Of course, I’m such a moron I should have known that, since I do pay and I do see Google text ads.
Then again, exactly what ads will I be seeing in the future if I decide NOT to pay? On the planet I’m currently on (apparently not Earth), I figured continuing to pay for no ads would mean seeing NO ADS.
Needless to say, I’m still more than a little 
The non-pay ads are huge, and they’re not at the top or the end of the threads, but in between the OP and the responses. I logged out deliberately yesterday to look and see what was going on with them, and was more or less appalled at the obnoxiousness…
Ick! I agree re the obnoxiousness.
I wonder though - as more and more people find out how to circumvent ads in general, will this scheme make as much money for SDMB as they expect? If people are already circumventing ads when they first join they will neither see ads nor have any incentive to pay to not see what they are already not seeing (other than an extra wide divider between the OP and the first reply where the circumvented ads were intended to pop up).
I would miss you, even though I don’t know you. Because everyone deserves to be missed 
OK, thank you for letting me know!
I never even thought about logging out to see. Needless to say, I’ve never been accused of having a spirit of adventure
I don’t have much to add to what I said earlier. As of now a subscription is still required to post, and most charter member subscriptions expire around May 10. It’s highly unlikely we’ll be ready to switch to free posting by then - June or July is more like it. While dropping the fee is simply a matter of changing a software setting or two, we need to have an alternative revenue stream in place before we do so, and getting that set up is proving to be more complicated than I thought. So if you wish to keep posting once your subscription expires, you need to re-up, knowing that free posting may start within a month or two. If you’d rather let your subscription lapse and wait for free posting, that’s up to you. I remind you that free posting means you’ll see display ads, whereas subscribing means you won’t. I’m sorry I can’t be more definite, but felt it was better to give you what little information I have than simply surprise you.
Thanks, Ed.
Thanks, Ed – I appreciate the update.
With respect, that’s a pretty dismal choice for those of us (and I’m sure there will be many) who will wish to switch from subs to ads. Pay for another year or lose posting privileges for a couple of months.
Would it really kill the board to extend the grace period until the new setup is in place?
Hmmmm. So is this switch to free posting a sure thing, once your ad provider is lined up, or not? Because it seems to me that you are making people pay a full year for what you KNOW is going to be less than a couple of months. Why don’t you make those simple little software setting changes NOW? Why does the new revenue stream need to be in place before you switch? It’s not like you don’t get ad revenue immediately from new free posters. Perhaps making the switch now will light a fire under your collective asses vis a vis new revenue streams.
Also, what’s wrong with your current Google banner/ big ad after first post/ad sense revenue streams? Where else can you possibly stick advertisements? Are you planning on adding those stupid in-line “IntelliTXT” ads? Maybe pop-up windows?
Yeah, this is kinda shitty, they should extend the grace period. It’s not a lot to ask, IMHO, what with the awful performance we’ve lived with, even while paying for this service.
So, whatever happened to the money order thing? I kind of hate to ask for help yet again and I’m still credit-less and bank accountless too. No Paypal. I can do a money order though.
zoogirl, I’m going to put a link to this post in the “help with subscription” thread – you need help from a Doper with a credit card or PayPal.
You can send them the money order after they subscribe you. Or whatever else they work out with you.
I’ve already got it sorted! Huge thanks to Tuba and my benefactor. Folks, I’m still here!
What does this mean? You already have it set up, at least according to what you’ve said:
You already implemented banner ads. So what’s the problem?
A cynical person would suspect you’re just trying to get users to pay a year’s fee for two months of service, which would be a shitty thing to do.
Holy cow, it’s a lousy $15.00, is it really that big of a deal? Either pay it or don’t.
I’m curious: If some buddy asked to borrow 15 bucks to take a cab home and you found out later that he actually borrowed the money to get more drunk, would your first thought be “Oh, it’s only 15 bucks”?
When you get to be a “certain age” when a buddy asks to borrow $15.00, he doesn’t need to explain to me what it’s for. I could care less what he does with it. My buddies pay back any money they borrow from me or they are not my buddies.
What is with all the whining and moaning about renewing? I signed up, and a month or two later the news hits that they are eventually going to free posting. I made one comment and then moved on. I cannot believe how much pissing and moaning is going on, and has been going on, regarding the fees. As I see it, you have three choices, either pay the $15.00 or don’t, or if money is an issue, ask in the thread to be sponsored. I see members sponsoring people all the time.
There really is no need for comments like this.
What a shitty thing to say, paranoid much? Or are you just complaining because you have nothing better to do?
I agree it’s a little antagonistic, but don’t you find it a little hard to swallow that it’s taking months and months to line up these “alternate revenue streams”? Is he actually shopping the entire world to find a better deal than Google is already giving? Do you think it takes half a year to set up an Amazon affiliation?
I’m glad 15 dollars is so meaningless to you, I spent more than that on beer last night myself, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t cock an eyebrow at the explanations of their fly by night business strategies.
No I don’t. Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t it a real possibility that this board would be closed down? Internet advertising does take time to build up to a break even point. It’s not that $15.00 is meaningless, it’s that the endless whining and nitpicking is ridiculous. It people don’t like the way the new management is running this board, leave. It really is simple.