The good news is, we're still going to offer the same fantastic deals with local businesses in special gift certificate packages.

Essentially, it's The Batavian Club without calling it a club. The big difference on our end is we save the work on tracking members and printing membership cards, which always seemed to bog us down and create a lot of unnecessary expense. We will be able to send out money-saving gift certificates much sooner after an order is placed when we don't have to make batches of individual membership cards. 

For local businesses, it's the same great promotion as before. There's no additional expense beyond honoring the gift cards when customers come in. If your business is not already participating, call me at (585) 250-4118.

For those who had recurring payments set up in PayPal, I just canceled all of those so there will be no future payments from your account. There are three people who have joined since we last sent out membership packages. They will get a refund. For all other members, they should be up-to-date with membership cards and gift certificates and the stated expiration dates still apply.

An annual membership is a mere $60. So think about it, use your first $60 in gift certificates and the rest of your membership package is like getting free money. Who doesn't like free stuff?

Sign up with an annual recurring payment instead of a one-time payment, and save another $10 off your membership fee. More free stuff!

You're helping to support The Batavian's mission to bring you the best local coverage and supporting local businesses at the same time. Everybody wins.

Here's what you get:

• Adam Miller Toy and Bicycle, $3
• Alex's Place, $5
• Alli's Cones & Dogs, $3
• Batavia Country Club, $5
• Batavia Muckdogs, Two free GA tickets
• Beds-N-Bones Pet Lodge, $5
• Blue Pearl Yoga, $10
• Center Street Smoke House,$5
• City Slickers, $4
• Dan's Tire & Auto, $5
• The Detail Shop, $2
• En Garde, $5
• Floral Fantasies, $3
• Great Kutz, $3 on haircuts
• Hardcor Audio, $20
• Jagged Edges Salon, $5
• The Mane Attraction, $5
• Main St. Pizza Company, $3
• Max Pies Furniture, $100 on $500 or more retail value
• Millennium Computer, $20 on $100 or more purchase
• R&D Outlet Center, $5
• R.W. Vapors, $5
• Santino's Pizza , $5
• Settler's Restaurant, $5
• Smokin' Eagle BBQ & Brew, $5
• Sweet Pea's Cupcakery Cafe, $2
• Valle Jewelers, $25 on $100 or more retail value
• Vinyl Sticks
• West Main Wine and Spirits, $3

There are three ways to join: Use Paypal (buttons below) call us with your credit card information, or mail us a check.

Call us at (585) 250-4118 during regular business hours.

Download this form and mail it to us with a check.

Join The Batavian Club and receive a voucher for two free tickets to a regular season game.

Members of The Batavian Club receive more than $300 in gift certificates. These are gift certificates that be used in the same local businesses we all patronize every day.

The Batavian Club is a great value for all of its members. An annual membership is a mere $60. So think about it, use your first $60 in gift certificates and the rest of your membership package is like getting free money. Who doesn't like free stuff?

Sign up with an annual recurring payment instead of a one-time payment, and save another $10 off your membership fee. More free stuff!

You're helping to support The Batavian's mission to bring you the best local coverage and supporting local businesses at the same time. Everybody wins.

Here's what you get:

• Adam Miller Toy and Bicycle, $3
• Alex's Place, $5
• Alli's Cones & Dogs, $3
• Batavia Country Club, $5
• Batavia Muckdogs, Two free GA tickets
• Beds-N-Bones Pet Lodge, $5
• Blue Pearl Yoga, $10
• Center Street Smoke House,$5
• City Slickers, $4
• Dan's Tire & Auto, $5
• The Detail Shop, $2
• En Garde, $5
• Floral Fantasies, $3
• Great Kutz, $3 on haircuts
• Hardcor Audio, $20
• Jagged Edges Salon, $5
• The Mane Attraction, $5
• Main St. Pizza Company, $3
• Max Pies Furniture, $100 on $500 or more retail value
• Millennium Computer, $20 on $100 or more purchase
• R&D Outlet Center, $5
• R.W. Vapors, $5
• Santino's Pizza, $5
• Settler's Restaurant, $5
• Smokin' Eagle BBQ & Brew, $5
• Sweet Pea's Cupckaery Cafe, $2
• Valle Jewelers, $25 on $100 or more retail value
• Vinyl Sticks
• West Main Wine and Spirits, $3

There are three ways to join: Use Paypal (buttons below) call us with your credit card information, or mail us a check.

Call us at (585) 250-4118 during regular business hours.

Download this form and mail it to us with a check.

An annual membership is a mere $60. So think about it, use your first $60 in gift certificates and the rest of your membership package is like getting free money. Who doesn't like free stuff?

Sign up with an annual recurring payment instead of a one-time payment, and save another $10 off your membership fee. More free stuff!

You're helping to support The Batavian's mission to bring you the best local coverage and supporting local businesses at the same time. Everybody wins.

Here's what you get:

• Adam Miller Toy and Bicycle, $3
• Alex's Place, $5
• Alli's Cones & Dogs, $3
• Batavia Country Club, $5
• Batavia Muckdogs, Two free GA tickets
• Beds-N-Bones Pet Lodge, $5
• Blue Pearl Yoga, $10
• Center Street Smoke House,$5
• City Slickers, $4
• Dan's Tire, $5
• The Detail Shop, $2
• En Garde, $5
• Floral Fantasies, $3
• Great Kutz, $3 on haircuts
• Hardcor Audio, $20
• Jagged Edges Salon, $5
• The Mane Attraction, $5
• Main St. Pizza Company, $3
• Max Pies Furniture, $100 on $500 or more retail value
• Millennium Computer, $20 on $100 or more purchase
• R&D Outlet Center, $5
• R.W. Vapors, $5
• Santino's Pizza, $5
• Settler's Restaurant, $5
• Smokin' Eagle BBQ & Brew, $5
• Sweet Pea's Cupcakery Cafe, $2
• Valle Jewelers, $25 on $100 or more retail value
• Vinyl Sticks
• West Main Wine and Spirits, $3

There are three ways to join: Use Paypal (buttons below), call us with your credit card information, or mail us a check.

Call us at (585) 250-4118 during regular business hours.

Download this form and mail it to us with a check.

That was one of a few bugs that crept up with the upgrade that we've been working through.

We've always had the ability for users to edit their own comments. An option rarely available on news Web sites. I know it's a popular feature, but it's also a feature that has been abused by a few people looking to not just correct spelling and grammar, but alter the history of what they've written. For that reason, I've sometimes wanted to limit the ability of people to edit comments particularly the here-and-there, occasional commenter, which are the ones most likely to remove a comment or substantially alter its meaning.

Also, all this software support is expensive. The Batavian needs the support of readers, and not just advertisers, to really thrive.

When it came time to get comment editing back again, I decided we're going to have a change in policy: Comment editing will only be available to those who have paid to join The Batavian Club.

The Batavian Club helps us pay the bills. We need your support. In exchange, membership more than pays for itself with the $300 in gift certificates to local businesses you receive. If you love The Batavian and love saving money, there's really no reason not to join.  

So, join today!

(BTW: If you're a member and can't edit comments, send me an e-mail, howard@thebatavian.com. I may not have properly tagged your user account.)

UPDATE: We also just launched a new search function on the site.  It's faster and offers some additional features to help return better results.  I forgot to mention earlier as well, we also upgraded the thumbs up/thumbs down in response to reader request.  Instead of an aggregate result of positive or negative votes, you see the total of how many ups and how many downs each comment gets. 

Use this button to set up a recurring annual payment of $50 (a discount for subscribing on an annual basis):

Use this button to make a single-year payment of $60:

We even ended up hiring a contract worker to send out the most recent batch of membership kits (long, long overdue, which had a lot to do with my decision to just say, "I should hire somebody to do this work.").  

Join now and help us do more. We have a good group of people willing to help The Batavian and I'd like to throw more work their way. Join The Batavian Club and help employ local people.

You love The Batavian, so help us get better.

Use this button to set up a recurring annual payment of $50 (a discount for subscribing on an annual basis):

Use this button to make a single-year payment of $60:

Reader support is critically important to us. We appreciate your membership.

Membership is important because:

• It provides another avenue to support local businesses (you get more than $300 in gift certificates to local businesses);
• It's a way for The Batavian to reward our loyal readers;
• The financial support helps us sustain our community news coverage of Genesee County.

So many people every day tell me how much they love The Batavian. All we're asking is for those loyal fans to make a small financial contribution to help support and sustain our news coverage and in exchange we'll send you valuable gift certificates that far exceed the price of the membership.

TO JOIN: Use PayPal buttons below, or to pay by check (annual only) or credit card, click here to download form; Or call (585) 250-4118 to pay by credit card.

PayPal buttons after the jump:

Monthly Single Membership - $5 per month
Includes membership card and bumper sticker, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Monthly Household Membership - $10 per month
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual Single Membership - $50 per year
Includes membership card, bumper sticker, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual Household Membership - $100 per year
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual membership, one payment of $60
Includes membership card, bumper sticker, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual household membership, one payment of $120
Includes two membership cards, bumper sticker, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Membership is important because:

• It provides another avenue to support local businesses (you get more than $300 in gift certificates to local businesses);
• It's a way for The Batavian to reward our loyal readers;
• The financial support helps us sustain our community news coverage of Genesee County.

So many people every day tell me how much they love The Batavian. All we're asking is for those loyal fans to make a small financial contribution to help support and sustain our news coverage and in exchange we'll send you valuable gift certificates that far exceed the price of the membership.

TO JOIN: Use PayPal buttons below, or to pay by check (annual only) or credit card, click here to download form. Or call (585) 250-4118 to pay by credit card.

PayPal buttons after the jump:

Monthly Single Membership - $5 per month
Includes membership card and bumper sticker, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Monthly Household Membership - $10 per month
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual Single Membership - $50 per year
Includes membership card, bumper sticker, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual Household Membership - $100 per year
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual membership, one payment of $60
Includes membership card, bumper sticker, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual household membership, one payment of $120
Includes two membership cards, bumper sticker, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

There's a little time left to get a 2014 calendar of Genesee County photographs.  We'll accept orders up until noon tomorrow.

Here's how you can get a calendar: Buy one or become a new member of The Batavian Club and receive a calendar for free (existing members get a discount).

The calendar by itself is $25, plus sales tax, plus $4 for shipping and handling, if you're not a member.

For Club members (check your e-mail for details), it's $14, plus tax, plus $4 shipping and handling.

Use the Paypal buttons below to join the Club or the button on the bottom to buy calendars All calendar orders must be received by Dec. 16.

Members receive $325 in gift certificates for local businesses.

TO JOIN: Use PayPal buttons below, or to pay by check (annual only) or credit card, click here to download form. Or call (585) 250-4118 to pay by credit card.

We've set up four membership tiers -- Subscribe to the club monthly as one person or as a household, or annually at either of those levels. 

Members receive a membership card, bumper sticker and a package of gift certificates to local businesses. 

It's important to note, this isn't a subscription to read the site. Our stories remain free to read. This is a voluntary subscription with benefits (and we'll add benefits as it grows).

Join via PayPal below, or for annual and one-time memberships paid by check, click here to download this form (monthly, recurring payment memberships must be via PayPal or credit card.) To pay by credit card, use the form, or call (585) 250-4118.

Monthly Single Membership, recurring payment - $5 per month
Includes membership card and bumper sticker, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Monthly Household Membership, recurring payment - $10 per month
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual Single Membership, recurring payment - $50 per year
Includes membership card, bumper sticker, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual Household Membership, recurring payment - $100 per year
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual membership, one payment of $60
Includes membership card, bumper sticker, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual household membership, one payment of $120
Includes two membership cards, bumper sticker, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Order Calendars for $25 each:

There's no door prize for being the 200th member, but sign up now and your membership card just might read member #200. 

It's a good time to sign up because we will be sending out membership cards and packages of gift certificates Wednesday or Thursday (except to those who already received gift certificates at Summer in the City, who will just get their cards).

A membership in The Batavian Club helps support and sustain The Batavian. Think of it as a subscription, but instead of getting a paper on your doorstep, you get an envelope mailed to you filled with more than $325 in gift certificates to local businesses.

We appreciate you reading The Batavian every day, but in order for us to grow and improve what do, even just to sustain the business, we need your support. 

To be clear about why we're doing The Batavian Club -- this isn't about selling discounts to businesses, though we do that, it's about reaching out to the people who read The Batavian every day and appreciate what we do, to make a small contribution to help us build a sustainable business. Advertising alone is not enough. We need reader support. Think of this as a voluntary subscription for all the great news you get online from The Batavian.

So, please use the options below and join today.

TO JOIN: Use PayPal buttons below, or to pay by check (annual only) or credit card, click here to download form. Or call (585) 250-4118 to pay by credit card.

We've set up four membership tiers -- Subscribe to the club monthly as one person or as a household, or annually at either of those levels. 

Members receive a membership card, bumper sticker and a package of gift certificates to local businesses. 

It's important to note, this isn't a subscription to read the site. Our stories remain free to read. This is a voluntary subscription with benefits (and we'll add benefits as it grows).

Join via PayPal below, or for annual and one-time memberships paid by check, click here to download this form (monthly, recurring payment memberships must be via PayPal or credit card.) To pay by credit card, use the form, or call (585) 250-4118.

Monthly Single Membership - $5 per month
Includes membership card and bumper sticker, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Monthly Household Membership - $10 per month
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual Single Membership - $50 per year
Includes membership card, bumper sticker, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual Household Membership - $100 per year
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual membership, one payment of $60
Includes membership card, bumper sticker, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual household membership, one payment of $120
Includes two membership cards, bumper sticker, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.