Not sure if anyone here is a member of figureskatinguniverse forums. But seriously they make you pay to discuss events! That is insane! LOL Makes this site so much nicer haha

Ok, that's not necessarily true. You can discuss events without having to pay. Remember, FSU DOES cost money to run, as does this site, and being a supporting member helps FSU run smoothly. I'm happy to pay my part to have an awesome website such as FSU. The mods over there are awesome. Maybe get a little MORE info on the situation before making such a blanket snarking statement? JMO.

__________________
"Where are we going and why are we in this handbasket?"

AH,HA!!!!!!! I'm not sure from what I'm reading here if it means your paying to POST as well. On any part of the board. But if that's true. Then NO WONDER I can't post or reply,or even log-in.

__________________
FSWer

No, Dana...the only part that requires the Season's Pass is the Kiss and Cry, just the same as last year. You can still post in all the other areas.

YOUR problem is something we can't seem to figure out...don't know why...


FWIW, you do realize that the owner of THIS site also has a paid membership at FSU?

Oh.....wel I miss it. So I sure hope they don't charge here. I love you all.

__________________
FSWer

This is the second year that FSU has required a subscription fee for the competition boards. Last year it was $5.00. This year it is $6.00 (I think). Other boards are indeed free, but FSU has, by far, the most active boards when it comes to competitions. Because there are so many posters there it costs that much more to run - especially to keep it up and running when there are loads of people on it for live discussions of events.

While I wish it could be voluntary, the fee is appropriate given the services offered and I don't mind paying. Frankly, FSU is faster at getting skating news posted than anywhere else. At least for now.

It's true, there's a lot more activity from die-hard skating fans on FSU, although this is a better board for posting if you are a skater yourself.

Last season it was worth my little subscription fee to get real-time play-by-plays of skaters' programs at Worlds as they were happening. . . to which some of you may ask, does Doubletoe do ANYTHING other than hang out on figure skating boards? The answer is no. ROFL!!

__________________
"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

That's so true--people may not realize, often during the large competitions there are FSU'ers in the stands w/ a laptop (or something) posting a 'play by play' so the rundown of each program & results are posted in practically real time. Until something like Icenetwork puts up live internet coverage of all events, it doesn't get much better than that! Well worth a small fee, IMO. If you're not quite such a 'rabid' fan, then you can post in other areas for free, & still get tons of info.

I've met FSU members. They were...............intense. Serious. serious fun. I used to read without paying then this year I coughed up the cash for a full membership. It was a lesson's worth. What I appreciate is the coverage of the small regional competitions, stuff that would never make it to TV. I skate with a lot of these kids and like to see what others think.

And, without FSU I would never have seen such eye cringing costume pictures as what occurs in ice dance. wow. why. ohmygod.

I just found them the other day myself, and forked over the six bucks. If it as much fun as it looks I'll probably go for the full membership next year. I haven't posted yet, but I'm 'lizny' over there, cuz I think I'll keep the on-ice chat mostly here.

__________________
It's all about the dress!

I was just irritated mainly because I posted a link asking about the Indy challenge and they deleted it. And i was told I couldnt post it. If i wanted to discuss competitions I had to go to kiss and cry and pay.

I cant believe they deleted my post/question.

And how is a newbe supposed to know kiss and cry means competition lol specially when you cant get in there to read what the posts are about.

FSU may not have deleted it; they may have moved it to the appropriate forum. As Stormy says "The mods over there are awesome." (As opposed to the crummy mods here. Thanks so much. )

BTW, this thread doesn't belong in the "On Ice-Skaters" forum. A better place to put it would be the News, General Discussion, or Non-Skating Discussions thread. If you look at the forum index (www.skatingforums.com) you can read each forum's title and guidelines. That's a good place to look before you start a thread. Same thing for FSU: http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/

Many of the regulars on that board have been friends for years, chatting online, attending and reporting on competitions for years. It's no wonder that our generous board owner frequents those haunts. Well, that and the smirnies. LOL The first-person reports going to one place makes sense and explains why our own board doesn't have a lot of comp reports/discussion. Those posts and the subsequent reads add up to big expenses, hence the fee.

When the competition season heats up, they do lock down certain parts of the site to paying members only. It's partially a bandwidth and troll-wall function. Most of the site is open to anyone, however. It also adds to their freewheeling discussions: since some of the threads are secured, their members tend to get a little racy. Since SF is wide-open and searchable, we tend to "Keep it G-rated." over here in terms of language and discussion. (See Smirnies remark, above.)

Before you register for FSU, check out their membership options and privileges to make sure you'll have the access you desire. Be sure to read the FAQ and Guidelines so that you don't make too many mistakes. (Actually, that's the advice for any board/forum you wish to join. Scope out the territory before you join, and read through the guidelines.)

__________________

Sorry to correct you, it's the 3rd year. $5 during Olympics 06 (Though it was free for worlds) $5 last year ($7.50 after 31 Aug) and $6 this year (Rising to $9 after 31 Aug)

Thanks for the kind words here anyway.

No kidding! I used a common abbreviation for Association (###'n) and look what it does!

__________________
Bill Schneider

I've done it via my Blackberry, and others do it via phone. When I did it, I lagged the skater's movement by seconds, so yeah, basically real-time.

Of course, when I do it, it's like this:

Skater X, lovely waltz, does a very high... erm... anyway, he should NOT be wearing that shirt. Not flattering, very "flight of the bumblebee", if you catch my meaning...

I tend to leave the technical details to others. I'm more about the overall vibe.

This is one of the things I love about the pbp over at FSU. It's not simply a listing of technical details, it's also commentary and program-related snark.

I bought a lifetime membership over there because I find not only the pbp so valuable, but the international information as well.

littlekateskate, I think you need to realize the economics of the world. Not everything is free. Even NPR asks for donations. It's a valuable service to get the competition info immediately, and $6 isn't a lot to ask for that service.

__________________
Listen to my Figure Skating Podcast!

Rogue Element, Inc

Geez, doubletoe! I want YOUR job!!!

__________________
Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

They didn't delete or move it. It's still there, but locked.



I didn't read anything from Stormy about the mods here.

But to add one more great thing about the mods at FSU, they don't have any self-esteem "issues"

__________________
Listen to my Figure Skating Podcast!

Rogue Element, Inc

Link me!

Seriously, if you like ice dance, somebody just posted links to videos of all the junior od's at Lake Placid. There's also video links to senior FD's (top 3). Well worth the $6, IMO! Sure can't get into the event for that price. Or can you?

LOL! I really do work. . . I just come straight here whenever I'm sick of looking through spreadsheets and contracts and need a mental break for a few minutes! It beats chatting with co-workers about non-skating topics over bad office coffee.

__________________
"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

I agree with the others. It's cheaper than a month of satellite tv, and I get far, far more enjoyment out of it than I do from tv!

This is, though, a better place to discuss skating itself with other skaters, especially adult skaters. Thanks, oh generous one, for skatingforums - and we'll keep a smirnie on ice for you over at that other place.

__________________
"The only place where success comes before work is in a dictionary." -- Vidal Sasson

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway." -- Unknown

Try reading the descriptions of each forum on the main page...

http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/

Oh, and newbies should ALWAYS read announcements and things like Board Business when they go to new boards. That way you get to know a bit about the place before going off half-cocked over something.

Being a moderator of a very well known skating board myself, I have nothing but the utmost respect for mods on BOTH boards.

That said, thanks for putting words in my mouth that I didn't say or even infer.

__________________
"Where are we going and why are we in this handbasket?"