I haven’t been following what’s going on with changes in SDMB membership, etc. So if I’m boring you with stuff that you’ve been through a billion times, sorry about that.
But it seems like at least a few familiar user names are appearing as guests with a post count of zero. What’s that about?
Guests don’t show a post count at all.
They are probably members who let their paid membership expire, which reverts them to “Guest”, and the system no longer shows their location or post count on their posts. You can see their location and post count by clicking on their profile though.
I’ve never been a paid member. I thinks it’s about time I stopped showing up as a guest.
Someone noticed me!
Well, it probably wasn’t me personally. But I got noticed in general!
I’m not sure what you mean. If you aren’t a paying member then your posts will always appear as Guest.
The board has been in three modes.
Before Pay to Post, if you wanted to post, as opposed to just lurking, you signed up, no charge, and were a “Member”. (There were a bunch of other titles for those affiliated in oome way with the Straight Dope: Moderator, Administrator, SDSAB, etc., but hoi polloi were ‘Members’.)
When Pay to Post went into effect, you were charged $14.95 a year to post. Those who signed up as it was imposed were Charter Members at half price, and could continue to renew membership at half price. Those who signed up thereafter and paid were Members. Those who wanted to test things out before paying were Guests, and had 30 days free trial, lifetime, after which they needed to either pay or stop posting.
When Pay to Post ended, the Dope got its income mostly from ads. You could pay for the privilege of not seeing those ads, at the old rates (or if your Membership or Charter Membership was meaningful to you). Anyone could post, by the epxedient of signing up. Those who don’t pay are Guests – even those who were Members before Pay to Post went into effect – and they get hit with ads. Members and Charter Members pay for the privilege of not seeing ads or because they are supportive of the Dope or of their status as members.
And now, of course, ‘members’ are hoi polloi whereas you are hoi oligoi.
I have long thought these Greek titles should replace ‘members’ and ‘charter members’ but couldn’t think of a similar one for ‘guests’. Except where guests become a nuisance to both hoi polloi and hoi oligoi, in which case we could call them hoi trolloi.
Why does this make me think of gummi bears?
You are thinking of Haribo
Right
What?