# Sock Sponsorship **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [February 5, 2008, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-sponsorship/436370 "2008-02-05T11:52:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-sponsorship/436370/1 "2008-02-05T11:52:51Z")
If someone sponsors a guest into membership, and the new member turns out to be a sock who is subsequently so identified and banned, does the sponsor (a) receive a refund (b) have an option to transfer his misplaced largesse to a more deserving cause or © take a bath for $14.95. Just curious. ---
**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:** [February 5, 2008, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-sponsorship/436370/2 "2008-02-05T13:11:03Z")
©. The generous sponsor loses his fifteen bucks, I’m afraid. Or so I am given to understand. The message board moderating staff has NOTHING TO DO with the financial side of things. We don’t have access to any information like credit card numbers, real names, real addresses, etc. We couldn’t issue refunds or transfer funds if we wanted to. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-sponsorship/436370/3 "2008-02-05T13:12:55Z")
It’s just the nature of giving, really. Sometimes, the bum takes your money and buys booze. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-sponsorship/436370/4 "2008-02-05T13:47:29Z")
And sometimes the bum takes your money, buys booze, and then barfs all over your shoes. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-sponsorship/436370/5 "2008-02-05T14:14:27Z")
I said I was sorry **Twicks**. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-sponsorship/436370/6 "2008-02-05T14:45:20Z")
Unfortunately what Lynn says is true. We have no connection to the subscription side whatsoever except that administrators can look at subscriber expiration information. The staff cannot issue refunds – even when we would like to. For those of you who have been generous to someone who was perhaps not deserving, all we can say is we are truly sorry to see this – it’s especially bad when someone here does a good deed that is not properly appreciated. Bad’s on them and absolutely not on you, not in any way. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-sponsorship/436370/7 "2008-02-05T15:42:16Z")
Oh, I should also mention that if you pay for someone’s membership and don’t mention it on the board – some of you have given anonymously – the staff has no way of determining that information after the fact. Again, we cannot see subscriber information with these exceptions: 1. Is someone subscribed 2. When did that subscription start 3. When does that subscription expire. Only administrators can see this information. We cannot access any other subscriber information. We cannot make refunds. We cannot transfer a subscription. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-sponsorship/436370/8 "2008-02-05T16:01:52Z")
That’s rather sad because it’s only going to insure that people do not sponsor guests and possibly even registered posters up for renewal because you never know when someone is going to go and get themselves banned and your money is wasted. This means less paid subscriptions, less money for operation, less new posters, less activity … seems rather counter productive. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-sponsorship/436370/9 "2008-02-05T16:11:48Z")
[QUOTE=Cluricaun] I said I was sorry **Twicks**. [/QUOTE] They were my favorite suede wingtips. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![essell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/34f0e0/32.png) [@essell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/essell)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-sponsorship/436370/10 "2008-02-05T16:14:18Z")
[QUOTE=Wile E] That’s rather sad because it’s only going to insure that people do not sponsor guests and possibly even registered posters up for renewal because you never know when someone is going to go and get themselves banned and your money is wasted. This means less paid subscriptions, less money for operation, less new posters, less activity … seems rather counter productive. [/QUOTE] For those blessed with a generous spirit I doubt this would be an issue. If I were to pay for someone’s subscription they could turn out to be an asshole even if they’re not a sock or troll. If I didn’t accept that risk I wouldn’t be paying for them. Maybe there are some people who might be convinced by the promise of a refund if their beneficiary turns bad but I doubt it’s many. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-sponsorship/436370/11 "2008-02-05T16:19:41Z")
[QUOTE=Wile E] That’s rather sad because it’s only going to insure that people do not sponsor guests and possibly even registered posters up for renewal because you never know when someone is going to go and get themselves banned and your money is wasted. This means less paid subscriptions, less money for operation, less new posters, less activity … seems rather counter productive. [/QUOTE] Hope that’s not the case – one of the more beautiful things about this site is the kind hearts and generous spirit of our members. Truth be told people abusing the system are very rare; more often than not people that get sponsored wind up being committed members of the community and sponsor other members in turn, which is also very cool. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-sponsorship/436370/12 "2008-02-05T16:20:15Z")
It’s also possible that some socks, perhaps those who did not specifically request a sponsor, feel bad about having their now useless account paid for by somebody else. Sure, it’s only fifteen dollars; hell, most people have that covered in change they’ve tossed into a **jar**. Or, y’know, their **baby** ’s piggy bank. Or maybe they’re really **fat** and so they keep their change in a, uhh… **gai** – never mind. Anyway, if stealthy sponsoring is more important to someone than getting their money back, they’re probably SOL; if they don’t care so much about remaining anonymous, maybe they should just contact somebody (the sock herself, an admin or mod, the sdmb community over at livejournal…). Obviously nobody can be reimbursed if nobody else knows who they are. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-sponsorship/436370/13 "2008-02-05T19:35:08Z")
[QUOTE=Lynn Bodoni] We don’t have access to any information like … real names, real addresses, etc. [/QUOTE] ☹ You mean all those nights I’ve spent waiting by the door for **TubaDiva** to arrive and wearing nothing but a Tony the Tiger Halloween mask and a whipped cream bikini … were just … _wasted_? ---
**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:** [February 5, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-sponsorship/436370/14 "2008-02-05T19:38:10Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] ☹ You mean all those nights I’ve spent waiting by the door for **TubaDiva** to arrive and wearing nothing but a Tony the Tiger Halloween mask and a whipped cream bikini … were just … _wasted_? [/QUOTE] Oh, goody! Something to tell my therapist about! I was worried I was getting boring… ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-sponsorship/436370/15 "2008-02-05T19:45:18Z")
😉 ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-sponsorship/436370/16 "2008-02-05T20:02:14Z")
I’ve always though you were GRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAT ! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-sponsorship/436370/17 "2008-02-05T20:10:34Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] It’s just the nature of giving, really. Sometimes, the bum takes your money and buys booze. [/QUOTE] If part of the goal of sponsorship is to provide cash for the board, this kind of situation can still be considered a positive on some level. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-sponsorship/436370/18 "2008-02-05T20:58:09Z")
Oh, I think giving is a positive always, even when the bum buys booze. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-sponsorship/436370/19 "2008-02-05T21:02:38Z")
> [@](#): > > If part of the goal of sponsorship is to provide cash for the board, this kind of situation can still be considered a positive on some level. Yeah, if the person ends up getting banned, think of it as a donation to the board, instead of a donation to the person. ---
**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:** [February 5, 2008, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-sponsorship/436370/20 "2008-02-05T21:08:29Z")
[QUOTE=TubaDiva] I’ve always though you were GRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAT ! 🆒 [/QUOTE] 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-sponsorship/436370.md?page=2)