# I think I'll spend my $14.95 elsewhere... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 10, 2004, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ill-spend-my-14-95-elsewhere/259149 "2004-08-10T03:55:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ill-spend-my-14-95-elsewhere/259149/41 "2004-08-10T06:00:58Z")
Why do you think we care? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ill-spend-my-14-95-elsewhere/259149/42 "2004-08-10T06:03:55Z")
I question the rules here all the time. I shine bright lights in their faces, burn their skin with cigarettes, and threaten to start cutting off fingers. They remain stubbornly silent, though. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ill-spend-my-14-95-elsewhere/259149/43 "2004-08-10T06:06:48Z")
> [@Rooves](#): > > IThis is a really anal board. Anal and egotistical for a board that seems largely liberal. Hey! Who says only conservatives get to be anal and egotistical? I demand equal assholedom rights! > [@](#): > > Another thing is this “don’t let the door hit you in the ass” attitude. I think it’s dangerous, stupid and exclusionary. I welcome other peoples opinions, which is good because I’m sure I’ll get just that. > > People who are already members of this exclusive e-society are offended by any percieved attack and take personal offense to any “outsider” who questions them. Naw, I think it’s more that we’ve already been through every one of these points, ad infinitum ad nauseam. Combine that with the snarky “You’re all a bunch of poopyheads for putting up with this” air of OP’s like **Principessa’s** and you’re really asking for the “so just leave already” comments. > [@](#): > > I’m sure some might say “well, then whay are you here then!” > My answer is…none of your fucking business. Heh. You just stick around for the cat adoration threads. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ill-spend-my-14-95-elsewhere/259149/44 "2004-08-10T06:08:52Z")
> [@stately plump buck mulligan](#): > > benefitted = benefited Aaaand since Miss Irony 2004 won’t be able to [fulfill her duties](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=benefitted), **neuroman** will be taking her crown! [cheering] . … [distant cheering] . [cheering fades away] ---
**Author:** ![stately\_plump\_buck\_mulligan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/858c86/32.png) [@stately\_plump\_buck\_mulligan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stately_plump_buck_mulligan)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ill-spend-my-14-95-elsewhere/259149/45 "2004-08-10T06:24:23Z")
I realised THAT about .04 seconds after hitting ‘submit’ but I was too busy being in a mild concussion to post a third time. Sigh. At least I get to look awful fetching in this here tiara. grumble grumble… can’t stand the way it looks with two Ts anyways… grumble grumble… I stand by every word… ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ill-spend-my-14-95-elsewhere/259149/46 "2004-08-10T07:02:30Z")
> [@Principessa](#): > > I’ve never posted on a BB with so many incomprehensible rules and policies. Don’t bump a thread over three months old? Not allowed to edit a typo or add anything to your post? Geez. Yes, I’ve been told the ostensible reasons for these rules, but I don’t buy them. > Simple policies such as _quoting_ a post to which you are replying (and you seem to have the technology here) can make it not matter if someone edits to retract statements once there are replies (and in fact _proves_ their duplicity), which I understand is the basis for the no-editing rule. Not allowing the majority of posters to edit a typo or correct a fact because a handful of other posters misuse the edit feature hardly strikes me as an effective way to Fight Ignorance. > > The moderators seem a much more oppressive presence here as well, bordering on power-crazed control freaks. I’m all in favor of moderators joining in the discussion and grateful when they shut down threads that turn nasty, but … here it seems you PAY to be micromanaged. You make a couple of good points- for some reason the Staff here is absolutely _convinced_ that if there was even a 10 minute window for editing your own posts, the entire free world would collapse. :rolleyes: They have pointed out that someone could edit their post to change what they said after someone replied and posted a good repartee- and my answer was “so what”? :dubious: I make typos. Lots of typos. On every other board I can edit them out- and I am talking boards with more than 10 times the members here. And so far, I have seen one mild problem on that huge board in years of posting- and none at all on the smaller boards. I am not sure why they are so sure it wouldn’t work, as it works elsewhere and i don’t think it has even been tried here - in recent memory. The staff here is actually pretty good. Of course, once in a while, one of them will go on a “power trip”, but that happens elsewhere. All in all, pretty reasonable dudes. Of course “don’t be a jerk” is too nebulous- and face it- it has been tried and doesn’t work. But- on some other boards, there are Mods that make these dudes look like “Mr/Ms Nice Guy”- I’d say the mods here are a little better than average- and pretty damn good for such a big board. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ill-spend-my-14-95-elsewhere/259149/47 "2004-08-10T07:09:15Z")
> [@Rooves](#): > > Another thing is this “don’t let the door hit you in the ass” attitude. I think it’s dangerous, stupid and exclusionary. I welcome other peoples opinions, which is good because I’m sure I’ll get just that. > > People who are already members of this exclusive e-society are offended by any percieved attack and take personal offense to any “outsider” who questions them. Anyone making a post that boils down to “Hi! I’ve been here 10 minutes. I don’t like the way you run the place, and so here are a list of things you should change. Now I’m leaving because there’s _much_ better places than this on the internet. Bye! I’m still here! Bye!” is asking for people to take offence. It’s just rude to show up and expect everything to change just to suit you. Apparently it never occurred to Principessa that the other members must be happy with the way the place is run or they wouldn’t stay. Goodness knows there are enough forums on the net that you could keep swapping around until you find one that suits you. There’s absolutely no reason to make a crass post insulting the management and declaring your intention to leave for greener pastures. Principessa has indicated that she thought that her comments would be used as feedback to improve the place. Perhaps if she’d spent more than 14 days here she’d have had a chance to see the wisdom of some of the rules. For instance, on smaller boards or less factually-inclined boards, the ability to edit posts poses less of a problem. Here, they can be misused by trolls or by people wishing to rewrite history and cause all sorts of problems. I don’t 100% agree with the lack of edit function, but I do understand why they chose not to offer it. Also, Principessa commented on the “micromanagement” by the moderators, apparently expecting that this would make them rethink their policies and reduce or abolish moderation all together. What she fails to understand is that some of us prefer a moderated enviroment because we’re sick of dealing with jerks all over the internet. If we felt oppressed and wanted a place where we could speak more freely, we’re perfectly capable of going elsewhere. In short, if one message board doesn’t live up to your hopes and expectations, move on. Don’t insult the system that the old-timers obviously support. If it’s a busy and successful board (and I believe the SDMB is), and you find you don’t like it, then you’re obviously in the minority because they others wouldn’t stay if they weren’t happy. The very last thing you should do is tell them that it sucks so bad that you’re leaving. That’s just rude and uncalled for. ---
**Author:** ![Zhen\_ka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecccb3/32.png) [@Zhen\_ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zhen_ka)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ill-spend-my-14-95-elsewhere/259149/48 "2004-08-10T07:14:59Z")
> [@vanilla](#): > > I don’t have a clue Is this a tease? Because if you’re serious, this post alone is worth the price of admission. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ill-spend-my-14-95-elsewhere/259149/49 "2004-08-10T07:41:57Z")
Yeah, fuck everbody on this board! And I mean _everybody!_ You bunch of loser Straightdopers! I only hang out on these boards to see what you chumps are gonna do next. It’s kind of like whatching a train wreck. And just so you know; I’m giving my computer moniter the finger as I’m hitting the submit button. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ill-spend-my-14-95-elsewhere/259149/50 "2004-08-10T07:44:59Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I’d say the mods here are a little better than average- and pretty damn good for such a big board. Yeah, I agree. The mods is good. The problem (not a massive, intolerable problem, but a problem just the same) is just a general pissy-prissiness that makes this board less pleasant than it could be. There is not a single member of this board that I would not shake hands with and have a brew with, but for some reason people get banned all the time (when they are trolling, that’s fine). I see people with lots of posts get warned (don’t do it again or you’ll be banned) for stuff that I just don’t understand. It can be a somewhat oppressive atmosphere at times. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ill-spend-my-14-95-elsewhere/259149/51 "2004-08-10T08:24:09Z")
You make a good point. And, it is hard to tell if one has been 'warned" or not- for instance, in this thread: > **[Income Tax Ratification](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=268888)** > > Income Tax Amendment Not Ratified Here is the information I looked up on the topic (It has little/nothing to do with Ohio): The ratification required by at least 36 states – three-fourths of the 48 states then in existence – has to be identical to... CK Dexter Haven spoke to me about a post. Now, yes, I was unclear on that post- my bad- but was that a 'warning" or a 'question"? He seems pretty cool, however, so I am not worried, but I can see what you mean **Aeschines**. But fuckme, some of the mods on the other boards are “tin plated dictators”. :eek: Here it isn’t bad at all. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ill-spend-my-14-95-elsewhere/259149/52 "2004-08-10T11:03:30Z")
> [@Principessa](#): > > Oh, and I forgot-- the sophisticated intellectual repartee here is WAY over my head. Then wipe your mouth and get up off your knees… ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ill-spend-my-14-95-elsewhere/259149/53 "2004-08-10T12:18:49Z")
_Originally Posted by iamthewalrus(:3= Don’t let the door hit your ass, etc._ > [@Principessa](#): > > Oh, and I forgot-- the sophisticated intellectual repartee here is WAY over my head. Considering where you seem to keep yer noggin, both of the above statements are true. :wally ---
**Author:** ![Black\_Train\_Song](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@Black\_Train\_Song](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Black_Train_Song)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ill-spend-my-14-95-elsewhere/259149/54 "2004-08-10T12:31:46Z")
All right all right!! I don’t even know who **Principessa** is. I was trying to be the good samaritan of…god knows what. Don’t shun me from the herd. I was grumpy last night. The kind of grumpy you’d expect someone with anal leakage to have. Not that I have anal leakage, but the kind of grumpy you’d expect from me if I had. You’re right **ETF**. You got me -it’s the cat threads that have me hooked. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Black\_Train\_Song](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@Black\_Train\_Song](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Black_Train_Song)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ill-spend-my-14-95-elsewhere/259149/55 "2004-08-10T12:34:04Z")
Speaking of memebership prices - I should have went around buying up introductory prices like cheap real estate and sold them for a decent profit. Another investment opportunity missed! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ill-spend-my-14-95-elsewhere/259149/56 "2004-08-10T13:43:30Z")
> [@cazzle](#): > > I think the majority have spoken and they’ve said “We like it the way it is”. Actually, I think the majority have voted with their feet here. Surely it hasn’t escaped you that over our time we’ve had over 40,000 members, and only a tenth of those paid even the $4.95 introductory fee. Not a terrible proportion, but not super great either. Many, many long-time posters have just gotten tired of this place, and stopped posting, because they “don’t like it the way it is.” I myself have quit posting here twice, once for almost a year, because I was sick of a lot of crap from other posters. I’ve thought this board was bad for newbies for a long time, not just since the “Charter Member/New Member” pricing structure was introduced. A friend of mine who is a mod at one board, and a long-time member of another board which I know a lot of Dopers frequent (Snopes, if it matters), came here some time ago to ask a question on GQ. For reasons known only to the perpetrators (I saw the thread and I couldn’t figure it out) she got hounded and flamed–yeah, in GQ. Obviously she didn’t feel like coming back here. So, for the sake of a few folks protecting their turf here, we lost somebody who would have been a productive, experienced poster. And, frankly, that sucks. The “if you don’t like it here, leave” attitude doesn’t help. To expect absolute respect and admiration for a message board you don’t know very well is a lot to ask in 30 days. I didn’t even feel comfortable posting at all until I’d been here over a year. Frequent admonitions for new posters to lurk for a while so that they"get a feel for this board before posting" don’t help that much either. I’ve been here over five years now on and off now, and I still “don’t have a feel” for this place! I still feel like a foreigner here, after almost 4,000 posts. I’d venture the say that the only way anybody _could_ “get a feel for this board” would be to post, to interact with other Dopers. So, now after thirty days of getting ripped by other posters for not knowing “the rules,” we ask them to stump up $14.95 for the privilege of getting ripped a while longer. What’s the answer? I don’t know. But I’ll say this: if I were a newbie coming here, I wouldn’t pay $14.95 for this place. $4.95, sure. But, somewhat like the OP, I have _donated_ more than $14.95 to another board of which I am a member. And when my year’s subscription comes up here, I will think long and hard before I agree. As will many other posters here, I’m sure. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ill-spend-my-14-95-elsewhere/259149/57 "2004-08-10T14:08:34Z")
Well, I paid the $15 admission fee, and I got no beef. I only post from work, because this is enough of a high-bandwidth site that it crawls on my dialup connection, and I need to know that the threads I open aren’t going to have innappropriate images or links to inappropriate sites. Because of the rules and the moderation, I get that here. Yay. Plus, free doughnuts. You guys that paid $5 probably don’t know about that, though. ---
**Author:** ![OxyMoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9a140/32.png) [@OxyMoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OxyMoron)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ill-spend-my-14-95-elsewhere/259149/58 "2004-08-10T14:09:27Z")
Eh, I’m not here as much as I used to be, but frankly it’s because the mods aren’t nearly as hard-assed as I think they ought to be. (Picture **Coldie** and **Manny** on ‘roid rages and you’ll get an idea of what I think the Board _really_ needs.) And I do believe that if you don’t like it here, you should leave; not necessarily quietly because we do need to hear criticism, but because whatever criticism you might have is most likely something everyone here has debated endlessly. There are few other boards out there that cover so many topics with so many participants, and so I don’t think most other boards’ experiences are all that relevant. The fact that even 4,000 folks have signed up is quite remarkable. And the fact that we’ve got many thousands more posting means that this place is staying alive quite nicely - much too nicely to handle the sort of informal moderating that was common in the early days, when “don’t be a jerk” was all we needed. Now, as for the OP - am I the only one not exactly surprised that a poster who calls herself “ **Principessa** ” turns out to be a royal pain in the ass? ---
**Author:** ![LibrarySpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@LibrarySpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LibrarySpy)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ill-spend-my-14-95-elsewhere/259149/59 "2004-08-10T14:17:59Z")
I don’t understand the “newbies have only 30 days to learn the boards” attitude. I lurked for years here. _Years_, before I had the balls to post. I think every “newbie” should do the same. > [@](#): > > I’d venture the say that the only way anybody could “get a feel for this board” would be to post, to interact with other Dopers. My experience was different. I have learned as much from other people getting slammed as I have from my own abuse at the hands of fellow dopers. It is an ugly, pretentious board in some ways, but that has _nothing to do with subscription fees._ And I don’t believe people should be able to edit their posts. It takes me upwards of an hour to compose most of my posts, and I think I’d be less careful about my words if I could just go back and edit. I’d spew more garbage than I already do, and that cheapens the discourse. People should stand by what they post. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ill-spend-my-14-95-elsewhere/259149/60 "2004-08-10T14:38:55Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > Actually, I think the majority have voted with their feet here. Surely it hasn’t escaped you that over our time we’ve had over 40,000 members, and only a tenth of those paid even the $4.95 introductory fee. Not a terrible proportion, but not super great either. > > Many, many long-time posters have just gotten tired of this place, and stopped posting, because they “don’t like it the way it is.” I myself have quit posting here twice, once for almost a year, because I was sick of a lot of crap from other posters. But those dynamics are universal – people always come and gi, and the vast majority of those 40,000 were inactive loooong before the switch to a pay site. There were several threads on this in ATMB, and the statistics showed that few people left because of the switch. > [@](#): > > I’ve thought this board was bad for newbies for a long time, not just since the “Charter Member/New Member” pricing structure was introduced. It’s not a bug, it’s a feature. I see your point, but I’m not overly disturbed at the prospect of scaring off the thinskinned. > [@](#): > > To expect absolute respect and admiration for a message board you don’t know very well is a lot to ask in 30 days. Where does anyone ask for that? We just don’t like whiners. > [@](#): > > And when my year’s subscription comes up here, I will think long and hard before I agree. As will many other posters here, I’m sure. Me, too, but for nearly opposite reasons: the mods are too lenient, and I think “fighting ignorance” has given way to “warm and fuzzy message board” in the scale of priorities. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ill-spend-my-14-95-elsewhere/259149.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ill-spend-my-14-95-elsewhere/259149.md?page=4)