mmm… superfly calculator…
jarbabyj would go broke in a week. 
As another MP aside, I’d hate to see this turn into a brawl. I understand the equations like: rent = not paying for SDMB or Pleasure gained/cost of posting. However, it looks like the Powers That Be have looked at all possible options and have decided this is the way it just might have to go.
I know a huge percentage of the active posters love this place, but to paraphrase 40% of all good jazz lyrics, “Honey, love don’t pay the bills.” Or, as I say, the situation is what the situation is. Again, I’d rather pay than see this place go away.
Charging a fee will cause the SDMB to become insular.
I’ll pay, at least for the first year. But I’m afraid the place will wither away.
A feature of this board that has always contributed to its vitality has been 24/7 cost-free ease with which one can suddenly be a part. That is why I along with many others offered to pony up for a new server many months ago; I fear that which might staunch the flow of new contributors and drive away some present members of the group. That being said, I think Danalan has a great idea with the 500 free posts suggestion.
Although I indicated that I would probably pay if the rate was not too excessive (and especially if I received a discount ;)), I worry that the population diversity on the board will contract. The bulk of the board would be restricted to:
- rich (well, not poor, or even struggling)
- American (for you it’s $50, for me it’s $80)
- adults with good credit.
I feel that the demographics involved in this would risk the diversity of opinion and intellectual rigour that we have seen up until now on this board. If it’s doubtful I would be able to pony up such a fee, it’s even less likely that (say) Hamish would.
(Could there be flexible payment plans? Like, if you can’t afford a $20-$50 lump sum, maybe have the option for a $5-$12.50 quarterly payment?)
Also, I am annoyed about the “only one pre-registry per computer” requirement, presuming it means, as it appears to, that Hamish would be unable to apply for it.
How about some of us High School students who have
[li]no money[/li][li]no credit card[/li][li]over protective parents who would never justify paying for that kind of thing[/li]
If they went to pay, I would have to leave. As would many of us.
Many other web sites I hang around started charging this year. I didn’t pay. Why? Because I was saving it in case the SDMB started charging. If I had to pay for every site I enjoy I could easily spend $500+ a year. I had a feeling this would happen here, so I decided if and when the SDMB charges, that’s where my money will go. I don’t post a lot, but this site is easily the most valuable to me.
Nope, I think the idea sucks.
I’ve been around a long time, and I’d rather find another board elsewhere(or GASP start my own Yahoo! board or something).
Not only will you lose your installed base, but you’ll be turning away new users. Nobody pays to strictly use message boards…unless there’s some other attraction to the site. Well, maybe **Demo **would
Sam
How about instead of charging a subscription fee, SDMB adds a little column in the side bar and affiliates itself with Amazon.com and some other well known, popular among posters, web companies?
The admins could sticky an announcement to the top of each forum reminding the users that SDMB continues through the support of it’s affiliates, and encourages them to click through the SDMB link on their way to Amazon.
The poster gets what s/he was already going to order on-line anyway, SDMB gets a little kick back to help with bandwidth and server expenses.
Hell, I don’t even buy that many things on-line, but I would if I knew that part of my dough went towards supporting this board. I’m betting that alot of people feel would feel this way.
The timing is right, too, what with the Christmas season coming up. I could easily spend hundreds of dollars online this year through just a few e-tailers. If SDMB could get affiliated with them, then maybe they’ll make enough cash to lower or even get rid of the proposed subscription fee.
While I love the SDMB and all the wonderful people I have meet through here, I can’t pay to read a message board. Going through a divorce with two small kids, having filed for bankruptcy etc, I can’t even afford $20 to cover any fee and forget about my credit cards. So no, if it goes to a pay site, I won’t be here anymore. It’s not worth taking money away from my kids sorry.
I don’t think it’s unreasonable for the SDMB to ask its members to pay, especially when the only ads I see here are for The Straight Dope. I do agree they should pay attention to the demand curve to optimize their return, or something. However, although I have no issue with paying, I may use the posting fee as a form of self-discipline (Strainger doesn’t pay = Strainger can’t post = Strainger gets more shit done). However, I’d still be able to lurk. Dammit!
Wait, there aren’t any ads here anymore. Oops!
Agreed. As I said before, it’s completely understandable that the board may have to charge for use. Other websites have done it and I’m sure, unfortunately, others will in the future. Whether I, personally, pay, will depend on whether or not I have the money available at the time that it is needed.
And I apologize for my part in the unpleasantness earlier in this thread.
No.
I don’t mind contributing what I can in the way of ideas, humor, and information to this board, for free. But to ask for money from the people who provide the content of your site, while the people who read the site can do so for free is a business model straight from Dilbert’s marketing Hell.
I’ve seen the administration here turn down thousands in donations; I’ve seen advertising space gone completely to waste, every single time I’ve been on one of these pages. I doubt that any organization that can’t find a better way to capitalize on such an enormous, well-educated user base will be able to survive even with subscription revenue.
Sorry.
Hi, I just registerd. 
I came here last February (according to the little notice thing that says when you were last here) but lost the link. Having managed to find the place again, I immediately registered … only to find the fee issue being discussed.
Paying isn’t an option for me, so this will be a temporary membership. I will have to make sure I enjoy it while I can. In the meantime, what I did want to comment on was that admin message about fees. It has a link which says pre-register to get a big discount. I could have missed it, but I couldn’t actually find any fee info there(?) I can’t see how anyone can pre-register if they don’t know the full price and discount price. Have I missed a link?
cheers,
Sula
If this goes through, I will pay, but I am concerned about what effect this would have on the board. Just by reading the posts in this thread, it appears that many people would be extremely hesitant about re-registering. That’s a scary concept since the whole charm of this place lies with the folks who post here. (No Eve? Ick.) I’m also worried that a pay system would keep new posters away, I would absolutely suggest a free trial period to give them a chance for the addiction to set in. And I just don’t see a way around the problem of banning misbehaving posters after they have paid up. People frequently bitch about the mods/admins being too zealous about giving folks the axe, but damnit, if they didn’t we would be overrun with assholes.
I’m too in love with this place to say it wouldn’t be worth the $20 or even (eek!) $50. But I’m scared that you can’t make this drastic a change without losing the magic. It’s all about chemistry, baby, and it’s delicate. I guess I’ll just wait and see.
Hmmm…good point, that.
Even though, as I said, I would probably fork over, whatever portion of officialdom would do well to read MrVisible’s post above. There are lots of previous resorts that should have been tried before coming to this last one.
Sorry ignore my last post please. I read the admin one at the top of the board and the first part of this thread - and only just read the second page which seems to answer my questions about price. I’m sure the board is worth it to those who use it, but bloody hell that’s some dosh!
I should make allowances for how fast this thing is getting posted to…
I was referring to MrVisible’s post.