I’m sorry, and I don’t mean to sound callous to those in financial straits, but
It’s $9.95 a YEAR!
$0.83 a month.
$0.03 a day.
The belly-laughs-a-day to pennies lost quotient makes it money well spent to me.
And that’s my two cents. (Make that three cents…) 
What’s wrong with “Charter Member”? It’s like a semi-meaningless distinction that can be a small badge of honor – we’re the run that didn’t run when the board went subscription. It’s like “founding member” – except we didn’t found anything.
I’d like to say that I am sorry to see that the initial $7.48 to renew (despite the apparent glitch) will no longer be, and those of us who weren’t able to sign up during the “Charter Member” period will have to pay the full initial rate of $14.95 again, when our respective subscriptions expire (as mine will, come November).
Would those of you responsible possibly consider extending a reduced rate to all repeat subscribers—perhaps at the current sale-rate of $9.95—and if not that, perhaps to those of us who registered long before the subscription status became apparent?
As Ed Zotti’s OP says when nixing the idea of subscribing for a third year at $9.95—two years is a lifetime in the world of the Web. Certainly six months or so—the current remainder of my present subscription—isn’t a small chunk of time within that regard, either.
(If I missed a previous post or a detail concerning and handling this, I apologize.)
I’d like to amend that portion to say:
Would those of you responsible possibly consider extending a reduced rate to all repeat subscribers—perhaps at the current sale-rate of $9.95, at the date of expiration, or thereabouts a short time before this date, as it were—and if not that, perhaps to those of us who registered long before the subscription status became apparent?
I’m surprised that so many of you rich Americans would bicker about a paltry ten bucks to belong to this great SD forum.
I’ve joined in January and will renew in January. I don’t mind the 5 bucks if they can contribute to grease your wheels or oil your elbows.
Well, I just renewed - Hahaha! - Four shiny golden English pounds and eight glittering copper pennies! - funds courtesy of Mr BrokenEpsonPrinterMotorsSoldOnEbay.
We are currently running a promotional special, much like we did last year.
It’s a good deal all the way around, but it is only available for a short time.
your humble TubaDiva
And now you’re discounting it even for new members? 
Bad form!
Look at it this way Jin. I almost never post but ponied up the money 'cause 1) being a charter member is cool (I admit it) and 2) to help keep this thing alive for people like you. Yes, I pay less, but I’m not really paying for the right to post. I’m paying because people cool enough to read the Straight Dope deserve to have a message board. I sleep better at night knowing I’ve done my part. (Hint on marketing Cecil–little Ed is making a mistake. People will pay more, not less, to be charter members)
You can get your subscription extended by a year if you pay $9.95 now. If you want to wait till after our special offer expires, you have to pay $14.95. We’re trying to keep our overhead to a minimum and are not in a position to add new classes of subscribers with different rates applicable at different times. We’re talking about a $5 difference.
Thank you for your responses.
I have to back this up as well. One of the reasons I paid my money was for the opportunity to be one of the first Dopers to throw in on the pellets and water that keeps the hampsters rolling along. I am proud to stand up and support a MB I believe is useful if not downright important. I like the idea of “charter member” and I hope it stays.
This shall be the last time that I mention the fact that I was DOUBLE BILLED BY THE READER AND HAVE HAD NO RESPONSE TO MY CRIES OF RAPE. as of now I have “member” under my username. I paid up in oct 2004, and the statement says $14.95 FUCKING TWICE, FOR A TOTAL OF $29.90!!!
what do I get for $29.90 for one year?.
BOB FORTUNA
Bob, I see where you became a member in January. I do not see where you were double billed. Please send me an email at TubaDiva@aol.com and we’ll look into this.
your humble TubaDiva
When you quack, it echoes - until now, nobody knew why.
it didn’t matter before, but if you’re going to charge for vanity titles i think the title ‘Charter Member’ should be made the default or free for those involved.
I submitted your information to Jerry. He found the double billing from when you subscribed in January. A refund request for the second billing has been submitted and you should see it in the next few days.
Please, everyone, if you have any problems at all in the subscription process, let us know as soon as possible. We can’t fix what we don’t know about.
your humble TubaDiva
I’m not impressed unless you can make it cost less than a cup of coffee a day, like the Christian Children’s Fund.
Trying to renew my subscription
On the subscription page it says " To pay for your subscription, please click the order button next to your preferred payment method and follow the instructions on the following page. "
But there **are ** no order buttons. There’s only a link for paypal, but I don’t have a paypal account. What do I do?
Dunno. I sent a note to Jerry.