Those who don't wanna pay for subscription to the SDMB - cheapos? (+a lot of issues)

In My Humble Opinion
1

Okay… me thinks I wanna just blurt it all out coz it’s all a comin to my head at once.

It’s not exactly what we would call an inordinate fee – I mean, as I’ve seen in countless other threads it appears to be less than some pay for thier oranges and various other personals (jumbo-sale underwear).

So I have to assume (other than being extremely tight) you guys who won’t subscribe (this possibly includes me – hey, I’m talking to myself, how about that!!!) are doing it on moral grounds.

If so, what are these? Let’s debate:

I don’t think I should pay for this board because…

(suggestions?)

  • I don’t believe in funding any more extreme capitalist ventures without the green light from my commie buddies

  • I wanna get out in the real world (who the hell are you guys kidding)

  • The SDMB will become extremely boring and elitist in a while – why bother staying on???

In fairness how realistic is the last scenario? Let’s really think about it. With the advent of this new scheme, new membership is almost certainly likely to fall. This means getting rid of some losers. But it also means getting rid of some of the really cool newbies that I’ve seen posting on these boards. As well as a few other drive-by’ers who know lots if shit (granted some drive-by’ers are more desirable than others - and this isn’t only applicable sexually).

Also, there’s this theory out there that this so-called “elitist” group are gonna be more specialised in thier knowledge and therefore you’ll get the opinions only from the “experts”. Seriously, how true is that? For all we know, many of those with specialised knowledge (I’m gonna pick on you guys for examples, hope you’ll forgive – Tamerlane, Ultrafilter, Carnivorous Plant {well I don’t know about this guy, I just put him/her in coz that’s all I could remember}) leave this place - what will happen to the quality of answers in GQ?

And don’t say that BS about, “oh, why don’t we just wait and see”… that’s the wussy answer. I don’t wanna hear it (or read it).

I realize that this thread is similiar to one posted in MPSIMS, so essentially this (post) is split up into two parts for clarification:

  1. Why NOT join? What’s the big hoo-hah about it?

  2. What are the long-term implications for the SDMB when this (supposedly semi-sexual… no no I kid I kid) plan comes into effect?

Buy the way (no pun intended - cheap joke I know I know… last time baby), for those I will end up never speaking to again (or never being able to have even the opportunity to speak to again)… farewell. I’ll miss some of your punk asses (well, “ass” being figuratively).

2

Maybe they simply feel the value they receive from the SDMB is not worth the money being asked. Not everyone soaks up every pearl of wisdom in every thread in every forum, after all.

As for the long term, the casual folks will leave and/or lurk, while the truly die-hard junkies/debaters/comics will stick around. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing is another matter.

3

I find a lot to read here, but most of my own comments are the sort of thing I wouldn’t bother walking to another room to tell anyone. I’ve scrapped a bunch of posts just because it took more than a few seconds to load the posting screen.

Even if they started charging to READ the board… there’s SO much to read on the internet that it’d be easier to go elsewhere than to write a subscription check.

The inexorable laws of supply and demand (and laziness) strike again!

4

I don’t post much anymore but I’ll pay the $4.95 and subscribe. The SDMB is a little “home away from home” for me and I’d like to keep my username and post count. I’d also like to keep the freedom of being able to post at anytime. It will be interesting to see how this all pans out.

5

Cheapos? What an insult to those well versed on the Internet! Surely better than an elitist dopy doper …

6

If there was no annual ‘subscription’ I’d pay. Frankly this board doesn’t rank that highly above any other board I post on, it’s just a different facet of my personality. It’s nice but it does have its downsides, ie no post editing, slow as molasses, the search function rarely gets me what I’m looking for, huge waste of my time, something so distinct I could only term it SDMB humor (which is just godawful), the ‘I read THIS as THAT LOL’ posts - you get the idea. It’s not worth however much PER YEAR, be it five bucks or fifteen, considering I’m already paying thirty bucks a month for the net.

7

I don’t THINK I’m cheap, though I do like free… :slight_smile:

I like the anonymity of the internet; giving them my credit card makes me less anonymous. Also, as someone said, the law of supply-and-demand means there are plenty of other message boards out there which don’t charge for access, so I’ll just go there and take the party with me… :smiley:

And $5 here, $7.95 there, $14.95 there - IT ADDS UP! I can’t afford to just throw my money away. The 90’s are gone.

8

any adult from US or other industrialized nation should have no problem paying. other people may opt to leave, and thats unfortunate.

9

I mainly lurk, so it won’t affect me much. But if went pay-per-view as well, e.g Something Awful, it’s “Who cares?” and move on.

10

How about those of us in the US that have been fruitlessly searching for a job for the past 2+ months?
Seriously, guys, I might consider paying the five bucks if I wasn’t already wondering how the heck I’m going to pay my phone bill by the sixth, the day after the rent is due that I don’t have the money for yet, and a week before the utility bill is due, which I am hoping will magically be pulled from my ass.
Right now I have priorities. First the necessities, then my daughter’s book addiction, THEN my beloved SDMB.
I’m really not a cheapo. My post count just doesn’t justify paying. I can read for free anyway.
If the board is still as good as it is now, with the bonus of being a bit faster to load, I might consider paying when I get back on my feet.

And Vasyachkin, PLEASE don’t assume everyone in the US can afford such frivolities.

11

The only objection I have to the prices is I don’t think it’s fair to bilk the newbies. If someone discovers the SD this month, they pay $5. If they discover it May 1st they pay $14.95. Three times as much and only a few weeks’ difference. That hardly seems fair. It’d be nicer if they were given a discount if they paid for a subscription early into their trial. Say $5 if they pay within the first two weeks, $10 within the third and then full price if it takes them longer to decide to subscribe. Maybe offering early-subscriber discounts would be a limited time offer, perhaps for the rest of 2004, but…

12

I can easily afford the 5 USD, but I won’t. The SDMB is for me already now not the best place to go to on the internet, not even the second-best, so why bother? I won’t miss this place, and I’m sure with a 1000 odd posts spread out over a few years, you all are not going to miss me.

13

Life is arbitrary like that. Surely. at some time, you have bought something that two weeks later was on special…$200 off. I know I have, I still own it.

14

*Definition: [n] acting like a clown or buffoon
[n] something of little value or significance
[n] the trait of being frivolous; not serious or sensible

Synonyms: bagatelle, buffoonery, clowning, fluff, frippery, frivolousness, harlequinade, prank

Antonyms: earnestness, serious-mindedness, seriousness, sincerity

See Also: folly, foolery, fun, giddiness, indulgence, levity, playfulness, silliness, stuff, sundries, sundry, tomfoolery, trait, whatchamacallit, whatsis *

Your right! Not only can’t everone afford frivolities in the US, the real question is why would anyone, in the world, pay $15 per year for “something of little value or significance?”

15

A debate such as GQ where the aim is to get to the facts should not be limited to a select few who pay and where it is possible that not everyone will be able to take part in seeking said truth.

My opinion GQ should be open to every one equally this is really the best way to get at the truth let as many people as possible debate it and argue for or against to present facts.

16

GRRRRR. My post got eaten. Okay, let’s try again.

Some people around here just don’t get it. Everybody in the US/west must at least be as wealthy as they are, right? Not so. I don’t consider myself poor by global standards, but I do consider myself poor by US standards. I’m a single mother and a college student who lives off literally $400 a month, plus a small financial aid grant (about $1000 a semester). I do not have a credit card or even a debit card with a visa logo on it. I have an ATM card and a checking account. I would like to sign up but I don’t have the right financial tool. I think I could probably find $5.00, but that doesn’t help me get it to them. No problem, right…

17

Meh, I paid $5.50 for dinner at Wendy’s last night, I can handle $5 for the hundreds of hours I spend here.

18

I don’t get it. And yes I’ve read all the reasons why people don’t want to pay, and of course they’re all valid. I just don’t agree with them.

But the one thing I really don’t understand is “the Internet should be free” stuff. Huh. There is no such thing as free. No subscription fee, well then be prepared for a lot of pop up advertising. Is television free? Oh yeah, plug it in and you can watch for free. Except every 11 minutes you’ll see three minutes of advertising that makes it “free.”

Someone has to program and maintain this board. Do you expect someone to do that voluntarily? I’m going out to lunch in a little while. I think it should be for free. So should my taxi ride. And free drinks at the bar tonight. Unless I go to Blockbuster for a free video.

I’m a lurker around here, so if I didn’t pay my SDMB experience would be about the same. But I just think getting something for free is not realistic. We had it good for a long time. I just hope the people don’t want to pay will reconsider.

19

This was one of the principals behind establishing the internet in the first place, to freely disseminate information and knowledge I’m not asking you t get it. This is a fact whether you get it or not matters little just as my liking or disliking CR’s decision to go the route they have chosen my opinion matters little but, the powers that be will know very clearly what they are getting into and where people stand on the issue.

20

We already have threads available, two in IMHO alone, covering this topic.
I’m going to go ahead and lock this one.