The Conservative Cave
Current Events => The DUmpster => Topic started by: franksolich on February 21, 2012, 07:08:03 PM
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http://www.democraticunderground.com/124049673
Oh my.
OmahaBlueDog (6,955 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
My Fallen Star (A.K.A. Sixty Bucks??!!)
My star has fallen. Or maybe it's twinkling, as I will give some money this year to support DU, but not the $42-$60 for "star" membership.
I spend a bit of time on DU, and I enjoy the exchange of ideas, and the camaraderie of those who share many of my values. However, there's only so much I'm willing to invest in any website that's not giving me financial return (i.e. stock buying advice or horse racing tips). That amount is about $25 - $30. That's about what it costs, for example, to buy a whole season of MLB audio broadcasts. That's close to what it costs to get into "insider" chat rooms on a lot of sports websites. If it costs more than that, I generally opt to put up with the ads (as I plan to do here going forward) or do without.
There are a lot of good hearted people here, and I want to make one thing clear:
No, I'm not broke. No, I have not become suddenly unemployed. No, I'm not asking for anyone to give me a star -- please save that for someone in real need, or better yet, give that money to the DNC, DCCC, Obama For America, or Omaha Steve's city council bid.
Part of my problem is that I just don't see the value. In the past I'd get a star for giving $5-$10 per quarter. Now it's $42 up front or $5 per month (= $60 per year). In exchange, there's not a lot in it for a star member. You don't look at ads: OK, that's a plus, but is it that big a plus? I get a longer jury blacklist: no value there. I don't have anyone blacklisted from my juries, because the juries that we see are anonymous, and there's no voir dire process prior to seating a jury. "Put those on your ignore list on your jury blacklist." Nope: at the moment, I have no one on "ignore", and (surprisingly) only one star member is ignoring me. I suspect it's Skinner, but who knows?
While on the topic, the whole jury system bugs me. This is consistent, in as much as I dislike the "real" jury system as well. Casey Anthony, OJ Simpson, Robert Blake -- I could go on about my dislike of juries, but why? Bottom line: It's "Skinner's House and Skinner's Rules." Fair enough, but for $60 I'd prefer the admin and mod system. Maybe it's just me.
The "New DU" has not added features I value to justify $42-$60. What could they do? Here are some things I might be willing to pay for:
Members-Only Forums If we're going to have two classes of DUer, let's do it right and have rooms in which only the members can chat. I'd also prefer that these forums could not be seen or searched by non-members.
Live-Chat with Guests A real time chat room would be a great feature. Many "Rivals" and "Scout" sports sites offer this as a feature for premium members. It'd be excellent during debates, addresses, or election nights. That featue could be greater-still with live, members only chats with Skinner, or well-known members like David Swanson. Perhaps we could lure in someone like a Rachel Maddow or a Dennis Kucinich from time to time.
A progressive analog to the Conservative Cave's DUmpster Sure, it's juvenile. Sure, it's immature. However, our conservative counterparts have proven that there's fun to be had by just dedicating a whole forum to making fun of their counterparts on DU. Not everyone's idea of fun, but for some of us....
As it stands now, I could be convinced to go $30 for a star if I can spread it out to $7.50 a quarter, but I just don't see paying more than that.
Sorry, Skinner - it's not personal. It's business.
It's a big campfire; the primitives are hanging around the meta forum more than the general discussion forum these days.
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http://www.democraticunderground.com/124049673
Oh my.
It's a big campfire; the primitives are hanging around the meta forum more than the general discussion forum these days.
Now wait a gosh dang second here Coach, wasn't he dry humping the DUmmies recently to enhance his campaign super pac? If I were the Skin man this would be going down sideways.
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Now wait a gosh dang second here Coach, wasn't he dry humping the DUmmies recently to enhance his campaign super pac? If I were the Skin man this would be going down sideways.
No, OmahaBlueDog's another fellow Nebraskan of mine, a friend of OmahaSteve's.
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No, OmahaBlueDog's another fellow Nebraskan of mine, a friend of OmahaSteve's.
Never mind. :thatsright: How could I think Obmaha Steve would ever do such a thing. :rotf:
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So, a star on your dunce cap cost $42/$60 now....Obamaflation. :-)
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Hey Steve!
Use some funds from your donations and write it off as a campaign expense.
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Members only forum? delicious. The misfits have no idea how many moles there are, and clearly the moles are the only ones in a position to pay for the member only forum.
:popcorn:
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The Wonder Weeper is trolling for Calpig to buy him a star.
How sweet.
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Keep your Omaha DUmmies straight!
So, he wants a counterpart to the DUmpster. Wonder how that would work out? I think it's been tried before, to crashing failure.
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Keep your Omaha DUmmies straight!
So, he wants a counterpart to the DUmpster. Wonder how that would work out? I think it's been tried before, to crashing failure.
Yeah.
OmahaBlueDog is a pal of OmahaSteve's, but is not OmahaSteve. Keep them straight, as we don't at the moment care to impugn OmahaBlueDog.
You know, madam, for years I've suggested to my fellow alum Skins that he allow something similar with the world-renown DUmmie FUnnies on Skins's island; maybe the FReeper FRolics, or as a counterpart to what's at our old home, the Best/Worst of CU, but my fellow alum always thumbs-downed that idea.
I dunno why; but he never liked it.
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Keep your Omaha DUmmies straight!
So, he wants a counterpart to the DUmpster. Wonder how that would work out? I think it's been tried before, to crashing failure.
Two words, "Air America."