The thing that folks like PorkChop47 don’t seem to understand is that even if the Chicago Reader were clearing a profit from this thing, we don’t care! If you were to tell me that switching to paid subscriptions has allowed Ed Zotti to retire to Tahiti and lie on the beach being fawned over by beautiful maidens, I’d be perfectly happy. They’ve spent a lot of years putting up with us and losing money in order to do it. They’ve chosen to ask for a lot less than they deserve.
Way back at the beginning of the thread, I would have said that PorkChop47 was probably simply ignorant of the reasons why the current subscription plan is in place. Now I see that he’s being willfully obtuse.
And he resorted to one of the lamest argumentative strategies out there–“What about the people in Africa?” That’s truly the last refuge of the rhetorically defeated. Maybe we should call any variation of “your points are invalid because there are people out there who are really suffering” Porkchop’s Ploy?
I’d like to note that yes, I agree that a fee will keep out some people who simply cannot afford the money, and who cannot get someone to sponsor them during their guest period.
However, I’d like to note that the alternative is not having a SDMB at all. This would impact the diversity of our board greatly, given that it wouldn’t even exist!
Attitude, braggadocio, selection of Red fucking Lobster as an example of an expensive restaurant where he could take everyone after “buying all our memberships”…
I’d say he’s about 14.
Next he’ll be bitching that the smilies aren’t animated. :rolleyes:
I strongly advise that you DON’T stay here. As it is, you’re >this< close to getting banned for trolling and abusing the membership as a whole.
It’s really none of your business where the money goes. The Chicago Reader wishes to see a return on its expenditure, and it’s set $14.95 as this year’s subscription price. If posting and searching on the boards is worth 15 bucks a year to people, then they’ll subscribe. If not enough people subscribe to make it worth the Reader’s while to keep the boards going, then the boards will be shut down.
P_T_ was welcomed because it’s apparent that he(?) is quite witty and funny. Sometimes a short, snappy post says much more than a longwinded one.
Incidentally, I find it amusing that you accuse the Straight Dope of not being interested in people from “developing nations”…if they can get here, and can hold their own, we’re happy to have them. In fact, one of our moderators is from India. No, I’m not going to tell you which one. But we’re very happy to have him. We’re very lucky to have him, in fact, he’s very smart and witty, and has a wicked sense of humor.
Oh, ferchrissake. Look, the “I’m so smart I can’t be bothered to express myself in coherent sentences” argument is very, very old and very, very tiresome. You may think you’re hot shit, but I guarantee you that there are plenty of people on this board who are smarter than you, better educated than you, and who can still somehow manage to use proper spelling, grammar, and rhetoric. If you’d tone down your arrogance a bit, you might get along here better–but you’ve made it clear that you have no real intention of doing so.
While it may be true that on the Internet nobody knows you’re a dog, it’s generally pretty clear whether you’re a jackass.
Exactly. In fact, although I paid only 4.95 for my membership (and incidentally, will pay only 7.49 next year, and will likely never pay 14.95 unless the Reader decides to make membership cost $30), I suspect I am not the only person who would gladly kick in an additional 14.95 if PorkChop and his ilk would go away.
Bringing my Dope fees to 19.90 US$ for unlimited fun, wit, insightful reading material and freedom from jackasses. Yes, I would buy that.
You sound like my sister every time we play Scrabble.
Porkchop47, go away. I hate you. I have no interest in answering your questions, I don’t care what you think about me, or the boards, or Africa, or life in general. I just want you to go away. You’re a smug, annoying little twit. Also, you’re ugly and you smell bad. I would rather stick my tongue in the asshole of a dead horse than read another one of your mind-numbingly irritating and condescending posts. You’re useless and unpleasant.
I did assume that Pokechop was #2, but I doubt that we’re talking about the same thing!
If someone else already wrote this I apologize. I promise I will read all the posts from yours (#102) to the end, but I had to get this in before I forgot about it. (Being a geezer, I have this short-term memory problem, you know.)
Actually, I think you are the first to comment on that, DesertGeezer, so no need to apologize. Plus, I was pretty proud of that line myself, so any excuse to bring it back up is cool with me. And I think we are speaking of the same #2.
