# The only SDMB subscription thread you need **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 25, 2004, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-sdmb-subscription-thread-you-need/236278 "2004-03-25T04:27:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-sdmb-subscription-thread-you-need/236278/21 "2004-03-25T06:12:29Z")
> [@Sofa King](#): > > This is my last post ever. > > I don’t pay to inform. > > See ya. Awww, now we won’t be able to call you on your insane prediction that Bush, Rove and company are going to suspend the Constitution, declare marshall law and refuse to have an election in November. What a tragic loss of content for the boards… ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-sdmb-subscription-thread-you-need/236278/22 "2004-03-25T06:13:27Z")
> [@TVeblen](#): > > The “Charter” thing was a hideously subtle signal placed long ago by the Cabal. We are Legion, who infiltrated the country by bus. If you took fucking Greyhound, you’re lucky if you’ve infiltrated New Hampshire… ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-sdmb-subscription-thread-you-need/236278/23 "2004-03-25T06:23:08Z")
> [@SuperNova](#): > > Now that explains it… :rolleyes: Good. The plan worked. We’ve moved all our Forces around the county by bus, _plainly marked **Charter** _, right under the unobservant eyes of the masses. You expected “666” over the front window? We kicked around Brutal Fascist Takeover but “Charter” fit better and the drivers got cranky. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-sdmb-subscription-thread-you-need/236278/24 "2004-03-25T06:28:47Z")
> [@Sofa King](#): > > This is my last post ever. > > I don’t pay to inform. > > See ya. Just so **Sofa King** isn’t alone here, I agree. I won’t be around after the cut off date. I don’t like the idea of paying to provide content to the messageboard. I would have happily paid for added features like private messaging and a custom title, but I don’t dig this plan. I’ve been running a messageboard for five years now, and I just don’t see how the SDMB can survive without new members. I know $15 isn’t much when you think about it - but I just don’t see that many (if any) new users jumping over that hurdle just to post here. Toss in on top of that the sorry performance of the boards in general, and the absence of any promises that it will improve at all. Hell, they’re still using the beta software. I assume they’ll upgrade it sometime in the near future - causing the boards to be offline for several hours in the middle of the day, the usual maintenance window for the boards. Anyway, all this has been covered ad nauseam. I’ll shut up now. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-sdmb-subscription-thread-you-need/236278/25 "2004-03-25T06:38:55Z")
I don’t know how it’s working for everyone else, but the board’s been smooth as silk for me since I subscribed. We had the initial downtime, but I can’t think of ANY of the usual problems. The only bug I’ve run into was replying would sometimes get me an Invalid Thread Link Specified error. There’s been some slowness, but I’ve had no problems. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2004, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-sdmb-subscription-thread-you-need/236278/26 "2004-03-25T06:41:25Z")
> [@GMRyujin](#): > > I don’t know how it’s working for everyone else, but the board’s been smooth as silk for me since I subscribed. We had the initial downtime, but I can’t think of ANY of the usual problems. The only bug I’ve run into was replying would sometimes get me an Invalid Thread Link Specified error. There’s been some slowness, but I’ve had no problems. Shhh…you’ll invalidate their Drama… ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-sdmb-subscription-thread-you-need/236278/27 "2004-03-25T06:43:59Z")
> [@Slacker](#): > > Just so **Sofa King** isn’t alone here, I agree. I won’t be around after the cut off date. I don’t like the idea of paying to provide content to the messageboard. I would have happily paid for added features like private messaging and a custom title, but I don’t dig this plan. > > I’ve been running a messageboard for five years now, and I just don’t see how the SDMB can survive without new members. I know $15 isn’t much when you think about it - but I just don’t see that many (if any) new users jumping over that hurdle just to post here. > > Toss in on top of that the sorry performance of the boards in general, and the absence of any promises that it will improve at all. Hell, they’re still using the beta software. I assume they’ll upgrade it sometime in the near future - causing the boards to be offline for several hours in the middle of the day, the usual maintenance window for the boards. > > Anyway, all this has been covered ad nauseam. I’ll shut up now. “Provide content?” Excuse me? When did writing a thread complaining about Dennis Miller or discussing the latest episode of American Idol become “providing content?” Here’s a wake-up call: YOU ARE NOT “PROVIDING CONTENT.” You’re discussing things on an Internet message board. If what you have to say is so important that you don’t want to pay to say it, start publishing a magazine and charge people to read your “content.” God, could we get some more pretentious assholes to whine about how unfair it is to have to pay for a service that they’ve enjoyed at the Reader’s expense for years. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-sdmb-subscription-thread-you-need/236278/28 "2004-03-25T06:46:57Z")
I had a bad experience once with a free site going pay. [Like Television](http://tesla.liketelevision.com/) used to be completely free. Then they started charging. At first it was small. Oh, about $5 a year ( :D) Now it’s $12 a month! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-sdmb-subscription-thread-you-need/236278/29 "2004-03-25T06:58:48Z")
Oh, I won’t pay to provide content, either. Luckily enough, my posts are almost always content-free, and I have no problem paying to have an outlet for my inane, eminently forgettable chitchat. After all, I pay a lot more than than every month to call my mom long-distance, and that’s really all our conversations are. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-sdmb-subscription-thread-you-need/236278/30 "2004-03-25T07:12:17Z")
> [@brianjedi](#): > > “Provide content?” Excuse me? When did writing a thread complaining about Dennis Miller or discussing the latest episode of American Idol become “providing content?” > > Here’s a wake-up call: YOU ARE NOT “PROVIDING CONTENT.” You’re discussing things on an Internet message board. If what you have to say is so important that you don’t want to pay to say it, start publishing a magazine and charge people to read your “content.” > > God, could we get some more pretentious assholes to whine about how unfair it is to have to pay for a service that they’ve enjoyed at the Reader’s expense for years. You and I must have a different idea of what exactly “content” is. If you don’t come here to read people’s posts, what brings you in? The colors? Without the alleged “content” in the threads to peruse, you wouldn’t be here, and the Chicago Reader wouldn’t have your five dollars. And I’m a pretentious asshole for having this opinion? I certainly don’t mean to come off that way. Don’t worry though, myself and the rest of the assholes you don’t agree with you will be gone soon enough. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-sdmb-subscription-thread-you-need/236278/31 "2004-03-25T07:24:21Z")
> [@Slacker](#): > > If you don’t come here to read people’s posts, what brings you in? The colors? The participatory experience. You might as well gripe about paying to apply friction to an Amsterdam working girl’s clitty. “I’m doin’ all the work here, why do I have to pay for it?” (I made a similar argument several years ago, but I feel much better now.) Here, not in Amsterdam. I did put up a bit of a fuss in Bangkok, but I was really drunk at the time, and to be fair, that girl turned out to be made entirely of marzipan, and that ain’t right. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-sdmb-subscription-thread-you-need/236278/32 "2004-03-25T07:30:18Z")
> [@Slacker](#): > > You and I must have a different idea of what exactly “content” is. If you don’t come here to read people’s posts, what brings you in? The colors? > > Without the alleged “content” in the threads to peruse, you wouldn’t be here, and the Chicago Reader wouldn’t have your five dollars. > > And I’m a pretentious asshole for having this opinion? I certainly don’t mean to come off that way. Don’t worry though, myself and the rest of the assholes you don’t agree with you will be gone soon enough. Oh, cry me a FUCKING river. Yes, I’m just sitting here counting the seconds until all of you that haven’t paid are gone. :rolleyes: And yes, apparently we do differ in our definition of “content.” See, I’m not so pompous to think that message board postings are anything more than that. Calling them “content” is like describing a McDonald’s value meal as a gourmet dinner. No offense to anyone, but discussing reality shows and playing song title games are not “content.” The discussion of ideas is not automatically “content.” Maybe if you make some truly profound and/or insightful posts, solve a couple mysteries of the universe, then maybe you’ve “provided content.” ---
**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:** [March 25, 2004, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-sdmb-subscription-thread-you-need/236278/33 "2004-03-25T07:38:23Z")
There are very few people whose posts are profound or entertaining enough to be considered “content”, in my opinion. Personally, if **Polycarp, tomndebb, Scylla, Sauron, lieu, Esprix** or **Master Wang-ka** don’t consider themselves above paying for providing content, then I don’t think pretty much anyone else on the board should be so arrogant as to assume that their posts are important enough for many people to miss. Note, also, that I certainly don’t consider every post that comes out of even their keyboards to come to the level of “content”. They just seem to provide produndity, information or entertainment more consistently than anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-sdmb-subscription-thread-you-need/236278/34 "2004-03-25T07:46:58Z")
> [@brianjedi](#): > > Oh, cry me a FUCKING river. Yes, I’m just sitting here counting the seconds until all of you that haven’t paid are gone. :rolleyes: > > And yes, apparently we do differ in our definition of “content.” See, I’m not so pompous to think that message board postings are anything more than that. Calling them “content” is like describing a McDonald’s value meal as a gourmet dinner. No offense to anyone, but discussing reality shows and playing song title games are not “content.” The discussion of ideas is not automatically “content.” Maybe if you make some truly profound and/or insightful posts, solve a couple mysteries of the universe, then maybe you’ve “provided content.” Well, we’ll leave it at that then. You and **jayjay** think content is something of profound value. I think it’s just simply whatever the board is about. Cafe Society? Every post in there about TV, movies, music, or whatever else is content for that board. GQ? Every question and answer, and all the posts in between. Anyway - it’s not worth debating so I’ll move on. Certainly not worth getting hostile over. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-sdmb-subscription-thread-you-need/236278/35 "2004-03-25T07:54:12Z")
Well **Sofa King** , **Slacker** , and others who are leaving, I’ll miss ya… no sarcasm meant. Those of us who are staying will try to make a go of it. We’ll see what happens! Here’s hoping! **Fingers crossed** ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-sdmb-subscription-thread-you-need/236278/36 "2004-03-25T08:18:07Z")
We need a thread for each order of bitching. Primary bitching: “I can’t believe I have to pay for the board! I’m outta here!” Secondary bitching: “You losers need to just suck it up. It’s just five dollars, for God’s sake!” Tertiary bitching: “You people that can’t understand why this board isn’t worth $5 to some of us are just unbelievable. Some of us are on very tight budgets/have philosophical objections/just don’t get anything out of this board.” We could save a lot of typing by just referring to our complaint by its Dr. J Classification, with any appropriate modifiers. “Put me down for a #1 with a side of indignation about paying to provide content.” “I’d like to register a #3, Tight Budget option.” Dr. J ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-sdmb-subscription-thread-you-need/236278/37 "2004-03-25T08:26:27Z")
Talk about your proverbial storm in a teacup. Just saw my subscription hit my bank account today. Due to the low value of the dollar against the pound subscription has cost me a whopping £2.76 O course, if the pound nosedives against the dollar in the coming year I might be in trouble next year! Seriously though its easy, you ask yourself if the enjoyment you receive from the board is worth the outlay being asked. If it is sign up, if not leave. There are even kind kind people sponsoring thosed who wish to stay but can’t afford it. I just don’t see this as as big of an event as some do. It’s not the end of the world! ---
**Author:** ![Nightime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Nightime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightime)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-sdmb-subscription-thread-you-need/236278/38 "2004-03-25T08:38:41Z")
I just realized something: I’ve actually made more than $5 just by reading the SDMB! I would never have found out about that RIAA settlement website if I didn’t see the thread on it, and I ended up getting nearly $14 for that. Enough for the first two years of membership here. I won’t be joining because I have no credit card or paypal, and I have reasons to hold on to my anonymity, but it is interesting that the price to join is so cheap that reading the SDMB can cover the cost of paying for it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-sdmb-subscription-thread-you-need/236278/39 "2004-03-25T09:11:08Z")
Legit complaints (well, in _my_ fucking not so humble opinion, OK? 😃 ) 1. They shoulda tried donations first. If they failed, then fine. I’m a maybe on this. 2. The “don’t be a jerk” rule is BS if we are paying. 3. There are legit security & privacy concerns with Paypal. Ed mostly covered this with extra solutions. Thanks, Ed. I also came up with one, just to show I am not just whining & bitching. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-sdmb-subscription-thread-you-need/236278/40 "2004-03-25T10:53:37Z")
Here’s the thing, folks. If I were meeting friends in a restaurant or even for a cup of tea, I’d pay money. If I were having a group of people over to my house, I’d pay money. For that matter, at the Games Night I go to once a month, I pay money both in the form of the games I bring and in the form of the odd bag of potato chips, etc. Entertainment, too, costs money. If you watch television, even if you don’t have cable, the television itself costs money. I knit for a hobby; the yarn and the needles cost money. Even reading books from the library costs money in terms of gas and wear and tear on the car or my shoes. The yarn for a couple of pairs of baby booties I’m making for someone cost more than my SDMB subscription (I already had the pattern and needles). I consider a lot of people here my friends. When I come here, I am entertained, sometimes enlightened, and my thoughts are most assuredly provoked. I get a chance to read opinions I would never come across in real life and try to understand why people hold them. What’s more, I get to do it at an hour of the day when not much else is going on (it’s about an hour before sunrise in my part of the world). In other words, while money’s about to become very tight right now, this place is worth every penny I paid to subscribe to it. I’ll happily pay $5.00 to raise a glass to you folks, especially since I don’t have to pay $5.00 for the contents of the glass! CJ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-sdmb-subscription-thread-you-need/236278.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-sdmb-subscription-thread-you-need/236278.md?page=3)