# Long-Time Members **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 1, 2009, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-time-members/495041 "2009-05-01T22:49:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-time-members/495041/21 "2009-05-13T03:22:47Z")
> [@](#): > > I believe the administration has already come right out and said they feel there are plenty of suckers willing to pay a yearly subscription fee to have a title upgrade and location-fieldedness. I have no concern for location fields and special titles. In fact, until I read this thread I hadn’t noticed that “guests” didn’t have post counts or location fields. I pay because I don’t see any reason not to. We’re talking seven dollars and forty eight cents a year. I paid twice that much for lunch today. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-time-members/495041/22 "2009-05-13T03:23:45Z")
> [@mutantmoose](#): > > No that was a different board. It began anew if you recall. And I was its genesis. GIve us a link, guy. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mutantmoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@mutantmoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mutantmoose)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-time-members/495041/23 "2009-05-13T03:29:08Z")
I already did. I like to think of all posts that have been made since then as branches off the central tree which I planted. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-time-members/495041/24 "2009-05-13T03:32:40Z")
> [@mutantmoose](#): > > I already did. Where?!?! Thanks, CP ---
**Author:** ![mutantmoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@mutantmoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mutantmoose)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-time-members/495041/25 "2009-05-13T03:35:28Z")
In my first post in this thread. Yea, even these words we are speaking now, I foresaw. And the next thing you will say. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-time-members/495041/26 "2009-05-13T04:20:26Z")
Seems to me that every user who registers should be a registered user, whether he registered yesterday or eight years ago. If he wants to be a member, he should subscribe. ---
**Author:** ![Sofis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Sofis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofis)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-time-members/495041/27 "2009-05-13T05:28:14Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > Paying members and non-paying members alike all agree on this issue. **Damn it, already.. change the “Guest” title for those that aren’t actual drive-by visitors, and for god’s sake, turn on the freakin’ location and post count fields.** Include me out of that agreement. I like not having my location attached to every post I make. Please don’t change it. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-time-members/495041/28 "2009-05-13T05:36:28Z")
I thought they _didn’t_ want paid subscribers. Or at least didn’t care. Of course I also thought Ed promised some cool stuff to make up or the whole “cunt” fiasco. (Mind you, I never thought we’d _get_ it.) ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-time-members/495041/29 "2009-05-13T15:27:38Z")
> [@Sofis](#): > > Include me out of that agreement. I like not having my location attached to every post I make. Please don’t change it. Well, you can always leave it blank. It defaults to blank, so it will contain nothing unless you type something into it. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-time-members/495041/30 "2009-05-13T15:33:25Z")
> [@mutantmoose](#): > > It is kind of annoying that I’m labelled as a guest when I was the one who made the [first ever post on this board.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=481340) All other posts that have been made since then are just offshoots from that first primeval post. I see myself as Adam and you as my children. Hi Dad! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-time-members/495041/31 "2009-05-13T16:27:12Z")
I don’t have a lot of strong opinions on user titles, but why do people see a negative connotation to “Guest?” Registered Users are people who don’t follow up on their confirmation emails. Most of them are presumably spambots. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-time-members/495041/32 "2009-05-13T16:34:33Z")
I, personally, don’t care what it says in the way of a label. Call me Douchebag of the Month if you want for a label; at least it will serve to evoke some interest. 😛 But it is very silly to label people who have been posting for a long time “guests.” A guest is someone who is a temporary visitor. The come in with your permission, eat and drink you out of house and home, then leave, without bothering to clean up the room on the way out. They are not the guy who lies on the couch eating chips out of a bag and drinking soda pop day in and day out while watching pr0n or playing Xbox games. So I, too, would love to see that word “Guest” ushered out the door as a method of describing people who simply haven’t paid a fee that the powers that be assiduously assert they really don’t want us to be paying anyway (since it limits the income from selling ads here). ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-time-members/495041/33 "2009-05-13T17:39:47Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > So I, too, would love to see that word “Guest” ushered out the door as a method of describing people who simply haven’t paid a fee that the powers that be assiduously assert they really don’t want us to be paying anyway (since it limits the income from selling ads here). FYI, at the beginning of the year, [Ed said](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=10638328) that at that time, subscribers were actually more profitable, but the goal was to make the same amount of revenue whether or not someone chose to subscribe. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-time-members/495041/34 "2009-05-13T17:41:38Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I don’t have a lot of strong opinions on user titles, but why do people see a negative connotation to “Guest?” I don’t either but since the question is on the table… Generally the title “guest” would imply a totally anonymous visitor who has not in any way shape or form registered. i.e. no email address has been provided or confirmed. At that point if they registered by providing an email address and following whatever confirmation procedures, they would be something like “registered user”, and finally, should they choose to support SDMB with a paid subscription they would be a “charter member” or whatever. IIRC, nobody can post to the SDMB without registering with an email address so technically there is no situation that would warrant the title “guest”. A real “guest” account would be someone who can post messages without having confirmed their email address. Personally, I like things simple. How about “freeloader” and “Grand Poobah” as the only 2 levels? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-time-members/495041/35 "2009-05-13T17:50:49Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > Generally the title “guest” would imply a totally anonymous visitor who has not in any way shape or form registered. i.e. no email address has been provided or confirmed. But you can’t post unless you do that, and everybody who posts here would presumably know it. I think this speaks more to the assumptions people make than to any quality the term “guest” has. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-time-members/495041/36 "2009-05-13T18:10:28Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > An old proverb says that after three days guests and fish start to stink. > [@](#): > > Fish and visitors smell in three days. ``` -- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack, 1736 ``` I don’t believe Franklin was around for the first scribing of the Bible, but I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Sofis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Sofis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofis)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-time-members/495041/37 "2009-05-13T19:31:02Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Well, you can always leave it blank. It defaults to blank, so it will contain nothing unless you type something into it. I probably will if they ever change it, or have some non-descriptive text (that’s what I did when it was visible). As it is, I don’t mind having my location be available on request, it’s just the constantly holding a sign that says “Hi, I’m from Sweden.” aspect of it that annoys me :). ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-time-members/495041/38 "2009-05-13T19:41:32Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > – Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1736 > > I don’t believe Franklin was around for the first scribing of the Bible, but I could be wrong. “Proverb” isn’t an exclusively Biblical term – it just means a pithy, well-phrased bit of wisdom. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-time-members/495041/39 "2009-05-13T20:42:31Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > Paying members and non-paying members alike all agree on this issue. **Damn it, already.. change the “Guest” title for those that aren’t actual drive-by visitors, and for god’s sake, turn on the freakin’ location and post count fields.** Then pay up, **Stink Fish** you deadbeat! 😉 Something else for old-timers would probably require a user-by-user change which would more than likely tear a hole in the space-time continuum. Otherwise, I really couldn’t give a rat’s ass. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-time-members/495041/40 "2009-05-13T20:45:06Z")
I only care because, when y’all announced the move to the ad-based system, you made a big deal saying you were going to change the names. I was later told that died in committee, but I honestly think it just got forgotten, and now nobody wants to bother. My main thing is not changing the name of Guests, but having an easy way to distinguish between those who have been on the board a while, and those who just signed up. We had that distinction when we were pay-to-post, and I think it helped. It’s not that I consider noobs as inferior, but that the way I talk to someone who just got here is different from the way I talk to someone who has been around a while. I can assume that a long-time poster will know more about the way this board works. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-time-members/495041.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-time-members/495041.md?page=3)