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Come Back! We Miss You!
They don’t let me see the numbers (for organizational purposes, I rank just below the guy who scrubs Rob Long’s gold-plated bidet), but we get a lot of visitors to this homepage, who aren’t current members. And a lot of you reading this are actually former Ricochet members.
What I’m about to say is aimed at you.
Normally when we make these pitches, I try to sell people on the virtues of Ricochet. About how our code of conduct allows adults to talk to each other without having to deal with endless scores of sub-literate 12-year-olds spewing anti-Semitic insults at people. About all the smart and fascinating people on Ricochet. About the amazing online community we’ve built here.
But if you’re a former member, you know all that jazz already. I don’t know why you left (you probably had a good reason), but you already know we’ve got one hell of a product here. So we’d like you to come back and give Ricochet another try.
And to entice you to come back in, as part of our 2017 Membership Drive, we’ve got a special offer for returning members: Get two months free when you rejoin as an annual Coolidge member. (You can also join on other tiers, but the special offer is only available on the Coolidge tier.)
We’ve made it really easy. Just go to this link and login using your old member and password. (If you don’t remember the password, there’s a way to reset it.)
What else can I say? You already know what makes Ricochet great. We’d like you to come back.
Will you be part of our community again?
Published in General
Okay–so I got the e-mail inviting me back and I decided to take the plunge again. Man, do things look different here since I left!
The question is–will it feel different here? Things were starting to seem kind of clique-y over on the member feed when I left, and I already lived through high school. But I’ve adjusted my expectations and I know that I’ll never be one of the “cool kids” (plus I have way less time to spend here than I used to). So, I’ll give it another shot.
Welcome back! It is worth it KayBee! Don’t need to be a cool kid to have fun. Look at me!
You just point out anyone acting clique-y and I’ll go out and key his car during lunch period.
I’m noticing a lot of wonderful new members, and now Fred’s multi-tasking for Mr. Long? It is refreshing to be able to share all ideas in a lively, but respectful way in the new era of on-line hate speech and hit squads on many sites. Freedom of thought and sharing ideas from diverse backgrounds has become more important than ever.
I’ve just returned to Ricochet. I had a lapse because I was going through a rough patch.
That said, I never wanted to let my membership lapse. I didn’t notice an email from Ricochet, I just rejoined as soon as practical.
Welcome Back
As well you should. It’s spotless. The monogram on the toilet is unfortunately out of view.
Welcome back to you both.
Welcome back!
Gold-plated bidet? How disappointing. Back in the Cheers era it would have been solid platinum. Damn you, market segmentation!!
One thing I don’t understand is why Ricochet does not offer incentives for gift memberships. One-month extension for Podcast-tier memberships and two months for Coolidge-tier memberships. And credit for all gift memberships toward higher tiers. If I choose to buy 20 Podcast memberships for friends (Presuming I had 20 friends), why wouldn’t Ricochet promote me to the Reagan tier? Are we not capitalists? Will we not respond to incentives?
Can I just add here that it was @roblong, writing in National Review years ago about how much he loved his bidet, that is responsible for my current joy in my bathroom, my own bidet, my b-day bidet present from my wonderful husband. (It is not gold-plated and I clean it myself.) Thanks Rob!
#unexpectedbenefitsofmembership
I went to my 20th high school reunion over the weekend and I learned something: there were apparently cliques. This was news to me, because I had no idea. And the coolness-structure, as it were, was explained to me. In the lunchroom, the spectrum ran from more-cool at the edge, to less-cool closer to the wall.
This was all news to me as I was totally oblivious to it. Obviously I was able to function without recognizing they existed.
So I could tell you that there aren’t cliques here on Ricochet, but the truth is, if they exist, I’m oblivious. However, I think the lesson is that if you don’t recognize their existence, they don’t matter in any way.
I came back. And the Coolidge “freebie” did it. BUT… I was ready. I left almost a year ago when the Trump|NeverTrump divide became both unbridgeable and intolerably intolerant IMO.
Perhaps I’ve been lured back by the kind of misdirection regularly used by Republican Candidates before they’re elected. (It may be true for Dems too–but since so few are elected I really can’t field-test my theory.) Anyway–before I hit “COMMENT” I’m glad to be back. Time will of course tell.
could this be too much information….> Just sayin….:-)
Did you recognize anyone at your reunion? Were you on the edge or against the wall?
So sorry, I have the conviction of the newly converted… I think everyone should experience the joy and have been restraining myself from publishing a post on the b-day bidet…
So it ended up being at a bar. One end was an entrance where the organizer (who had to hand out refunds to people) sat himself. I came with a group of people, including my wife. She and two other spouses settled in the middle in what termed “Spouse’s Row.” So I mostly stayed in the middle and spoke with people as they passed back and forth.
Did I recognize anyone? Yes and no. Yes, in that I had a vague recollection of their faces, but couldn’t put names to them. (Everyone knew me however.) The people I came with knew and remembered other people. But in the subsequent discussions we had after, I frequently would turn to my wife and say “I have no idea who that is.”
I think that deserves its own post.
I’ve never heard of an organizer of a class reunion handing out refunds??
So it was supposed to be at a venue, and we all bought tickets back in May, and then the venue fell through.
Ok, Fred. For love of you, I’ll give it another go.
Omg, Katie! Welcome back! I missed you so much!
Seriously, although sometimes the Trump/Anti-Trump back-and-forth gets a bit tiresome, all it takes is a peak at any unregulated Comments section – or should I say cesspool – to make me appreciate Ricochet. I comment relatively infrequently, but when I do I’m treated respectfully, even by those who might (mistakenly) disagree with me. Plus the intellectual and experiential resources available on this site are amazing! If you want to know something – about anything – this is the place to find someone who will know about it, or be able to direct you to someone who does. This is, in general, such a welcoming, supportive website that I can’t imagine not being a part of it as a paying member. And when any particular Trump/Anti-Trump dispute gets too intense, it’s always easy to stop reading and click on another comment or fire up a podcast (or start your own comment thread on the Member Feed). For someone who is not really much of a “joiner,” this is one group I’m glad I joined.
Love to have you back!
I’m in complete agreement.
With Fred.
I need a drink. Or a nap. Or a drink and a nap.
So I’m back too, although I’ve read the main feed periodically during my hiatus, which included a move. My avatar is in recognition of my new home state of Mississippi.
Wow! So great to see familiar faces return!
Yay Katie!!! Welcome back!!! And everyone else, too.
You can come here to get your daily dose of “sense of humor” which seems to be lacking in all other areas of society at the moment.