# When was the pay-to-post era on the SDMB? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 26, 2013, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-pay-to-post-era-on-the-sdmb/659366 "2013-05-26T02:11:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2013, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-pay-to-post-era-on-the-sdmb/659366/1 "2013-05-26T02:11:48Z")
Just curious when it started and how long it lasted. There were also temporary guest memberships, IIRC. Was there a huge drop-off in posts and activity in general? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2013, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-pay-to-post-era-on-the-sdmb/659366/2 "2013-05-26T05:43:05Z")
It was in effect when I joined in June, 2006. I paid for a year, but it went away either shortly before or shortly after that year subscription expired. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2013, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-pay-to-post-era-on-the-sdmb/659366/3 "2013-05-26T11:52:10Z")
Looks like it started in March of 2004. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=269127&highlight=credit+card](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=269127&highlight=credit+card) It reverted in September of 2008. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2013, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-pay-to-post-era-on-the-sdmb/659366/4 "2013-05-26T20:40:19Z")
Thanks. Much longer than I thought. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-pay-to-post-era-on-the-sdmb/659366/5 "2013-05-27T03:02:11Z")
I joined in November 2006 but don’t recall having to pay to post. IIRC, I went ahead and signed up as a paid member at a later date after having posted as a Guest in the meantime. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-pay-to-post-era-on-the-sdmb/659366/6 "2013-05-27T03:47:55Z")
We don’t pay any more? I just sent $7.98 to the Chicago Reader. Hmm… ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-pay-to-post-era-on-the-sdmb/659366/7 "2013-05-27T04:44:57Z")
> [@divemaster](#): > > We don’t pay any more? I just sent $7.98 to the Chicago Reader. Hmm… I think the OP means when did they start allowing people to post without paying again? Because if you’ll recall, when it first went pay, there was no “guest” option – only a thirty-day trial option. And even when they did start the guest accounts, you still had to pay to use the search engine for awhile.