed-to-find-out-about-this-now-expired-policy/688967/4 "2014-05-22T03:09:27Z")
I am in the same position. Lost the charter status due to missing my subscription by a couple of days. Emailed a mod and was told it was gone. I figured at the time that it probably wasn’t worth worrying about and descended to guest status. It wasn’t until quite recenty later that I found out that it might have been possible to have it restored. And now it’s not again. The irony here is that if I had been allowed to have it reinstated a couple of days after I lost it then the boards would have made some money out of me. A lot more than they currently get from my attention to advertising. It’s not like I need it to stroke my ego or anything: which is why I never considered it a big deal. But here is a bit of a community of old-timers here and recognising that is I think worth something. Hang, if I was offered a CM again now then I would probably start paying again. Poor decision IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-we-supposed-to-find-out-about-this-now-expired-policy/688967/5 "2014-05-22T08:05:10Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > It’s really not that big a deal in the overall scheme of things, but still: nice of you to tell me about the ‘new’ policy through the announcement that you’ve gone back to the original policy. It’s not like I’ve been absent from the boards for the past few years, but I can’t recall any “regain your charter membership” announcements. And I checked my email account that’s linked to this board to see if there had been anything in that time period about this policy. Couldn’t find anything going back to 2010. I don’t recall there being a general announcement or sticky, but it was mentioned numerous times in threads about membership in ATMB. Typically phrased something like “email Tubadiva and we will see if we can work it out”. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-we-supposed-to-find-out-about-this-now-expired-policy/688967/6 "2014-05-22T10:00:15Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > I don’t recall there being a general announcement or sticky, but it was mentioned numerous times in threads about membership in ATMB. Typically phrased something like “email Tubadiva and we will see if we can work it out”. I didn’t really have a reason to open any of those threads. (Hell, I don’t even come to this forum more than once in a blue moon.) I wasn’t having a problem with my membership, other than the fact that I’d lost my charter membership, and I had every reason to believe that once you lost it, it stayed lost. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-we-supposed-to-find-out-about-this-now-expired-policy/688967/7 "2014-05-22T10:03:43Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Maybe you could e-mail Tuba and ask her nicely? From other comments in this thread, it sounds like the point of the announcement is that they’re saying not to bother anymore - that that’s how the ‘new’ policy worked while it was in effect, but now it’s gone. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-we-supposed-to-find-out-about-this-now-expired-policy/688967/8 "2014-05-22T10:05:55Z")
FWIW, I knew about it only because, by chance, I scanned a thread where it was mentioned. To the best of my recollection, I’ve never seen an ‘official’ announcement or advisory in that regard. One thing I _do_ remember, though, is thinking to myself at the time, “I’m glad I came across this thread. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known about that option”. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-we-supposed-to-find-out-about-this-now-expired-policy/688967/9 "2014-05-22T12:18:17Z")
For many years once you lost Charter Membership, it was gone. And then there was a chance to get it back and that went on for a couple of years. There were announcements about it at the beginning and there were notices in ATMB. I helped as many people as I could. And now that door is closed. If there was something I could do to fix it and get it back, I surely would. But that’s not an option as things stand now. It’s important to check for announcements – how else can news get out to the board? If you don’t read the announcements what can we do? People also get email reminders that their subscriptions are expiring. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-we-supposed-to-find-out-about-this-now-expired-policy/688967/10 "2014-05-22T12:19:03Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > From other comments in this thread, it sounds like the point of the announcement is that they’re saying not to bother anymore - that that’s how the ‘new’ policy worked while it was in effect, but now it’s gone. I believe that was a the sound of a woosh. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-we-supposed-to-find-out-about-this-now-expired-policy/688967/11 "2014-05-22T14:12:49Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > People also get email reminders that their subscriptions are expiring. Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don’t. Way back when (it’s been several years) my charter membership expired and I did not get an e-mail prior to it expiring (and my e-mail address has never changed in all the years I have used SDMB, so it’s not that). I didn’t bother trying to fight it. Sounds like that has happened to a few other people over the years. I assume you are using the same e-mail server that people have occasionally complained does not send them messages about subscribed threads? ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-we-supposed-to-find-out-about-this-now-expired-policy/688967/12 "2014-05-22T21:31:05Z")
I set up an annual reminder on my calendar to remind me to renew some time ago, which has definitely helped me remember to renew the last few years. I wasn’t all that worried, though, because I thought that the policy of allowing people to regain Charter Member status was still in effect. The fact that this policy has since changed comes as a surprise to me, because I wasn’t aware of it until now. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-we-supposed-to-find-out-about-this-now-expired-policy/688967/13 "2014-05-22T23:33:20Z")
> [@j\_sum1](#): > > I am in the same position. Lost the charter status due to missing my subscription by a couple of days. Emailed a mod and was told it was gone. I figured at the time that it probably wasn’t worth worrying about and descended to guest status. > > It wasn’t until quite recenty later that I found out that it might have been possible to have it restored. And now it’s not again. > > The irony here is that if I had been allowed to have it reinstated a couple of days after I lost it then the boards would have made some money out of me. A lot more than they currently get from my attention to advertising. > > It’s not like I need it to stroke my ego or anything: which is why I never considered it a big deal. But here is a bit of a community of old-timers here and recognising that is I think worth something. Hang, if I was offered a CM again now then I would probably start paying again. Poor decision IMHO. Agreed, the result of this decision is that if I ever forget to renew and lose my charter membership I will simply never subscribe again, become a guest, and rely on ad-blocking software to make the board readable. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-we-supposed-to-find-out-about-this-now-expired-policy/688967/14 "2014-05-23T00:29:53Z")
Is it really all that difficult for people to remember to renew? You can renew anytime, you don’t have to wait for a reminder or until it gets close to the expiry date. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-we-supposed-to-find-out-about-this-now-expired-policy/688967/15 "2014-05-23T00:30:57Z")
If the board truly is as strapped for cash as has been suggested, why _wouldn’t_ you let people buy back into their Charter Membership? Does setting that up require more than just Admin privileges to the board itself? If so, is Jerry really so busy that he can’t spare an hour or two to get this working and is there really nobody else in the SDMB admin/moderator staff who would be willing to chip in a few hours on it? I’d be very interested in direct answers to these questions, but I have a feeling that all we’re going to hear is what **TubaDiva** has already said: “We emailed you, and tough titties if you missed or didn’t get it.” ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-we-supposed-to-find-out-about-this-now-expired-policy/688967/16 "2014-05-23T00:37:39Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > People also get email reminders that their subscriptions are expiring. When exactly do they go out. My subscription was set to expire on the 20th. I renewed on the 17th. No problem, but I never got a notice. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-we-supposed-to-find-out-about-this-now-expired-policy/688967/17 "2014-05-23T01:23:58Z")
> [@Lord\_Ashtar](#): > > If the board truly is as strapped for cash as has been suggested, why _wouldn’t_ you let people buy back into their Charter Membership? Charter Members pay half the normal rate, I believe. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-we-supposed-to-find-out-about-this-now-expired-policy/688967/18 "2014-05-23T02:02:04Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > When exactly do they go out. My subscription was set to expire on the 20th. I renewed on the 17th. No problem, but I never got a notice. Same here - just re-upped, never got a notice. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-we-supposed-to-find-out-about-this-now-expired-policy/688967/19 "2014-05-23T11:55:37Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Same here - just re-upped, never got a notice. +1 ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-we-supposed-to-find-out-about-this-now-expired-policy/688967/20 "2014-05-23T12:57:34Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Same here - just re-upped, never got a notice. I don’t think I’ve ever received an email notice - but I generally re-up at least a month or two in advance and I don’t know if it’s set up to only email folks who are in danger of expiring. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-we-supposed-to-find-out-about-this-now-expired-policy/688967.md?page=2)