Open Lounge: Come hang out in our VIP forum, free of charge

While there are many benefits to an Ars subscription (ad-free browsing, geeky coupons, PDF access, a subscription to Wired, and exclusive content, among other things) one of the most popular features is access to our subscriber-only forum, The Lounge, a place for like-minded folks to kick up their feet for a while and discuss whatever might come to mind, be it serious or silly.

Every once in a while we like to take down the velvet ropes, give the bouncer the rest of the month off, and let all of our readers into The Lounge. It’s good to have some fresh blood, some new faces, and stir the place up a bit. If you fall in love and decide to stay, that’s great, we’d love to have you. Most of all, we just want to say thank you for being a member of our community.

The Lounge is open as of right now, and we’ll leave it that way until the end of the month. Then things will return to their normal subscriber-only state. If at that point you’re hooked, subs start at less than $5 a month. If not, maybe we’ll catch you during the next open period, and thanks for coming by.

If you already have an Ars account, which lets you both post in our forums and the front page comments, then you can skip to the next paragraph. If you don’t have one, it’s super easy to sign up, and utterly free of spam or any other such evilness. Simply go to this page, and follow the simple instructions. There’s an opt-in newsletter if you dig such things, but otherwise we promise your e-mail address is totally safe with us. We take your privacy seriously.

Whether you have an account and want to jump right into the pool, or you just want to lurk by the deck chairs and see what’s going on first, here are some links to get you started:

The Lounge: The forum landing page, where you can see all the threads in progress, or start your own.

The NEW new “post your random thoughts/stories here” thread: This one has been going for nearly two years, and it now has over 400 pages of random musings and thoughts. Sometimes inane, sometimes profound, you never know what you might find on any given page.

Perpetual Style Thread: There’s a saying that a geek is a nerd with social skills. Just because you work in IT doesn’t mean you have to dress like it. Come ask for (or hand out) advice on how to step your style game up.

Pictures that actually made you LOL: If you don’t have tears of laughter streaming down your face by the end of page one, go to page two. Warning, some images might not be entirely work safe (mild profanity and ridiculousness, nothing hardcore).

Ars Weight Loss Challenge: This thread is a testament to the staying power of the Lounge community—the first post is from 2002, and it’s still going strong.

Perpetual Watch Thread: Post pictures of your own collection, check out other Arsians’ watches, join in the group drool over ridiculously overpriced timepieces, or get some advice for your next purchase. This is the thread for people who know they can check the time on their cell phone, but don’t want to.