# Why should I pay $14.95 to become a member? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 28, 2006, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-pay-14-95-to-become-a-member/350232 "2006-03-28T10:54:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Galaxyhorse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7bcc69/32.png) [@Galaxyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galaxyhorse)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-pay-14-95-to-become-a-member/350232/1 "2006-03-28T10:54:23Z")
Please enlighten me. I have read almost every thread here in the last week or so. I do not know whether I should become a member. Convince me. ---
**Author:** ![yingtongtiddleipo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/f6c823/32.png) [@yingtongtiddleipo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yingtongtiddleipo)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-pay-14-95-to-become-a-member/350232/2 "2006-03-28T11:01:29Z")
Look around - see lots of nasty pop-ups? Intrusive adverts? txt spk? The SMDB is like the BBC to me. Quality costs. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-pay-14-95-to-become-a-member/350232/3 "2006-03-28T11:04:25Z")
And also like the BBC, get used to ‘whilst’. ---
**Author:** ![Galaxyhorse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7bcc69/32.png) [@Galaxyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galaxyhorse)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-pay-14-95-to-become-a-member/350232/4 "2006-03-28T11:05:09Z")
> [@yingtongtiddleipo](#): > > Look around - see lots of nasty pop-ups? Intrusive adverts? txt spk? > > The SMDB is like the BBC to me. Quality costs. Okay, so there are no nasty pop ups or intrusive adverts. It is not the cost which is peanuts. Why should I bother is the question. Is there something great that I have missed. If so, point it out. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-pay-14-95-to-become-a-member/350232/5 "2006-03-28T11:07:43Z")
> [@Galaxyhorse](#): > > Please enlighten me. I have read almost every thread here in the last week or so. I do not know whether I should become a member. Convince me. Well, for me personally, this place has made me a more “well read” person. It’s helped me tremndously with my conversation skills as well. In short, I feel like a lot smarter person than I was before I joined these boards. Now, if only I could find a new group of friends who are up to my level. I’d be style’n. /pompous ass 😃 ---
**Author:** ![yingtongtiddleipo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/f6c823/32.png) [@yingtongtiddleipo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yingtongtiddleipo)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-pay-14-95-to-become-a-member/350232/6 "2006-03-28T11:46:36Z")
> [@Galaxyhorse](#): > > Okay, so there are no nasty pop ups or intrusive adverts. It is not the cost which is peanuts. Why should I bother is the question. Is there something great that I have missed. If so, point it out. If you truly have been right round the site, and read all the threads, and you still can’t see the greatness - then you probably shouldn’t bother. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-pay-14-95-to-become-a-member/350232/7 "2006-03-28T11:52:13Z")
When you join, you get a fez and learn a secret handshake. An handbook of all the Secret Doper Cliches fnord is also yours at no additional cost. Oh, and introductions to a goat. How can you pass that up? /has been here longer than before the goat initiations started. ☹ //We really do need some kind of masonic type of ring or something. ---
**Author:** ![yingtongtiddleipo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/f6c823/32.png) [@yingtongtiddleipo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yingtongtiddleipo)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-pay-14-95-to-become-a-member/350232/8 "2006-03-28T12:01:35Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > We really do need some kind of masonic type of ring or something. And definately a secret handshake - everyday I feel like I’m missing out by not having one! ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-pay-14-95-to-become-a-member/350232/9 "2006-03-28T12:09:25Z")
> [@Galaxyhorse](#): > > Okay, so there are no nasty pop ups or intrusive adverts. It is not the cost which is peanuts. Why should I bother is the question. Is there something great that I have missed. If so, point it out. If, after looking around for a while, you don’t feel that it’s worth the money, then it’s not worth the money to you. Some people will find that the subscription fee is well worth it. Some people won’t. You’re the only one who can decide whether this message board is worth it to you. By the way…unless you have done nothing else in this past week, you haven’t read almost every thread here. There are seven years’ worth of threads on this message board, though you have to reset the “show” settings to find them all. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-pay-14-95-to-become-a-member/350232/10 "2006-03-28T14:27:32Z")
I think the OP meant that they have read every new thread available in the last couple weeks. ---
**Author:** ![MessyPaint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@MessyPaint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MessyPaint)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-pay-14-95-to-become-a-member/350232/11 "2006-03-28T14:58:19Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > And also like the BBC, get used to ‘whilst’. Don’t forget “Whence”. – ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-pay-14-95-to-become-a-member/350232/12 "2006-03-28T15:35:26Z")
Do we tell him about the goat now or after he pays the $14.95? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-pay-14-95-to-become-a-member/350232/13 "2006-03-28T15:59:24Z")
Since you asked… I don’t care one bit whether or not you join. Frankly, you may find much more entertainment from dropping $14.95 on a bottle of reasonably drinkable wine. A couple of cheaper bottles if you’re in it just for a good buzz. The only reason I’d be tempted to ask you to join is that perhaps with your membership they’ll finally be able to afford a better cartoonist. I’m so tired of seeing the same couch sized asses and coke bottle tits on the home page. But that’s just my pet peeve and selfish motive. In truth, if you have to ask, perhaps the alcohol route is the better way to go for you. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-pay-14-95-to-become-a-member/350232/14 "2006-03-28T16:08:41Z")
> [@Lynn Bodoni](#): > > By the way…unless you have done nothing else in this past week, you haven’t read almost every thread here. There are seven years’ worth of threads on this message board, though you have to reset the “show” settings to find them all. Or somebody could provide a link to one of the half-dozen or so “anthology project” type threads, collecting nominations for the shining moments in the board’s history. Somebody more motivated than I, that is. 🙂 (Actually, I wonder if that wouldn’t make a good sales angle. Sticky one of the anthology threads with a subject line, “Not sure if you should become a member? Check out the board’s accumulated genius!” or something like that.) (Or you could just go to Threadspotting.) (Or, like me, you could write the majority of your posts inside parentheses for absolutely no reason at all. That’s worth fourteen bucks right there.) ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-pay-14-95-to-become-a-member/350232/15 "2006-03-28T16:19:02Z")
$14.95 scares away the idiots not already scared away by the topics. Plus you get access to make (and read) horrible jokes about such topics as carbon, plasma, and land wars in Asia! (This is in addition to the afforementioned goat\*, secret handshake, and (perhaps) ring) [when parenthesizing {like this} does one use different parenthesis?] \*: I still haven’t seen this “goat.” ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-pay-14-95-to-become-a-member/350232/16 "2006-03-28T16:24:00Z")
The goat is afraid of the gnu. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-pay-14-95-to-become-a-member/350232/17 "2006-03-28T16:28:49Z")
> [@Galaxyhorse](#): > > Please enlighten me. I have read almost every thread here in the last week or so. I do not know whether I should become a member. Convince me. I don’t think I’d have signed up after a 1-month trial. I was a member for a year and a half before pay-to-post kicked in, and by that time, I’d posted enough to “get to know” some of the folks here. I’m not going to name names, but there were, and are, many Dopers who I like to read and Etc. To my eye, therein lies the value. Also, your comment here intrigues me… > [@Galaxyhorse](#): > > Okay, so there are no nasty pop ups or intrusive adverts. It is not the cost which is peanuts. Why should I bother is the question. Is there something great that I have missed. If so, point it out. I’m definitely diggin’ what appears to be a confrontational stance (or latent hostility, or incredulity, or condescension, or whatever that was); it’s _edgy_. You should cultivate that. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-pay-14-95-to-become-a-member/350232/18 "2006-03-28T16:35:04Z")
> [@Galaxyhorse](#): > > Convince me. Pfft. Convince _me_ to convince you. What do you have to offer _me_? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-pay-14-95-to-become-a-member/350232/19 "2006-03-28T16:54:14Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Or somebody could provide a link to one of the half-dozen or so “anthology project” type threads, collecting nominations for the shining moments in the board’s history. Somebody more motivated than I, that is. 🙂 > > (Actually, I wonder if that wouldn’t make a good sales angle. Sticky one of the anthology threads with a subject line, “Not sure if you should become a member? Check out the board’s accumulated genius!” or something like that.) > > (Or you could just go to Threadspotting.) I couldn’t disagree more. What’s this guy want, for us to put on some kind of dog-and-pony show to impress him? Screw that. A month-long trial period is plenty of time to get a feeling for what it’s like to be a member of the community. If it doesn’t float your boat, move on. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-pay-14-95-to-become-a-member/350232/20 "2006-03-28T17:14:07Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > Plus you get access to make (and read) horrible jokes about such topics as carbon, plasma, and land wars in Asia! Maaaan, you don’t ever want to get involved in a land war in Asia. 😛 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-pay-14-95-to-become-a-member/350232.md?page=2)