Not an upgraded member; is it worth the money?

I haven't been on here long. There's a lot of restrictions unless I pay for an upgraded membership.

Advice? Comments? I'm not sure I want to spend the money, I can't decide. Should I?

I am a longtime member and have a Platinum membership. I was a Gold for several years on and off before investing in the Platinum, too. And it really depends on your goals here.

If you are just reading and commenting on stories and maybe posting in the forums, might not be worth the investment unless the ads are a bother.

But as someone here primarily as a writer, I wanted the priority in the moderation queue. And I like not dealing with ads.

So basically look at how you use/plan to use the site. If there's something like writing or groups that benefits from membership on the list, then there's your answer. That also feeds into what membership level (Silver or Gold/Platinum) you buy.

Of course, buying a membership is also an investment in the site, providing a revenue stream to pay for hosting, paid staff like developers, and so on. So I would always encourage it from that standpoint. If you enjoy the site and want to help keep it going, make the investment.

And you get rid of ads, which is never a bad thing in my book. 😊

I really enjoy having a Platinum membership and not having to think about it, and as seeker said, I publish enough that the queue priority is really nice. I don’t do a ton of PMing, but probably enough that I’d chafe at the messaging limits of a basic account.

He was exactly right that it depends on what you want to get out of it. You can read and comment on stories as much as you want for free, so if that’s all you intend to do, it may not be worth it. But if you find you like this lovely community and want to spend a fair amount of time here, then it’s probably worth it.

Quote by Seeker4

I am a longtime member and have a Platinum membership. I was a Gold for several years on and off before investing in the Platinum, too. And it really depends on your goals here.

If you are just reading and commenting on stories and maybe posting in the forums, might not be worth the investment unless the ads are a bother.

But as someone here primarily as a writer, I wanted the priority in the moderation queue. And I like not dealing with ad.

Thanks for the input. I see what you mean. There's some things here I'd like to check out but I can't at the moment. Might be worth looking into.

Quote by joe71

I really enjoy having a Platinum membership and not having to think about it, and as seeker said, I publish enough that the queue priority is really nice. I don’t do a ton of PMing, but probably enough that I’d chafe at the messaging limits of a basic account.

I appreciate the insight You two have given me something to think over.