Hi
@BrokenPaul,
Thank you for being so open to what I had to say -- major kudos to you for that!
I think all of this has been a matter of being new and not knowing how things work.
@Edyth is new too and I didn't want her to feel chased off from participating in the forums. We're always looking for fun, compassionate people to join the forums.
I don't want you to feel chased off either, so I hope you'll stay. Hopefully I can explain a little of how the system works.
Most people here usually stick to either mostly the live chat, or mostly the forums. There are a few of us hybrids who do both, but for those who stick with the live chats, their profile will always say New Member because that title automatically changes depending on how many forum posts you make.
I don't know how many posts are required in each tier, but as you make more posts, the system will change it to things like"Well-Known Member" and then just "Member" (there could be a few other titles, I'm not sure.) Other titles, like the one I have under my username, are ones we make up and request with a paid membership.
Because the automatic system titles depend on your number of posts in the forums, it will never change if the person never makes posts. A chatter-only member could be here for a year and have still say "New Member" because they haven't made any posts in the forum -- but they might not actually be new.
I know you didn't realize all this, so I hope this helps.
For anyone interested in the live chats, I went in there today to ask about the conditions. I might have misunderstood or things could change, so take it this all with a block of salt and ask RoboOp if there are any questions.
1. The chat app will soon be on Google Play, and Google charges fees, so paid memberships will help the site cover those fees.
2. The basic admission to live chat that is free, but certain privileges are extra (making your own room, appearing on camera, etc.) If anyone goes into the chat and has further questions, I'm sure the moderators there can tell you what's basic and what's extra.
From my own experience, I can testify that everything used to be free -- but some people took advantage of that to misbehave, which is another reason why some things are now paid.
Anyway...
Hope this clears some things up but RoboOp will always have the most accurate information.
I'm truly sorry you had a bad experience,
@BrokenPaul. There are many good people here and I hope you're able to make some friends.
Welcome to the forums, and I hope you'll continue to post.
A group of us make threads about everyday life and some humorous topics in Singles and Family -- come check it out if you're like.