For The Love Of Port

Stewart,

Is there someplace in the User Control Panel where I can check on my subscription status? I looked and didn't see anything. It even occurred to me that my forum user might have nothing to do with my FTLOP subscription, so I looked around on the main web site as well but still couldn't find anything.

Of course, there's always the chance that I'm just blind and didn't see the link...

Glenn,

I checked with Stewart and at this time there is no way for you to check your own subscription's expiration date. We are considering a software move (for other reasons) later this year. In the meantime, your subscription runs through 2009-04-09 11:22:47 PST.

Glenn, what he's trying to tell you is it's time to renew buddy

LOL... yeah I know... I just didn't know when. I wasn't sure if it was this month or next, so tried to look it up on the site but couldn't find it. :)

Actually, if I were you (I'd own a lot of 1964 Port if that was the case) I'd wait until the last minute to re-up.

I'd compare birth year stashes, but I suspect that yours is both larger and of higher quality.

Oddly, when trying to review the "Top 12 Vintage Ports" article from the front page, I was prompted to renew my subscription today.

Cellar Tracker (which I have linked to my FTLOP account) seems to think that my subscription runs out on April 9th, confirming what Roy posted here in this thread.

I tried to renew anyway, but wasn't able to:

1. I don't have a PayPal account. I refuse to have a PayPal account. They demand your bank account information, and since they're not regulated or insured by the government that's basically open access to your account. Unlike when you pay via a credit card, if something goes wrong with a PayPal transaction you are basically screwed. I have refused to deal with them ever since they started demanding my bank account information, and even stopped using the free account I had (which was tied to an old credit card that we no longer use) when they unilaterally changed their Terms of Service. I've tried to delete that account on several occasions, but PayPal are such idiots that they require me to accept their terms of service in order to delete the account. I don't accept their terms of service, which is why I'm trying to delete the account. Morons.

2. PayPal does offer a pay-by-credit card option, but it appears to have changed in the last year because I'm no longer able to use it. They're claiming that my email address and credit card number are registered to a PayPal account so I'm required to log in to that account in order to use them. See #1 above. Furthermore, the particular credit card I'm trying to use is new - I had to get it re-issued when someone hacked into my Amazon.com account last year. PayPal has never heard of this card, so if it is tied to a PayPal account it is fraud.

So... is there some other way I can renew my subscription?

You also have the option to renew with Roy offline (i.e. send him a check or stuff $59.00 worth of pennies through his mail slot) and we will manually set your expiration date on the back end.

To Roy's point, we are looking at a subscription software upgrade that will allow users to view their subscriptions from their profile, renew, etc. We are still testing it. No ETA yet on when we'll be able to implement.

That works - I wasn't sure whether or not an offline payment would be acceptable. I'll write him a check when he gets back from Vancouver.

Can you tell why it's trying to get me to upgrade now, though? I should have a couple of weeks left, according to what Roy found and to what CellarTracker is reporting. (It won't give me access to the front page subscription-only articles right now.)

More research for you to ponder:

It's just those 4 rotating featured articles. I can access the PDF newsletters, Roy's tasting notes, and PORTraits (including upload) from the "Subscribers" menu just fine. I can also access Roy's recent tasting notes, Roy's blog, and Profiles in Port from their respective links on the front page as well.

How bizarre. I just tried re-subscribing using a different link (the "Subscribe" link at the top right of the home page next to the "Helpdesk" link) and was able to complete payment without PayPal demanding that I log in, create an account, or any of the rest of that stuff. I used the same card number and email that I'd tried before, too, but for some reason going through the process from this link resulted in different PayPal pages and so it worked.

I hate computers. I get the impression that the feeling is mutual.

However... I still can't access the 4 Featured Articles on the front page. I'm getting the same "subscription required" message as before (which is where the link is that demanded I either log in or create a PayPal account).

Can anyone else read those articles right now?

Glenn,
Try clearing your catch. Sometimes windows remembers the last time were there when you got denied and it won't let go....reminds me of an ex-girlfriend

Uh... you'd think I'd know how to do that...

I'm using IE7. What's the cache... is that browser history and temporary internet files?

Glenn E. wrote:Uh... you'd think I'd know how to do that...

I'm using IE7. What's the cache... is that browser history and temporary internet files?

Heck if I know, thats why I use a MAC

but yes, I think those are what you want to clear.

Glenn E. wrote:What's a cache? temporary internet files?

Yes!

Glenn,

You could also try cicking on the link at the bottom of this page that says "Delete all board cookies"

Derek

Derek T. wrote:Glenn,

You could also try cicking on the link at the bottom of this page that says "Delete all board cookies"

Derek

I tried this after posting the above and I still can't get to the 4 feature articles, despite having recently renewed my subscription. Like Glenn, I can see all other premium content so it seems to just be a problem with this function.

Don't feel bad guys, your lowly moderator is being rejected too.....

Stewart and David are working to get this corrected as quickly as possible. Thanks for letting us know!

Yay, it's fixed!