# So, Charter Members, how do I get in? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 15, 2008, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-charter-members-how-do-i-get-in/456591 "2008-07-15T18:55:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![samarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-charter-members-how-do-i-get-in/456591/1 "2008-07-15T18:55:12Z")
OK, so I was offline for near-as-damn-it 4 and a half years and missed the transition from free to subscription posting, but surely thats a minor detail? I want to belong to the “Charter Member” cult. I hear they have some fantastic benefits, including a dental plan and free squid (I may have mis-heard that). Are the rumours of the bathing in ass’s milk and vestal virgins true? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-charter-members-how-do-i-get-in/456591/2 "2008-07-15T19:15:08Z")
{nelson muntz}HA ha![/nm} See, first you send a small gratuity to all Charter Members (somewhere in the order of five figures each), then we take a vote and see if we want you in our exclusive club. Good luck, and I’ll be waiting by the mailbox! ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-charter-members-how-do-i-get-in/456591/3 "2008-07-15T19:17:46Z")
[QUOTE=samarm] I want to belong to the “Charter Member” cult. [/QUOTE] Well, see, here’s the thing. One of the benefits of being a Charter Member is the ability to time travel. But in order to become a Charter Member, you need to be able to go back in time. So it’s a bit of a quandary, you see. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-charter-members-how-do-i-get-in/456591/4 "2008-07-15T19:24:07Z")
The truth of the matter is that getting the Charter Member tag was a one time thing. You had to sign up for a paid account when they first started. In addition, you have to keep up your paid status to not lose the tag. Bottom line: it’s too late and there isn’t a thing you can do about it. The good news is that **Free Posting is Coming Soon!!!111!**. It was promised to start in June or July of 2008. I know that time is running short but they only have a few more bugs to work out before they can flip that switch. It’s going to be awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-charter-members-how-do-i-get-in/456591/5 "2008-07-15T19:26:38Z")
[QUOTE=samarm] I want to belong to the “Charter Member” cult. I hear they have some fantastic benefits, including a dental plan and free squid (I may have mis-heard that). [/QUOTE] You misheard slightly. It’s not that you get free squid. It’s that the squid gets free _you_, because, you see, [this](http://www.summeroflovecraft.com/images/cthulhu-6.jpg) is the squid. [QUOTE=samarm] Are the rumours of the bathing in ass’s milk and vestal virgins true? [/QUOTE] Again, you’re close. You bathe in _something_ that comes from an ass, and the vestal virgins laugh at you. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-charter-members-how-do-i-get-in/456591/6 "2008-07-15T19:29:53Z")
[QUOTE=samarm] Are the rumours of the bathing in ass’s milk and vestal virgins true? 😉 [/QUOTE] I, alas, missed the opportunity to join the ranks of the Glorious Few (The True Prophets and Guardians of the Light (and Darkness)), but I am curious how precisely one bathes in a vestal virgin. (And don’t get me started on ass milk. I want no part of that. Oh, that wasn’t what you meant?) ---
**Author:** ![samarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-charter-members-how-do-i-get-in/456591/7 "2008-07-15T19:32:41Z")
[QUOTE=InvisibleWombat] You misheard slightly. It’s not that you get free squid. It’s that the squid gets free _you_, because, you see, [this](http://www.summeroflovecraft.com/images/cthulhu-6.jpg) is the squid. [/QUOTE] Holy crap, no one told me about that! > [@](#): > > Again, you’re close. You bathe in _something_ that comes from an ass, and the vestal virgins laugh at you. Ahh… just like being back at school 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-charter-members-how-do-i-get-in/456591/8 "2008-07-15T19:36:18Z")
[QUOTE=Cervaise] Well, see, here’s the thing. One of the benefits of being a Charter Member is the ability to time travel. But in order to become a Charter Member, you need to be able to go back in time. So it’s a bit of a quandary, you see. [/QUOTE] That is all true but I notice that I keep my clothes when I time travel. Maybe **samarm** could hide in an oversized raincoat that I am wearing to travel back the the day (for a hefty fee of course). ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-charter-members-how-do-i-get-in/456591/9 "2008-07-15T19:39:07Z")
[QUOTE=fachverwirrt] … but I am curious how precisely one bathes in a vestal virgin. [/QUOTE] It’s a lot like using Dippity-do. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-charter-members-how-do-i-get-in/456591/10 "2008-07-15T19:40:48Z")
[QUOTE=fachverwirrt] how precisely one bathes in a vestal virgin. [/QUOTE] You probably don’t want to know. It involves the reincarnation of Elizabeth Bathroy and an assortment of utensils. It’s all part of the Squid’s grand plan. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-charter-members-how-do-i-get-in/456591/11 "2008-07-15T20:26:06Z")
[QUOTE=samarm] Are the rumours of the bathing in ass’s milk and vestal virgins true? 😉 [/QUOTE] Those rumors are totally false. We get hookers and blow. Not as high quality as the stuff reserved for the moderators, of course (and they also get whips and jackboots), but still a decent perk. ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-charter-members-how-do-i-get-in/456591/12 "2008-07-15T20:40:46Z")
The first rule about the SDMB Charter Member Cult, is that you do not talk about the SDMB Charter Member Cult. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-charter-members-how-do-i-get-in/456591/13 "2008-07-15T20:50:32Z")
In Soviet Union, squid eat _you_! ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-charter-members-how-do-i-get-in/456591/14 "2008-07-15T20:54:41Z")
As a Charter Member, I’m popping in to post this as it is the requirement of Charter Members to post in all threads asking about Charter Membership. Plus it reminds those who aren’t who to send the money to. ---
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-charter-members-how-do-i-get-in/456591/15 "2008-07-15T21:06:39Z")
[QUOTE=Flander] As a Charter Member, I’m popping in to post this as it is the requirement of Charter Members to post in all threads asking about Charter Membership. Plus it reminds those who aren’t who to send the money to. [/QUOTE] Roger that. My last dividend check paid for enough hookers and blow that even **kunilou** had to take a break. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-charter-members-how-do-i-get-in/456591/16 "2008-07-15T21:25:09Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] That is all true but I notice that I keep my clothes when I time travel. Maybe **samarm** could hide in an oversized raincoat that I am wearing to travel back the the day (for a hefty fee of course). [/QUOTE] How many more of these people do you think are going to keep falling for that “Just get under my oversized raincoat and you can be a Charter Member too” business anyway? We all know what’s in there. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-charter-members-how-do-i-get-in/456591/17 "2008-07-15T23:56:26Z")
C’mon, guys! Cthulhu was working undercover here, remember? “Mariah”? Geez… ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-charter-members-how-do-i-get-in/456591/18 "2008-07-16T00:00:50Z")
I propose a new status for those who want to be Charter Members but missed their chance. “Belated Charter Member” or something. ---
**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:** [July 16, 2008, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-charter-members-how-do-i-get-in/456591/19 "2008-07-16T00:03:17Z")
[QUOTE=hajario] The good news is that **Free Posting is Coming Soon!!!111!**. It was promised to start in June or July of 2008. I know that time is running short but they only have a few more bugs to work out before they can flip that switch. It’s going to be awesome. [/QUOTE] You holding your breath, too? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-charter-members-how-do-i-get-in/456591/20 "2008-07-16T00:15:49Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] C’mon, guys! Cthulhu was working undercover here, remember? “Mariah”? Geez… [/QUOTE] Hey, _you_ are the one who said “Cthulhu.” I never said it. Until now. Ooops… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-charter-members-how-do-i-get-in/456591.md?page=2)