[QUOTE=MacGyver,Dec 22 2009, 12:48 PM] Is the concept of "Stop taking away the little things" really that difficult a concept for people to wrap their minds around?

 

No other group (at least any that I'm currently aware of, and to be honest I didn't really search for it as it certainly never started that way) uses the badge in this manner, requiring people to pay for it.

What was wrong with providing a separate badge to show someone was considered safe, like the badges e-commerce sites display to show their e-carts are protected by company 'X'? That would at least be unambiguous and wouldn't conflict with what every other group does (or at least did). Same badge everywhere, regardless of group, universal meaning.






Meh, I think I've finally winded myself on this one. It is what it is, and there's obviously no chance of it changing, so I'll just resign myself to that fact and get on with things. Maybe I'm getting too old and remembering the "good ol' days" a little too fondly with rose colored glasses. Anyone seen my walker?

On a sidenote... I was just informed by current repair bill is up to $1,300 with no guarantee it would resolve my seized calipers problem. I really do wish I had a heated garage (or it was summer) right now and I would have ripped that entire brake system apart myself! Damn snow!

 

Part of the reason the paid membership is required is because it leaves a paper trail with the site. Granted, S2ki will never refund a member if they are defrauded on the site but the Admins will pass along any transaction information they can to the authorities. From what I have been told, that can be very helpful.

I also think you aren't remembering the past as it actually was. It was more a case of the fact that you didn't have an issue with paying for the membership in the past so you didn't pay as much attention to these rules as you would have otherwise.

This issue is already too hairy and more complicated than it needs to be. Having yet another badge will make it worse rather than better. No way can we go there. There are other regions that control badge issuance and require membership for selling but I believe we are the minority. It was suggested here because we are one of the largest and most active. We also have one of the biggest defrauding issues, too.

If I may, I'd like to offer you another way to look at it. How about this? Look to the past and remember all of the things this site has given you. The friendships, the nights out with your buds, the education, the technical resources. All that is good stuff and has some value. Have you paid for all of that in membership dues? I know I haven't... Hell, if I factor in all of the money I have saved by reading just the DIY sections of this side, I'd have to pay a membership for the rest of my life to make up for it. That is, in fact, exactly what I intend to do.

I realize you are just calling the faults in the system. I see them, too. It sucks but would you rather us not do anything and just let it run free? I'm being serious here. I honestly think that would be worse. What do you think?

 

Actually he is remembering the past correctly, it predates your time here.

One should not say ALWAYS.





And best of all from the badge thread


Things changed down the road to requiring a membership.

 

You are right, Mark... I should have qualified "always."

I was referring back to the rule that 4theheckofit created a few years ago; when we starting using the badge as a tool rather than an identifier.

My point was that we weren't, with this action, further reducing anyone's privileges in the Mid-A rather just enforcing a somewhat forgotten rule.

You are very, very correct. Things change and evolve over time. It is the only constant in the universe.

 

I have been staying quiet on this, but I feel like I need to add my 2 cents before the day is over. I do remember when a badge was just a badge to identify where you are from. That is how it is used in other regions. Personally that is what I think it should be. The ruling party a few years ago decided that it should be used to police the local membership. Personally, I never agreed with the idea that it should be a way to identify you to be trustworthy, because honestly it means nothing. We have had many issues with "Badged" sellers/buyers and it creates a false sense of security IMHO.

Do I want to support this site, yes. Is someone making money off of us members? Probably, but that is capitalism, get over it. People should be paid for their work. The benefits for having a membership aren't what they used to be but you still get something for your money, if its worth it should be up to you.

Overall, I badges don't really mean anything. If I had my choice they would just be a way to identify where you are from in the main forums.

 

kind of like those little league world series kids and their pins.

 

Not to beat a horse that is certainly dead by this point (but I don't want to leave muddy waters), let's be clear... what is being enforced is the most current rule. It wasn't forgotten, it was changed. I was no longer a paying member when the rule was changed. I was handed my mid-A badge, along with the ones that remain in my sig, before the purpose of the badge was changed, and certainly before the rule for having said badge required money. The "privilege" (though I hate to use that word even here as I fully admit it offers nothing material) was reduced, as it were, when compared to how it was provided in the first place. It only makes sense that things are simply being brought in line with the rules if you base that upon the most recent revision on them.

The rules I've broken on this board can almost always be attributed to the rule being changed (because of money) after I learned it and was never informed of the change... I'll say "almost" as I still may have broken one and am simply not aware of it at this point. One such rule was any S2000 owner could sell S2000-specific items, even items they made for a profit as a business, without issue or fee. That rule changed for self-manufactured items, and many found out (including myself) only via our posts disappearing into the ether. Then came the rule change for used items and the classifieds forum. Now the badges. Money money money.

And yet somehow people are still getting scammed at an alarming rate (even in person, as the recent seat debacle thread indicates). And how many arrests have been made due to the credit card or IP information released by the board? Would none be a correct figure? We couldn't even get that one scammer who lived in El Paso arrested, and he jacked quite a few people (including the board's owner!) for $10k+ in total, and we had everything from a picture of him to his address to his license plate and phone numbers. In theory, it sounds like a great benefit, and I truly applaud the idea, but let's be realistic and not parade this is a realistic benefit to the members here. It's a scare tactic against scammers, nothing more, and everyone here knows it, including the scammers (prove me wrong, show me a single case). Which, if anything, boils it down to nothing more than a reason to extract money from members without no real benefit (and wouldn't a false sense of security be considered a bad thing?).

 

It was worth the $ 20.00 just to read this thread.