Dave:
Thank you for your response.. I have been away on vacation in Hawaii for a couple of weeks so just getting back to this issue.
First of all, I believe you are mistaken. In the very early days of SI.. and I have verified this with a couple of the older members. Silicon Investor was a "browse for free" web site aka "lurkers". It was however, "pay to play" so to speak. So in order to write a post, you had to "subscribe" to either a semi-annual, annual, or lifetime membership.. The option to purchase a "lifetime membership" was $200.
Message 5131740
The rather steep membership fee was used to detract the Yahooligans who infested other forums out of this one, which acted to keep the derogatory and "trolling" to a minimum.
You'll see below that you had "members" who payed for a membership, and then you attempt to recruit "new members" i.e "Lurkers" into paying for a "subscription membership" in order have the Rights of Membership to POST on SI.
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| From: SI Brad (chief nerd) |
| | | We are implementing a new 30 day trial tonight. The reason for the free trial is to allow non-members a chance to fully explore SI, and to recruit them as new members.
We will also be giving away annual memberships to some of the members who create the best content.
Some of the anti-abuse improvements we've made from the last trial:
1) Duplicate aliases will not be permitted.
2) Every post by a trial member will be flagged prominently with "Trial Member" |
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Message 5102141
So the question to be answered is... If posting for everyone has always been free, ie a privilage, and as you claim that a paid subscription only provided "additional features", then why were posts during a "free trial period' tagged as "non-members'? According to you, anyone could post for free, and therefore everyone was posting as a "privilege", not as a right of membership¿
Are you sure you want to stand by this statement of yours?
" Even back in the day when SI charged subscriptions under prior owners, posting was free and subscriptions purchased additional features, not the ability to post."
SI member Dick Smith replied to this post....
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"Good improvements. I presume you'll be watching for trouble, too."
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Message 5102141
Why would you have to watch for trouble during this "trial membership" if anyone who walked by could post anyway?
So in exchange for the payment $200, Silicon Investor provided a lifetime subscription to me, whose only benefit for paying the $200, at the time, was the right/ability to post on SI. Hence, I paid for right to post on SI over my lifetime subscription, which the previous owners of SI were happy to take my, and other members money. Now SI through its various owners have assumed the "contractual responsibilities" of the previous owners, unless those contractual responsibilities have been vacated by a judge via a bankruptcy filing, which I have never been advised that my contractual subscription has been cancelled by such an event.
Later, SI, if my memory is correct, under different owners opened the posting gates to the general Yahooligans and charged a optional fee for the ability to access different "levels" and search features. The general Yahoooligans have no "lifetime membership", or contractual agreements between the parties, and many that post here have not paid any financial consideration to do so, and most are civil and respectful. These SI participants (non-members) post here under the good graces of the new owners of SI.. "a privilege" so to speak.
I post here under the Rights afforded under a Lifetime membership memorialized via a debit of $200 from my checking account. When you buy SI, you assumed those contractual responsibilities from the previous owners, and the owners before them.
When I go to the Country Club, where I am a member and have paid a considerable financial consideration to be a member. I have the RIGHT to enter the premises as long as I follow the rules (TOU's) as voted on by the members. If I disagree on how the management is running things, I can voice my opinion without threat of being removed from the building. There are, at times, invited guests who are also present at the Country Club, they are there as "guests", they have no contractual right to be there, but are allowed to participate in events as a privilege.
Likewise, when I go to the airport and stop by the Admirals Club. I have paid a fee to become a member for a given period of time. I go to the Admirals Club and pay for the "Right" to enter so I can enjoy a little quiet time before a flight. I pay a fee, and I contractually have certain rights.
So I hope you understand my viewpoint on this matter.. There is a clear differentiation between those that paid for a lifetime subscription for the "right" to post here, and those that came in under the "Post for Free" regime that are here as "non-members".
If these contractual requirements have been vacated by a judge. Then please forward the order, or simply provide the PACER case number and docket. I will download it.
Whenever you tire of running this outfit, let me know, as I may be interested in purchasing SI for the sole purpose of returning it to the previous "members only" business model, and vacating certain Yahooligans which have degraded it from its previous days. So perhaps you can mark that up as "constructive input".
And so it goes,
PCSTEL |
