Well, the “post your pix” threads are going to suffer.
Sorry, John! I will miss you. It’s always nice to hear from a beef guy, since not too many folks around here raise beef cattle, and it’s a different approach than dairying.
Ah, nuts. Now I’m feeling bad.
Ah, Tom, you’ll make me blush. Just look at this picture whenever one rolls around and know that I am there in spirit. (I’m the short one on the left.)
I’m from West Chester, too. I had no idea I lived near a SiouxChief. Hellllooooooooooo!
Pssst - here’s a secret that many seem to have missed.
There are NO ads when using Firefox with Adblock plus installed. None. Nada.
Not on The Dope or any other web pages for that matter…
I know, I’ve been using that combination for ages. That didn’t discourage me from signing up and forking out the $15 just recently though. Won’t stop me from paying out for the premium service in 11 months time. Aren’t I nice?
You could do the same, you know? Just saying. 
Yup. I tried to be a little more discreet in the comments I made in a couple of messages (in case TPTB decided not to take kindly to explicit discussion about circumventing their revenue stream), but you’re right. You could probably also just twiddle your hosts file appropriately if you didn’t want to use Adblock.
As I said before, I did renew, so the rest of this message doesn’t (currently) apply to me.
Ad blockers bring up an interesting ethical issue here. Many people would need to explicitly permit SDMB to show ads, since many people are currently blocking ads. It’s trivial to add SDMB as an exception if you are using Adblock, not so trivial if you are using a brute-force method like twiddling your hosts file. So, for those people, the three choices are to pay $7.50 or $15 to not see ads, pay nothing and do nothing to not see ads, or pay nothing and do something (maybe easy, maybe not) to see ads. I somehow doubt that many people who are currently blocking ads will take the third option.
I renewed a few days ago. I’m just not going to worry about whether I spend $7.50. Whether I continue to post, however, is another matter.
I truly apologize for singling you out, but your post seems to have taken a number of people by surprise (myself included). We’ve never interacted to the best of my knowlege, and you seem to stay above the fray in the ATMB/Pit threads with respect to SDMB policies. And yet the continuing trend here has been enough to convince you to leave. I am seeing this more and more with other posters; whether it is a groundswell of dissatisfaction or just normal turnover remains to be seen. As I’ve posted in other threads, the lost content from valued posters leaving the fold should be far more important to the SDMB than the rather insignificant revenue from posters renewing. If this trend continues, I see the SDMB ending not with a bang, but with a whimper.
I still like the board well enough, but I am enough of a cheapskate that I’d feel dumb paying to renew if they end up going to free posting again soon, so I’m going to wait it out.
Hopefully I’ll see you guys again soon!
Every year there is a thread like this and every year it’s the same. Most of the people who claim that they are leaving end up not really doing it.
I think it’s a little different this year – if you don’t pay, there’s a chance you’ll still get to post in a short while. That hasn’t happened before.
Maybe hope can upgrade the server!
I’m not leaving, I’m just not paying anymore. However long it takes them to figure out how to turn on ads is however long I’ll be gone.
I haven’t decided yet, but I really need to soon seeing as how my subscription is up today.
Although I don’t like the way the board is run and don’t really want to give them my money, I do spend a lot of time and most of my postings in Cafe Society and the Game Room.
Easily the hardest decision of my life. By Far.
I did not want to read this thread, it makes me very sad to see so many who will not be returning. I know that I am not a heavy poster but I have been around for a long time and visit every day. Following the conversations and comments makes me feel like part of a community and it is heartbreaking for me to see long time members leave.
Icerigger So far, I can only think of one person who said they were leaving. Most of us said we’ll be back as soon as the board goes to free posting. Personally, I expect to be gone a month at most.
People come, people go. I’m always here wherever I’m at, though.
I renewed a couple of days ago. I didn’t want to put it off too long and miss the deadline. I guess the joke will be on me if they go free in the next couple of days, but oh, well. I’m with FriarTed, that CM designation is sometimes all I seem to have. Besides, I’d miss the place.
I’ll be back when it goes free. I don’t care about charter member status, but I do love this board for being able to answer nearly any question I have. I could never leave permanently, and I would probably pay if that was the only way I could post or read. But, I need to start cutting out unnecessary expenses, and I can’t see paying to post if it is going to be free soon.
Yep, me too. I renewed a couple days ago, so I wouldn’t have a gap between next week (when my membership expires) and whenever we go to free posting. I probably won’t pay next year, though – ads don’t bother me enough to pay to avoid them.
Wow, I’m seeing a lot of Guests all of a sudden. Good thing I’m just a lowly “member” and all paid up and stuff. I get to wait a few months and see what happens and the worst that can happen is - I’m a member!
I’m not sure what timezone this board is running on, but I’ve probably only got a few hours to go. I only very hesitantly paid last time, and after a year of the same old promises, the same old excuses, the same and even worsening problems, and finally this laughably transparent money grab only weeks before the pay-to-post experiment comes to a close, there is no chance I will ever give the Straight Dope any more money. I don’t care if it is only $7.48.