Hi Dr Bob,

How does one go about purchasing the "Lifetime Membership" so one does not have to take the time re-up every year?

Thanks,

Dave

Dave - that is actually an honor that cannot be bought. It is a status that was conferred by the founder of Rennlist, John D. When you look at the folks that have that status, you will see a common thread. The best of the best - and character is at the top of the list:bowdown:

What Ed said, at least about the "can't be bought" part anyway.. I've recommended some of our stellar supporters for LRM status, and found that the program is pretty much history at this point. My LRM status came out of the blue thanks to Randy V and John D in the pre-IB era. Other forum operators offer a lifetime status with single payment. IMHO I'm not sure I can guarantee that I'll even remember enough to make one of those longer-term investments worthwhile.

If the renewal process is too tedious to endure every year, I think there's a multi-year option. I haven't looked in a while though. More memory issues. I can't remember half the stuff I've forgotten.

The facebook groups are fun and all but it gets annoying giving the same advice over and over again because there is no way to search for info.

So, like others, I inevitably post links to a RL thread pertaining to their question. It makes it so much easier to answer technical questions with a writeup done and edited years ago.

Facebook is good for quick questions like which spark plugs to use, but more technical stuff really requires the archival capabilities of a dedicated forum like Rennlist.

Otherwise you'll be answering that same question at least 10 times over.

Ed,

Interesting, I was thinking that there was a premium cost membership that indicated a long term commitment to the Porsche marquis and that the "premium" upfront fee would help support the Rennlist community as a whole.

Since a two year membership is $32($16/year) RL should just offer a 50 year (aka lifetime) membership for $500($10/year). I bet there would be a bunch of guys who either wanted the status or wanted to support the community and not have to remember to renew every year.

Excellent idea Nate! I'd go there in a heartbeat!

Well, to reiterate, a lifetime membership is an honor designation. It isn't about cost or convenience. Nate, your proposal would be like buying a Knighthood. It can be done on a one-off basis I suppose, but if anyone could do it who had the $ means, then it wouldn't be a special thing anymore.

That said, it could be that IB institutes some form of long term membership fee, but they should call it something else. I got no skin in this game, as I am not in the ranks of those worthy folks who are lifetime members. I'm just happy they exist, and I think they should remain at that elevated level.

A couple other forums I play in offer what they call a "premium membership", exactly as you describe except that the buy-in is less than 10x an annual membership cost. For that you get a pretty gold banner under your name with the "Premium Member" lettering in black script. Interesting that on those forums there's absolutely no benefit to paying for any membership vs. user-level, much less a premium. Those places make all their money on clicks and views for advertisers, while a decent adblocker handily cancels out whatever benefit a no-ads membership might bring. Following that thought, it looks like Google Chrome is going to revamp their adblocker add-in so it allows some $higher$ ads to pass through regardless of settings.

Back to the premium membership thought, there are some few who treat their paid membership as a license to harass and troll in the forums. How much more of that would we need to tolerate from someone who might perceive that as a lifetime privilege?

Not to mention said troll, crying foul when they get banned and purchased a "lifetime" membership.

Would need to come up with a "lifetime premium time-out" instead of a ban?

Yeah I didn't mean to suggest that the long term membership fee be akin to having a designated lifetime membership. Definitely if come to fruition, it should have a different, less prestigious, moniker.

As for the idea that it could give some trolls the feeling they have a right to be more trolly, well I don't know. First off how much of an epidemic is that? And me personally, I hate it when things are legislated to accommodate the few instead of the many. There are a lot of us that would love the opportunity to have one large payment and be done with having to renew every year or two. And I'd also be willing to bet that most of those people could care less if there was no additional benefit beyond that.

My status here dates back to 2002, could have sworn I had the lifetime status at one point. I thought it was offered to the first few paying members but judging from the responses here, I am experiencing some form of senility.

With that said, I guess I should be ashamed of my low post count given how long I have been here. :icon107:

I did not want privilege, knighthood, or to join the double secret society of hallowed heroes with secret handshakes and knowing winks.

I only wanted the convenience of not having to risk losing my posts if I take a long break or spend time renewing my membership every year and obviously, to support the funding of Rennlist. Strange to see this being viewed viewed as a "Character" issue or that "Lifetime Member" confers special status when one only seeks convenance.

Who was it that said "trying to understand some people is like trying to describe the color 9"?

:icon107:

Even if you never renew you don't loose your posts. You don't even loose your PM's. I've let mine lapse several times.