# Improving the SDMB **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [March 25, 2008, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improving-the-sdmb/442640 "2008-03-25T03:48:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improving-the-sdmb/442640/121 "2008-03-27T23:28:00Z")
Judicious use of images can add another level of expression to online posting. I’m for enabling them and allowing people who hate them so passionately to turn them off. I don’t think having them will cause a huge influx of b-tards or similar types of forum-goers (no disrespect to b-tards.) ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improving-the-sdmb/442640/122 "2008-03-27T23:48:54Z")
[QUOTE=norinew] Thanks! Now if I can just remember where I put those damned safety pins. . . [/QUOTE] You put them in the file cabinet under “F”. For _fingerstickers_. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improving-the-sdmb/442640/123 "2008-03-28T01:08:30Z")
[QUOTE=Rico] You put them in the file cabinet under “F”. For _fingerstickers_. [/QUOTE] So _that’s_ why I couldn’t find them! Now that I’ve got them, clearly, I’ll have to pin a :smack: to my shirt. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improving-the-sdmb/442640/124 "2008-03-28T03:00:24Z")
I think this is really good news. I’m hopeful for the future of the board again, as I haven’t really been for some time. Oh, and just one other thing: I’d like to keep my Charter Member title, too. Because I had hope for the board then, too, and hung in there. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improving-the-sdmb/442640/125 "2008-03-28T03:14:01Z")
The folks in charge might want to have some sort of announcement on the other fora as well, as a couple of times today I’ve seen posts that make it clear that people have no idea about any changes in the pay-to-post system. Not everybody checks out ATMB. fixed typo ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improving-the-sdmb/442640/126 "2008-03-28T03:24:18Z")
[QUOTE=Rico] You put them in the file cabinet under “F”. For _fingerstickers_. [/QUOTE] Clearly, you mean digitstickers. Or do you not have thumbs? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improving-the-sdmb/442640/127 "2008-03-28T03:54:26Z")
[QUOTE=DSYoungEsq] Clearly, you mean digitstickers. Or do you not have thumbs? 😛 [/QUOTE] Then the “F” must stand for the expletive you scream when you stick your digits. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improving-the-sdmb/442640/128 "2008-03-28T13:01:09Z")
[QUOTE=DSYoungEsq] Clearly, you mean digitstickers. Or do you not have thumbs? 😛 [/QUOTE] > [@Rico](#): > > Then the “F” must stand for the expletive you scream when you stick your digits. Obviously, **Rico** has a much more sophisticated understanding of my filing system than **DSYoungEsq** does. Maybe that’s why _he_ gets to be a Mod. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improving-the-sdmb/442640/129 "2008-03-28T17:11:55Z")
[QUOTE=Ed Zotti] It’s not hard to do this [become an Amazon click-through] and we might. It’s not a big moneymaker, though. We do it for the Reader; for one recent period we funneled about $14,000 in revenue to Amazon, for which we got a commission of about $550. [/QUOTE] So, just shy of 4%, then. Not the greatest chunk of chance in the world, but it’s still an ROI. If you don’t want it, well hell, I’ll be happy to accept an annual check for 4% of what SDMB members spend at Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improving-the-sdmb/442640/130 "2008-03-28T18:07:09Z")
Also, I’d be willing to bet we have a higher proportion of bookreaders here than on the general CR site. Given the number of reading threads going at any one time, and the number of Amazon links provided strictly for reference in any reading thread, it seems like a no-brainer to me. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improving-the-sdmb/442640/131 "2008-03-28T18:07:22Z")
You know what? It’s all fine and good for the Charter Members to want to keep their title, but what about regular old members? I ponied up the money to post under the current system, and it would be nice to keep some kind of a title or recognition of that. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improving-the-sdmb/442640/132 "2008-03-28T18:16:35Z")
> [@Ed Zotti](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Any discussion of an Amazon click-through so you get some revenue that way? > > It’s not hard to do this and we might. It’s not a big moneymaker, though. We do it for the Reader; for one recent period we funneled about $14,000 in revenue to Amazon, for which we got a commission of about $550. While it might not be your biggest moneymaker, it’s hard to beat the ROI. It’s free to sign up, and it can’t take much more than 5 minutes to fill in the form. Get someone who makes $100,000 a year to do the sign up at a total cost of $4.17, and the effective interest rate is about 13,000%. That’s pretty good. ETA: OK, so you have to take into account the cost of adding the form to your webpages. That might drive the interest rate down to four digits, but that’s hardly a tragedy. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improving-the-sdmb/442640/133 "2008-03-28T19:05:09Z")
[QUOTE=appleciders] You know what? It’s all fine and good for the Charter Members to want to keep their title, but what about regular old members? I ponied up the money to post under the current system, and it would be nice to keep some kind of a title or recognition of that. [/QUOTE] There will always be our join date. Kind of like how the 99’ers are apart from the Charters. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improving-the-sdmb/442640/134 "2008-03-28T19:45:24Z")
How 'bout FPM (Former Paying Member)? ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improving-the-sdmb/442640/135 "2008-03-28T20:15:33Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > You know what? It’s all fine and good for the Charter Members to want to keep their title, but what about regular old members? I ponied up the money to post under the current system, and it would be nice to keep some kind of a title or recognition of that. That certainly sounds fair to me. I hadn’t thought of it before. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improving-the-sdmb/442640/136 "2008-03-29T00:11:49Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] How 'bout FPM (Former Paying Member)? [/QUOTE] I could go with that. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improving-the-sdmb/442640/137 "2008-03-29T01:26:57Z")
[QUOTE=robby] **I agree that Charter Members should be able to keep their titles.** Back when the board went to pay-to-post, a lot of people said they’d never pay for internet content, and left. The Charter Members stayed and paid. Personally, against my better judgment, I paid and maintained my subscription to a board that appeared to be going down the tubes at times. The Charter Members were tossed this “meaningless” bone of a title as incentive to sign up front instead of waiting to see if it worked out. Please let us keep it. ) [/QUOTE] I agree. And, I even paid in advance this year. Oh well, a contribution to the cause. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improving-the-sdmb/442640/138 "2008-03-29T01:33:28Z")
Note that I have no objection to seeing some ads, even if I pay. But no Pop-ups, pop-unders, moving banners or anything else where spyware/malware/adware can lurk. Snopes sold out to a malware company (Zango, maybe “adware” is a better name, but), I want to make sure that doesn’t happen here. Advertising is one thing, spyware is another. But I had & have no objection to the Google ads. Actually, they were kinda cool at times. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improving-the-sdmb/442640/139 "2008-03-29T01:36:17Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] Actually, they were kinda cool at times. [/QUOTE] Seriously. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read through a thread and by the time I was at the bottom of the page, I was thinking, “Man, I wish I could undo my circumcision damage. Now where could I go to do that?” ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improving-the-sdmb/442640/140 "2008-03-29T05:04:04Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] Actually at least two posters\* have already pointed that out. But, I think the other side of the coin is some posters prefer the fact the board is unattractive to those scary posters from places like the Disney Board that post 4 words and 200 animated smilies and 6"x6" avatars. [/QUOTE] This assumes that it’s the lack of those features that are keeping those “scary posters” away. I don’t think I buy that. Correlation doesn’t necessarily imply causation. [QUOTE=ultrafilter] It’s not like the sort of people who make illiterate posts full of stupid images are sitting around waiting for us to turn avatars on so they can come and drop our average IQ to zero. Our board’s culture places a strong emphasis on literacy and education, which is not appealing to them. Why would they want to post here? [/QUOTE] I’m with you. Turn on all the bells and whistles and I bet they don’t get abused. Nor do I think the SMDB culture would be much affected. And for the record, I don’t give a damn about being a charter member. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improving-the-sdmb/442640.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improving-the-sdmb/442640.md?page=8)