# Paid Subscriptions - What for? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 27, 2004, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-subscriptions-what-for/247367 "2004-05-27T16:39:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-subscriptions-what-for/247367/41 "2004-05-28T03:35:53Z")
This thread is amusing. ---
**Author:** ![Sharky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@Sharky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sharky)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-subscriptions-what-for/247367/42 "2004-05-28T03:45:24Z")
Fifteen bucks is pocket change. Big deal. ---
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-subscriptions-what-for/247367/43 "2004-05-28T03:49:20Z")
> [@](#): > > How kind of you Mr. Admin for moving my post to the pit. It is a wish come true do i get two more? You can read descriptions can’t you? > [@](#): > > The BBQ Pit > If you gotta flame, do it here. This is the place for **all complaints and other discussion regarding administration of the SDMB** > [@](#): > > It’s nice to receive an overwhelming response from all of you. I’m glad I could spark a bit of dialogue, enough to even piss some of you off. Of course you’re going to defend your positions, you already forked over the $14.95 and there’ s no getting it back. I’m the perfect prey to pounce on aren’t I? Face it you were had! You’re using an outdated vbulletin board. Again I wasn’t chastising users of the board. I was writing against the admin and the board itself. But you all chose to poke fun at my name. Well I didn’t really care if you went or stayed and I had no desire to jump on you. As for outdated Vboard what do I give a fuck? I’d rather have a debate about atheism, and a discussion about video games with people that are all smarter then me then go to a place that is full of 'ur dum hahahahah! yu’ll see teh matirx is relly deep jst look at the clues!!!1!" (no kidding that’s an actual post I saw on another message board) and you’ll note that not ‘all’ made fun of your name. Some were fairly evenhanded in their response. > [@](#): > > Why don’t you all overwhelimgly respond to some of my Other posts in the same manner you did this one… So you had a failed thread. Big deal. 90% of my threads don’t go anywhere I don’t bitch about it. > [@](#): > > Aren’t you all smart well rounded people? apparntly not your lack of vocabluary indicates that! I’m not even going to bother quoting your mind less cursing, and swearing (we have enough of that on 98% of the web. I thought this was the one place that was fre of that, and that rational humans would solve their differences and debate with words. Except for the pit where is all this cursing you see on this board? I’ve seen some of the most intense interesting and thought provoking debates that were just a pleasure to read in Great Debates. You’re out of your mind if you don’t think the people here are well rounded and can’t discuss without resorting to swearing to make a point. That’s what I DO see on OTHER message boards all the time. > [@](#): > > Let’s not forget the head nodding, and mindlessly agreeing to one another (read back through the thread and see how many of you use the same lines as others). All the pit does is breed a bunch of mindless head nodders that agree to the same things. You aren’t any better than a party of monkeys. Monkeys eh? And you wonder why people swear at you? The only time I ever see everyone agree on any topic is when someone is making a complete ass of themselves. Heck we have a thread right now talking about handcuffing and tazing a 9 yr old girl and if it was the right action or not. Sound like everyone agreeing? I don’t think so. > [@](#): > > You didn’t even address what I was getting at. All you can do is poke fun at my name ‘PorkChop’. That’s your best comeback? Thanks for showing me to the door (all of ten times). Sounds like groupthink has really come into effect in the so called “pit” (so much for lively hair raising discussion) do you all ape each other or do you have any unique views of your own. Clean out your potty mouths, and bring some constructive defence. Or do you all gang up on unwelcome guests? Must have missed **Jimmy Chitwood’s** Post that addressed your points already. As for unwelcome guests it seems that when a guest makes themselves unwelcome then they should indeed be ganged up on. That’s the whole point of making yourself unwelcome isn’t it? To play that poor voice of dissent and nail your hands to that shiny cross you bear around just in case the occasion merits it. > [@](#): > > I really don’t know where you’re pulling $4.95 from cite please. It’s $14.95 when i cheked on the subscribtion link in the initial post. I’m not too bothered with what happened here 5 years ago. What want a picture of my credit card bill showing 4.95? I guess I could post it on the net somewhere and cite it. But what would the point be? > [@](#): > > For a group of people that fight ignorance, you sure do breed a lot of hate in this place. Nowhere have I heard the mention of tolerance (I’m not the one cursing) I’m using english (granted I type fast and don’t use correct grammar or spelings). So you pay $14.95 to come here to vent your frustrations of the world. That’s your way of helping fight ignorance (more like promote hate and anger). The swearing is mindless. So what if people are still writing checks in the 21st century. The author of that post evidently found the half hour to type his ANGRY post to the SDMB. Typing HARD on your keyboard makes you feel good huh? Wow do you read ANY other forum then the pit? This place it awash with tolerance for anything other then willful stupidity. As for people posting rants there’s 99% of the time someone coming along saying “hey you’re way too worked up about something this stupid” > [@](#): > > I would reply to all your critisims individually…but wait there are none. You were all poking at my name, my spellings and how i ought to get out of here. There must be a lot of truth in my initial post cause it certainly attracted your attention. Even the admin jumped right on that one and threw it in the pit so it may be ripped to shreads! more selective reading and interpretation by you. Somehow I fail to be surprised at this point. > [@](#): > > Again credibility ratings, avatars, spell check, more emotes are standard on many new board applications. You may hate them but i am sure the admin here will upgrade sometime to the new vbulletin that has these features plus more. So even if you’re into old school boards that may change. Hmm why do you want spell check so badly when you admit you don’t use them? Maybe to just bitch more about how much this board sucks perhaps? As for the rest of that crap I hope they disable all of it. Nothing is more annoying then someone having avatars and crap all over the screen all the time. > [@](#): > > Avatars needn’t be inappropriate. No need for thongs or any of that. Avatars are widely used and personalise a message. The new msn messenger uses avatars too, where you have a personal logo. Why on earth do you need an avatar? They are mostly just jokes that aren’t funny the second time around. > [@](#): > > spell chek, sure why not? beats the hell out of cutting and pasing from MS word or whatever. Thanks for that solution whoever stated that. How clever of you to suggest that. Wouldn’t it be easier to have a little spell check button? I’d love a spell check button. Maybe with my money they’ll upgrade that. > [@](#): > > Are you luddites and going to challenge industry standard forum tools? Let’s just go back to smoke signals shall we… Put up a fight with vbulletin, phpbb, phpnuke and invasion boards. Oh and good luck to you! Er ok. Obviously because this board isn’t avatar friendly and aren’t in a hurry to update we’re all luddites seeking to roll back in. Was that enough of a discussion to you? Now can you go away? ---
**Author:** ![P\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a587f6/32.png) [@P\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P_T)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-subscriptions-what-for/247367/44 "2004-05-28T03:49:21Z")
> [@](#): > > Again credibility ratings, avatars, spell check, more emotes are standard on many new board applications. You may hate them but i am sure the admin here will upgrade sometime to the new vbulletin that has these features plus more. Just one point. If I’m not mistaken, this is VBulletin v3.0.1, the latest version. It has all these features if they are chosen to be enabled. However, part of them are disabled for newbies, and others are disabled because the general population here doesn’t want them. But then you would know all of this if you had bothered to read even 1/4 of the stickies and announcements. I’ve only been here a few days and it’s obvious there is a level of intelligence that is much higher than average, the loss of you will only propel that average higher. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-subscriptions-what-for/247367/45 "2004-05-28T03:56:18Z")
> [@Sharky](#): > > Fifteen bucks is pocket change. Much less _five_. Get the message, pig? > [@PorkChop47](#): > > I’m the perfect prey to pounce on aren’t I? Actually, yes. You’re loud, obnoxious, you don’t read the stickies or pay attention to what anybody else says, you’re a complete schmuck… are you sure you won’t subscribe? I’m sure we have an opening in the ‘intellectual punching bag’ department. ---
**Author:** ![Grasshopper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f19dbf/32.png) [@Grasshopper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grasshopper)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-subscriptions-what-for/247367/46 "2004-05-28T04:03:12Z")
A party of monkeys? That sounds like fun! ---
**Author:** ![AwSnappity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-subscriptions-what-for/247367/47 "2004-05-28T04:04:31Z")
> [@PorkChop47](#): > > I really don’t know where you’re pulling $4.95 from cite please. It’s $14.95 when i cheked on the subscribtion link in the initial post. I’m not too bothered with what happend here 5 years ago. Ha, apparently all you suckers had to pay $15 and I got away with only paying $5. 🆒 Anyway, it looks like our dear old buddy **PorkChop47** is having some difficulty understanding the, erm, more _complex_ issues in this thread, so I’ll sum it up succinctly. Me: paid $5 'cause I wanted to Lots of other Dopers: paid $5 'cause they wanted to **PorkChop47** : apparently doesn’t want to pay $15 Ergo, **PorkChop47** _(say it with me, folks)_ **DOESN’T HAVE TO**! Listen, **PC**. This message board just doesn’t seem suited to your needs, and that’s fine. No one here is making you stay. We’ll be sad (well, maybe not everyone) that you don’t want to stay–we welcome differing viewpoints, whether you choose to believe that or not. But if this place isn’t your cup of tea, for God’s sake don’t spend $15 on it. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-subscriptions-what-for/247367/48 "2004-05-28T04:05:24Z")
> [@P\_T\_](#): > > Just one point. If I’m not mistaken, this is VBulletin v3.0.1, the latest version. It has all these features if they are chosen to be enabled. However, part of them are disabled for newbies, and others are disabled because the general population here doesn’t want them. But then you would know all of this if you had bothered to read even 1/4 of the stickies and announcements. I’ve only been here a few days and it’s obvious there is a level of intelligence that is much higher than average, the loss of you will only propel that average higher. Will you marry me? Nevermind the fact that I’m engaged. ---
**Author:** ![P\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a587f6/32.png) [@P\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P_T)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-subscriptions-what-for/247367/49 "2004-05-28T04:06:49Z")
> [@iampunha](#): > > Will you marry me? > > Nevermind the fact that I’m engaged. Two conditions First, we need to move to Utah. Second, you have to talk my wife into it. Good luck with that. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-subscriptions-what-for/247367/50 "2004-05-28T04:22:03Z")
> [@PorkChop47](#): > > I’m not too bothered with what happend here 5 years ago. It’s obvious that neither are you too bothered with what happened here 31 days ago. See, if you knew some of the history, some of the culture of the board, you’d know that 90% of your points have been discussed here, sometimes almost ad infinitum. The culture here is not what you wish? Fine, go find another board that does suit you. I find it interesting that most of the people who deplore cussing are a member of the group of people that most inspires cussing. ---
**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-subscriptions-what-for/247367/51 "2004-05-28T04:32:41Z")
> [@PorkChop47](#): > > I invite you to personally challenge my criticisms. This post ought to be in the BBQ PIT if you ask me! > [@PorkChop47](#): > > There must be a lot of truth in my initial post cause it certainly attracted your attention. Even the admin jumped right on that one and threw it in the pit so it may be ripped to shreads! Conflict? ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-subscriptions-what-for/247367/52 "2004-05-28T04:48:18Z")
> [@PorkChop47](#): > > How kind of you… I’m feeling (a) bored, and (b) petty, so I’d just like to point out that in this post, you have, by my count, 60 sentences and 98 errors. These numbers yield an average of 1.63 errors per sentence. On the other hand, you do have 14 sentences that are error-free. Despite those glorious, glorious 14 sentences (and I personally have no doubt that classics such as “That’s your best comeback?” will live forever in the annals of rhetoric), you appear to be somewhat, well, “challenged” in regards to the fight against ignorance. In other words, save yer $14.95 and buy yourself a clue. ---
**Author:** ![01010000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/0/94ad74/32.png) [@01010000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/01010000)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-subscriptions-what-for/247367/53 "2004-05-28T05:02:45Z")
**PorkChop47** , I’m with you on this. The Chicago Reader benefited from the site, there’s no way they would shell out $100,000 if they didn’t. All of the statistics on the front page that tries to woo internet advertisers is a direct result of the activity of this board. Let’s say the owners of the board netted $18,000 from the paid subscriptions, isn’t that enough for a T1 connection for a couple of years in addition to 2 or 3 servers with goo-gob-gigabytes of storage, which would be more than enough to run this board? Can someone help me fight my ignorance about this? Anyone? I think the biggest scam here is that people are paying for content that they have collectively created and I’m talking about all of the people that grandfathered in. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-subscriptions-what-for/247367/54 "2004-05-28T05:04:01Z")
A **PorkChop** being roasted in the BBQ Pit. I love this board! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-subscriptions-what-for/247367/55 "2004-05-28T05:07:58Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > A **PorkChop** being roasted in the BBQ Pit. > I love this board! 😃 It is wonderful, isn’t it? My personal favorite exchange thus far: > [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Still here, eh? > [@PorkChop47](#): > > Yes > [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Why? Classic. ---
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-subscriptions-what-for/247367/56 "2004-05-28T05:13:47Z")
> [@01010000](#): > > PorkChop47, I’m with you on this. The Chicago Reader benefited from the site, there’s no way they would shell out $100,000 if they didn’t. All of the statistics on the front page that tries to woo internet advertisers is a direct result of the activity of this board. I notice a marked lack of advertisement on this board and the homepage of the straight dope. If they really were trying to get advertisers there’d already be something up there. Even some crappy banner ads. > [@](#): > > Let’s say the owners of the board netted $18,000 from the paid subscriptions, isn’t that enough for a T1 connection for a couple of years in addition to 2 or 3 servers with goo-gob-gigabytes of storage, which would be more than enough to run this board? Can someone help me fight my ignorance about this? Anyone? Hmmm and they pay for that $18,000 how exactly? No donations. No Advertising. Oh I know charge people! Wait you don’t like that idea. Or are you just in favor of charging people until they pay that much and give the rest away for free? Not very fair IMO. > [@](#): > > I think the biggest scam here is that people are paying for content that they have collectively created and I’m talking about all of the people that grandfathered in. Sooo…if you heard about a gathering of people you wanted to talk to and relate to. People you were interested in and you got to the gathering hall and the man at the door says “hey you can watch all you want but if you want to participate you have to pay a cover charge” You’d mutter about scams and how unfair it all is? Heck even the Something Awful forums don’t let you view to your heart’s content they limit the threads you can view before you’re kicked out for 24 hours or until you pay. ---
**Author:** ![pilot141](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e0b2c6/32.png) [@pilot141](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pilot141)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-subscriptions-what-for/247367/57 "2004-05-28T05:15:32Z")
Normally I wouldn’t say anything but **CK** has done me the favor of moving this to the pit. So…this has to be one of the most self-indulgent OPs ever. **PorkChop** is asking if this board is worth his/her money (in a rude, condescending way implying that it isn’t). The responses have generally been “it’s worth it to me, but make your own choice” or “shut up and go away”. **PorkChop** has been offended by the responses to his/her OP. Well, **PorkChop** , tough fucking shit. It sucks to be you. What follows is a simple explanation of what has happened to you. If you walked into a car dealership and said to the nearest salesman “Tell me why I should buy the Xtreme Integralero AWD SLE” he would regale you with the benefits of the model. Why? Because his job is to SELL VEHICLES, and selling you an overpriced Integralero will put money in his wallet. In fact, everyone in the room would be rushing to you and trying to get you to buy the Integralero from them. They don’t really care about the quality of the vehicle, they just care about getting one more person to buy one. It’s all about numbers. This is exactly what the SDMB isn’t. For the SDMB, imagine you got a “guest pass” to a Cirque de Soliel performance. This pass allowed you to stay for the first thirty minutes of the performance. At the thirty minute point, you stand up and yell to the other audience members “Why should I pay for this? This sucks! Not one explosion or nekkid booby scene in 30 minutes! When I watch Skinemax I get explosions and boobies every five minutes!” A few audience members “shoosh” you early on, a few more say “well, then go home and watch Skinemax” and a few urge you to shut the hell up. Is it becoming clear yet? No one is forcing you to participate here, and no one is forcing you to pay anything. Asking members to justify your payment is just as rude as asking fellow movie/show-goers to justify your payment for the show. Either shut up and enjoy the show or leave and quit ruining the show for the rest of us, please. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-subscriptions-what-for/247367/58 "2004-05-28T05:16:39Z")
> [@01010000](#): > > **PorkChop47** , I’m with you on this. The Chicago Reader benefited from the site, there’s no way they would shell out $100,000 if they didn’t. All of the statistics on the front page that tries to woo internet advertisers is a direct result of the activity of this board. > > Let’s say the owners of the board netted $18,000 from the paid subscriptions, isn’t that enough for a T1 connection for a couple of years in addition to 2 or 3 servers with goo-gob-gigabytes of storage, which would be more than enough to run this board? Can someone help me fight my ignorance about this? Anyone? > > I think the biggest scam here is that people are paying for content that they have collectively created and I’m talking about all of the people that grandfathered in. As I understand it, the biggest benefit which has resulted from the new pay scheme, simply put, is the continued existence of the board. The powers that be were no longer going to allow the board to suck up resources without any compensation. We didn’t go pay in order to improve performance, and there was no promise that our money was going to reap us any immediate _improvement_ in the board’s performance; rather, the Reader finally got back a little bit of the money they had been spending on the board all along. Think of it this way- we’ve been racking up expenses on somebody else’s tab, and the Reader finally called it in on us. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-subscriptions-what-for/247367/59 "2004-05-28T05:17:54Z")
> [@P\_T\_](#): > > I’ve only been here a few days and it’s obvious there is a level of intelligence that is much higher than average, the loss of you will only propel that average higher. Good lord, you’ll fit right in! Your snark levels are already off the charts! On behalf of the other SDMBers, I beg you to join us. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![01010000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/0/94ad74/32.png) [@01010000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/01010000)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-subscriptions-what-for/247367/60 "2004-05-28T05:38:30Z")
> [@P\_T\_](#): > > Just one point. If I’m not mistaken, this is VBulletin v3.0.1, the latest version. It has all these features if they are chosen to be enabled. However, part of them are disabled for newbies, and others are disabled because the general population here doesn’t want them. But then you would know all of this if you had bothered to read even 1/4 of the stickies and announcements. I’ve only been here a few days and it’s obvious there is a level of intelligence that is much higher than average, the loss of you will only propel that average higher. You are mistaken, they’re running verison 3.0.0 Release Candidate 4, which to my knowledge is software that you usually don’t pay for because you’re involved in beta testing it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-subscriptions-what-for/247367.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-subscriptions-what-for/247367.md?page=4)