I wanna pay NOW… only problem I see is that I am big softy and will probly wind up paying for everybody that says they are leaving because of this and makes a tearful goodbye… I may be a Beast, but I am a benevolent one…
Hey, I’m in. I will want Wally, HOJM, Smacky and Dubious, though!
[QUOTE=Knighted Vorpal Sword]
I pay for nothing on the net. Just a matter of principle.
[\QUOTE]
I had that attitude once as well until I realized that some things are worth paying for. I’ve since changed that line of thinking to “The only things on the net that I pay for now are things that are unique”.
There are tons of message boards out there and some of them (like Opal’s Fathoms board) have a great SDMB feel to them, however I think the true SDMB experience that I love so much can only be found here and I’m willing to pay to continue that experience.
Besides, you still have time to hit 1000 before you go! The doors don’t close until April 21. 
Voluntary Donations: we discussed trying voluntary memberships for a LONG time. Many of us were big proponents of this, and argued that we can always switch to subscription later. People who supported requiring a subscription argued that it would cut down on trolls, socks, and traffic, improving performance. In the end the Reader decided to go with subscriptions.
Special bennies: we may at some point institute a “higher” level of member (for a nominal charge, or course) that might get goodies like a custom title, avatar, french kisses from Ed, etc.
No credit card: Paypal allows direct drafts from your bank account. Or you can send $5 and your password to a doper you trust (5 cents for shipping and handling) and they can sign you up.
And as generous as those offers were, that still only covers a small portion of the expenses. Hardware is a one-time (or rather a “sometimes”) cost; it’s the ongoing ones that suck up the cash - the T1’s, the tech salaries . . . unless of course, you have a way to drop off some bandwidth.
Another poster chiming in to see what the status is on paying with a money order. I’m more than willing to pay, but would like to know my payment will be accepted.
I second RTFirefly’s remarks. I’m in, but I’m sorry we didn’t try other approaches.
I recommend that the admininstators take steps to track the inflow of new members currently, and after the new system is implemented.
Ooo ooo if I donate an extra buck or two could I get a pretty flower by my name? Or a heart, or a sheep, or a bunny?
And not tacky icons. Tasteful, colorful ones.
(And for those who don’t like bunnies, maybe a funny face or a football, etc.)
Well, it’s kind of like sex. Just because you’re not going to a hooker, doesn’t mean you’re not paying for sex. You always pay, one way or another. 
Before March 22, you pay with slow performance and outages. After March 22, you pay a few bucks and (I sure as hell hope) get better board performance.
Other sites make you pay with irritating pop ups, flash ads, banner ads, or whatever. For this place, I’m happy to pay my way in cash so the experience is nice.
Posters can take charge of this by collecting these threads for the staff…
The staff could cooperate by implimenting a new/seperate group with question headers that contain a series of links within that single post.
As long as they accept British debit cards I’m totally in.
I had some extra kicking around, but I spent it all posting this message.
sorry…
This is a very good deal. I learn a lot here even tough I feel rather anonymous. It is a grreat place to hang out.
Well, you’ve got me, I guess. I’ll lay down five simoleons to see how it works out. If it turns into a graveyard, I’ll be sad and move on.
My thinking: fewer socks, trolls and “total dipsticks”, probably. Maybe so few that things are no longer lively, maybe fewer enough that, for one thing, we won’t have to read through masses of unpaid political advertising to have a discussion on events of the day.
Thanks to the administrators of this board for what they’ve done so far, which is to help keep this the best of its kind I’ve enountered on the 'Net.
I think turning off the search function could really make a lot or repeat threads.
Or do you mean that once you register as a guest user, you can then search? If so, I’d put a notice about searching first on the registration page in very large letters.
Personally, I’d rather have a system that gave special powers to the paying members, like avatars and signatures or something.
I think that $15 is going to really put a crimp on the new members.
Five bucks a year for the Dope ain’t much. I paid more than that when I lost my bet with RTFirefly about the Dean primary.
I’m in, although I will reconsider in a year if the feel of the board changes. The thirty day guest pass is a great idea.
Can I ask if it is OK to set up some joke/trivia/whatever threads, newbies only, with a one-year subscription for the best post? I would contribute to something like that, and it might draw some new blood (or Pit-meat).
But $4.95 is less than I spent on the other kind of dope. You know, the less addictive kind.
Regards,
Shodan
Aw hell…and I was just getting warmed up.
Oh well, my boss appreciates it.
I think this is a great idea, and am glad it’s happening. May I make one small suggestion?
As the system is now, everyone has a small incentive to sign up on Tuesday, April 20, in order to stretch their $4.95 as far as possible. In order to avoid this incentive, it might be worth saying that all membership subscriptions between 3/22/04 and 4/21/04 expire on 4/21/05, so that folks will sign up throughout the month instead of on the last day of the trial period.
Of course, maybe 7,000 signups on one day won’t overtax the servers, or even maybe folks aren’t incredibly petty and trifling, in which case there’s no need to do such a thing :). Just a thought.
Daniel
Wooo! Way to go Ed et al! I’ve been begging for this for years. I hope it helps speed up the boards, I miss this place.
Maybe this is a stupid question, but the answer wasn’t clear to me:
Can people still lurk (i.e., read the boards, but not post) without registering? 'Cause if not, it seems like there will be precious little incentive for anyone to register, not having read the boards.