# PAY-PER-POST?!?!?!?!?! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 10, 2001, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-per-post/92557 "2001-11-10T01:28:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-per-post/92557/81 "2001-11-10T18:35:18Z")
> [@](#): > > Pepper - You know, if you were to move back here to Utah, you could yell your love for the Jazz from the highest building AND I could have the pleasure of inviting you and your husband over for super (no pasta or rice or Top Ramen)!!! We need ya back, Hon! > > I have now read more of the threads and wanted to add that again, even though I can and will pay for the privilege of posting, it is the fact that we will be losing people like Pepper that breaks my heart. Well, I’d go back to Utah in a New York minute if I could live in SLC _and_ avoid the snow. 🙂 But who knows, maybe this summer I will go visit my grandparents, and while there, take you up on your offer. 🙂 And thanks, I’m gonna miss you too. I’m not giving up though. Things look dismal now, but hey, Jaime is looking for another job. And if he does, that ole entertainment budget will get a much needed influx of cash. ---
**Author:** ![Diane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2acd7d/32.png) [@Diane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diane)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-per-post/92557/82 "2001-11-10T18:38:05Z")
> [@](#): > > But who knows, maybe this summer I will go visit my grandparents, and while there, take you up on your offer. You better! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-per-post/92557/83 "2001-11-10T18:40:16Z")
I think we can give the _professionals_ at the Chicago Reader the benefit the doubt that they’ve looked into the advertising possibility and found it an unviable option. They don’t have to look at every single exhaustive possible option. I’m sure the thought occurred to them of prostituting Little Ed, but it just ain’t gonna happen. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-per-post/92557/84 "2001-11-10T18:40:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stoid \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by spoke- \* > > \*\*[ I don’t mind the Chicago Reader making some money off of me, but if I sense profiteering, I’m outa here.) \*\* > > :eek: > > What are you, some kinda pinko-commie freak? \*\* I’m a Democrat. Does that count? 😉 Actually, in this context I’m just a price-conscious shopper. ---
**Author:** ![Freyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freyr/32/5763_2.png) [@Freyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freyr)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-per-post/92557/85 "2001-11-10T18:46:15Z")
**TANSTAAFL** I don’t like it, but it’s a fact. Ghods, next thing you know, I’ll be saying how great a Pres. ole Dubya has been. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-per-post/92557/86 "2001-11-10T18:49:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eutychus55 \* > \*\*I think we can give the _professionals_ at the Chicago Reader the benefit the doubt that they’ve looked into the advertising possibility and found it an unviable option. They don’t have to look at every single exhaustive possible option. I’m sure the thought occurred to them of prostituting Little Ed, but it just ain’t gonna happen. \*\* Are you _trying_ to insult me? They’re “professionals” and I’m not, so they know better than I do? What the FUCK is that? For the record, not only am I **currently** a “professional,” but I used to SELL ADVERTISING. I do know what the fuck I’m talking about, even if I’m not employed by the holy Chicago Reader. And I never said they **had** to look at every single exhaustive possible option. I merely quoted **ED’s OWN WORDS** they they _“have tried everything”_. Let me say this s l o w l y, so you get it this time. They. Have. Not. Tried. Everything. In. Spite. Of. That. Claim. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-per-post/92557/87 "2001-11-10T18:50:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shayna \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Lynn Bodoni \* > > If banned members try to sign up again, fine, we’ll take their money…and if we determine that they are, in fact, banned members, we’ll ban them again. No refunds. 😃 Right now, we’ve got a core group of people who make snide remarks about the way the board is run, we find them, cancel their privileges, start the cycle over again. How many names do you think that they’ll register at even $20 a pop? To my way of thinking, **THIS will be a great improvement of the board, and a major reason why donations or ads or whatever will not work.** This is a cost of running the message board that is mostly invisible to the average poster. Sure, right now we are dealing with the problem, but at a tremendous cost in time and energy. Time and energy that could be better spent elsewhere. > > If the real reason you want to force us to pay to play is that it gives you more control, then at least be honest about it and don’t try to pass this move off as a last resort because you’ve exhausted all other revenue resources when you haven’t. \*\* I don’t know how much of MY reason is the Reader’s reason. I do know that there are a lot of costs involved in drumming up internet advertising, and the last time we tried something like Burst, as you suggested (and we did try something like that) we got advertisements that we had no control over. We got ads for PSYCHICS. It was embarrassing. **THespos** told us of a way to control the ads, and I think that the Reader is looking at that, too. But MY reason for liking pay-to-post is not necessarily the Reader’s reason. I’m just saying that this will be a benefit to ME, personally, as an administrator who spends entirely too much time and energy ferreting out trolls. I’m also somewhat offended that you keep saying that the Reader hasn’t looked into these other revenue sources. I know that the Reader has, indeed, been looking at various schemes. The problem is that most non-porn banners want click-through rates, and don’t pay enough to even cover the cost of administrating them. Again, most of this is my personal opinions and experiences. We talk about revenue occasionally in the mod mail loop, so I do know more of what’s going on than the average poster. Lynn ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-per-post/92557/88 "2001-11-10T18:50:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lynn Bodoni \* > **This place was never meant to be a primarily social message board, but you’d never know that by some of the posters. Frankly, if ALL you’ve got to contribute is MPSIMS, then I won’t miss you. Yes, social posting is an essential part of this message board, and it’s a lot of fun, but it is not the primary reason.** Lynn’s comments are sort of what I was trying to get at in my post in that long thread on this topic. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by robby_ > \*\*I hang out primarily in GQ. I rarely start new threads. When I post, it is generally to share my knowledge on a subject I know something about. I enjoy doing this, and I would probably pay $10-20 per year for this. Anything over $20 is absolutely out of the question. > > Here’s the problem, though. If the SDMB starts charging a fee, say good-bye to the new members who post intriguing questions in the first place. They are the lifeblood of a forum like GQ. GQ will be left with nothing but the same old veterans. > > In short, I will be paying money for a board that will soon be a faint shadow of its former self. > > The last time this was discussed, the idea was floated of only charging for fora such as MPSIMS and the pit. Anything left of this notion?\*\* It seems to me that we must find a way for new members to post (especially in GQ) without paying for these initial posts. If it’s too hard to charge only for specific fora, the idea of 50 free posts seems to be an excellent one. I’ve heard people say that they were amazed at the responses they got to their initial questions, and that this is what hooked them on the SDMB. Frankly, though, the people who stay are in the minority. It is my understanding that the vast majority of SDMB members have less than 10 posts. In other words, they posted a question (probably in the wrong forum :D), got (hopefully) good answers, and left. If I’m capable of responding intelligently to one of these newbie posts, I do so. I like doing this–it’s fun to share what you know. And I’m willing to pay $20 per year to do this. But I am concerned that the source of new questions will dry up. (You know, even veterans are inspired to start threads based on discussions started by newbies.) For those who have indicated their willingness to pay, $20 seems to be the consensus amount. I agree with those who have said that if the price goes much higher than this, membership will drop to almost nothing. (To continue the comparison to a magazine subscription, I subscribe to _Newsweek_, which is a good magazine that I only pay about $20-25 a year for. I’d like to get _Time_ as well, or possibly instead, but they want about $50 a year. Result: I don’t get _Time_.) ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-per-post/92557/89 "2001-11-10T19:00:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by robby \* > **But I am concerned that the source of new questions will dry up. (You know, even veterans are inspired to start threads based on discussions started by newbies.)** I agree, and hope that posting to “Comments on Cecil’s Columns”, “Comments on Staff Reports” and “General Questions” remains free, since that seems to be a good way to get newbies hooked. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-per-post/92557/90 "2001-11-10T19:09:59Z")
**Shayna** Jesus, who pissed in your cheerios? Chill the fuck out. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-per-post/92557/91 "2001-11-10T19:10:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by robby \* > > **But I am concerned that the source of new questions will dry up. (You know, even veterans are inspired to start threads based on discussions started by newbies.)** > > I agree, and hope that posting to “Comments on Cecil’s Columns”, “Comments on Staff Reports” and “General Questions” remains free, since that seems to be a good way to get newbies hooked.\*\* That’s a noble suggestion, but I don’t think it will work out. There are a lot of people who spend most of their time only posting in GQ and Cecil’s Columns and Staff Reports. I myself don’t really post in GD, MPSIMS, IMHO, and CS. It may just end up shifting the posting patterns of people, without providing the revenue required. I agree with you 100% there needs to be a “hook” of some sort, but am uncertain if this idea would do it. ---
**Author:** ![jdavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f6c823/32.png) [@jdavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jdavis)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-per-post/92557/92 "2001-11-10T19:13:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by VeraGemini \* > \*\*Netscape 4.72/Win95/98/ME \*\* > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by alice\_in\_wonderland \* > \*\*Netscape 4.72, Windows 98 \*\* > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yosemitebabe \* > **Netscape 4.75, Mac OS 9.2.1.** My apologies. There was a problem with the full content of the [SDMB Subscription Pre-Registration Form](http://boards.straightdope.com/survey/survey.html) rendering correctly under certain versions of Netscape. The introductory text was not showing up. I’ve modified the HTML and verified that the complete form is now viewable under Netscape 4.72. Jerry ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-per-post/92557/93 "2001-11-10T19:15:42Z")
What **robby** said. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-per-post/92557/94 "2001-11-10T19:20:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guinastasia \* > \*\ ***Shayna** Jesus, who pissed in your cheerios? > > Chill the fuck out. \*\* EXCUSE me?? Fuck off. I’ll state my opinion if I damn well please, as THAT is what this forum is for. And you want me to PAY for this shit? “Jesus,” yourself. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-per-post/92557/95 "2001-11-10T19:28:03Z")
I couldn’t let this comment from the other long thread go by. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Krispy Original \* > \*\*What is this crap about there being no free ride? WTF? > > There are plenty of free rides. I have hundreds of them bookmarked. > > Get the fuck off the no free ride threats…it doesn’t work.\*\* That’s like saying, “Why should I pay for a car? I can bum rides from my friends for free.” Just because you are not paying the bills for a service doesn’t make the service “free.” That is the point that people are making when they say that there is no such thing as a free lunch. SOMEONE IS PAYING FOR IT! Look, hosting a website costs money. You have indeed been getting a free ride at the SDMB up to now. And if you insist on continuing to get a free ride, you can go elsewhere, where you can sponge off someone else. However, it’s not going to compare to the SDMB. Also, you are only staving off the inevitable. No organization can provide a service like the SDMB, with the volume of our membership and the quality of the administration, mods, and support staff, without some positive cash flow. Any comparable board is going to have to charge as well, or cut back, or eventually go under. Finally, I fail to see how an organization that is calmly explaining that they can no longer continue to lose money is issuing “threats.” I am extremely grateful for the _Chicago Reader_ to foot the bills for as long as they have. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-per-post/92557/96 "2001-11-10T19:42:52Z")
With regards to the accusations that Ed and the SDMB administration has “lied” because they said they investigated every option and yet we do not see banner ads floating around on every page: 1. Banner ads don’t pay for shit. It seems to me that you do not actually have to implement banner ads in order to be able to do a bit of basic research and figure this out. Presumably this option was investigated and found to be somewhat wanting. 2. Banner ads are annoying as fuck, and I for one will gladly pay $10-20 per year (less than I spend on Coke products – hey, there’s an idea, "Stay healthy! Spend your Coke money on the SDMB! but I digress) in order to be able to NOT SEE BANNER ADS. I am very, very happy that the SDMB has not implemented banner ads. Popup ads too. Do we have to put every single annoying-as-fuck ad concept that has failed pretty much every other site out there up on the SDMB before we decide they aren’t viable options? Hey, let’s not and say we did. I like that when I hit this site, I don’t have to look at 50 million spinny flashy blinky ads that give me a headache, and that every time I hit a page on this site, 15 popup ads don’t spawn in the background. I’ve spent time on sites that have gone that route in order to pay for costs. Very little time. It’s so annoying as to make the site practically unusable. Let’s not implement it here. And just to reiterate something I already said in the ATMB thread on this topic: I think that the idea of leaving GQ and the Comments forums free to post is a great idea. The “social” forums are the ones that seem to get the most posts and therefore are probably the biggest drain on resources, so it seems like a good idea to just have people pay to post in those. That way we still draw in new blood, but we gain revenue as well. I’m all for it. ---
**Author:** ![Billy\_Rubin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billy_rubin/32/3622_2.png) [@Billy\_Rubin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billy_Rubin)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-per-post/92557/97 "2001-11-10T19:49:47Z")
Like, three weeks of posting for free, during which time you can cancel your scrip without charges appearing on your card. You still have to give a valid card number to get in, but then if you decide it’s not worth your while you cancel before the charges are incurred. Or a completely free one week period, before you are asked to pay. I have some idea what the mods and admins go through, so this development is in no way a surprise to me. I’m just happy it’s not going to be 300 bucks. One of my friends just told me “Fuck them. You can go to another board for free- I would never pay for something like that” While there are free boards, you get what you pay for, mostly, and this guy has subscriptions to about seven magazines he hardly ever reads, always drinks one or two swallows out of a can of beer before letting it become a science experiment, and wastes far more money than this will ever cost on the most worthless bullshit imaginable.(collectible Star Trek christmas tree ornaments?). What a dipstick. I can understand if you have real money trouble. I’m gonna guess, if you have a real problem, and you send a personal email to one of the mods or admins, they will point you at someone who would be pleased to “sponsor” you, and if you have the ability to Sponsor someone you should contact a mod and offer to do so. Unless, of course, you’re Fenris. ::d&r:: b. [sub][Dr Frankenstein]KIDDING! I’m KIDDING! don’t you people know a JOKE when you hear one!! HAHAHA!![/Dr Frankenstein][/sub] ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-per-post/92557/98 "2001-11-10T20:22:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tricia Valentine \* > \*\*Too fucking bad. See me? 17 year old without money to give, let alone a way to give it? I’m gone. How many more like me? > > ~C~ \*\* I am 16 in the same situation. I am with you. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-per-post/92557/99 "2001-11-10T20:26:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ayesha \* > This is one of my big questions too, the LIONsob and I decided years ago not to play with plastic because we saw too many people get themselves into trouble that way. \*\* Don’t you remember the “change your password” thing a few months ago? The security on the message boards is lax. ---
**Author:** ![DPWhite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d26b3c/32.png) [@DPWhite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPWhite)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-per-post/92557/100 "2001-11-10T20:33:28Z")
I know that municipal zoos used to let people in for free, and when they started to charge a nominal fee, their attendance picked up. I know that a message board is expensive, we have 1.7 million posts, and 92k registered users. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-per-post/92557.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-per-post/92557.md?page=6)