Anyone else hear Steve Smith in their head when reading this? 
Based on your last two posts I’ve made some very likely assumptions about you. So thank you.
Right, but do they own 100% of the SDMB? Is Ed a Reader employee or an independent contractor? Does he get a cut of SDMB revenues or not?
So what is going on? Has there been any acknowledgement by the board that problems are happening? Have we been given any information about why these problems are happening, about what steps are being taken to fix the problems, and when that fix will take effect?
No, and shut up and take your medicine, you junkie. You’ll come back no matter what. You peons always do.
I’m sorry, but where do you get to march into any private place of business and DEMAND any answers? Is this just because you are anonymous?
You (generic you, not Erdosain you) come into my place of business and DEMAND to know how much my boss makes and you (generic you ,not Erdosain you) would be on your ass (generic ass not Erdosain’s ass) crying for your momma (generic momma not Erdosain’s mommy).
So basically a paid membership eventually buys me the rights to say to a new guest (and potentially paying member) “you are acting like a twat” with neither apology nor reprimand? SIGN ME UP. 
For fuck’s sake, the comment was along the lines of “For what we pay for this service, blah de blah-de-blahde-bla…”
And Twickster reminded the guest that guests aren’t necessarily paying for shit.
Big fucking deal.
Perhaps I should start a new thread with this question, but since I’m already posting here, I’ll mention it here.
Can the forum currently known as ATMB be changed to something more user appropriate, like Cry Me A Fuckin River?
nm
She got a warning from herself.
It was only a moderator note.
I should have said “reprimand.”
I am asking for two reasons. One, Ed has come in here crying that the Reader wants to shut us down unless we’re more profitable. It would be useful in evaluating the truth of these claims if we knew the organizational structure.
Secondly, it is my perception (bolstered by observing the cost structures of other Internet message boards) that the people in charge spend a minimal amount on the upkeep of this place while bringing in fair amount from members fees and ad revenue. It would be useful for members and guests to know what percentage of the income is spent on maintenance and technical support. Hell, if the numbers show the spend most of the money on upkeep, it might encourage more people to buy mberships.
Of course, they don’t HAVE to be open about these things. As you say, it is a business. But if the appeal of membership in this place is community, then they should be more transparent in my opinion. I know I’m not going to fork over $15 to this place for purely business reasons. I may be willing to contribute for community reasons if I knew where the money was going.
I am going to write to Ray Kroc because I ordered a mega-jumbo-super-duper sized french fry and I only got a regular.
I DEMAND Ray tell me how much money he made off that mistake. I have a medium on retainer.
As for you Eddie Z, I know you’re grilling hot dogs and drinking beer on Monday. I’m coming over and collecting my (1/365)*$7.50 in brats (with chopped onions) and whatever Milwaukee swill you got in the cooler. See you at 1:00, Boss.
Sorry, it’s not an analogous situation. McDonalds has never tried to guilt me into paying $20 for a cheeseburger because I love hanging out in the dining area with my friends.
And I don’t care about that Chicago style. I’M BRINGING KETCHUP, ED. KETCHUP!
Apology accepted.
True. But as has been noted, paying for it is voluntary.
I can accept the principle of “You’re getting this for free, so don’t complain about how lousy the service is.” But once you start charging people, you have an obligation to maintain some performance standards.
Of course, you’re just blue-skying here, right? How do you know anything about the “cost structures of other Internet message boards?” What qualifies you to think that you have a clue about the cost of upkeep of this board verses the revenue of the board?
Hi, Nemo. Enjoyed Rochester.
Since you’re here since 1999, you remember the bad old days. Post, go make a sandwich, take a piss, read the front page of the newspaper, come back and read your post.
It’s not perfect, but I think they ARE maintaining some decent standards. We may disagree as to whether it’s a level 7 or 8 out of 10, but it ain’t bad.
I hate how many people here complain about us laymen not paying for subscription. Reason being, almost every online community I have been to is free to post. That’s the basic principle of a message board - to offer a free place for various people to engage in discourse. The idea is that you advertise to get revenue. This board already does that. So technically, us enduring those annoying advertisements is getting the staff money anyways. So is there really a reason to complain about us “cheapskates”?
The point is, there’s no reason for paid members to get all butthurt over us “freelancers”. It’s not like we are preventing the SDMB from getting the revenue it needs.