Mopardude, Let me explain my reasoning. People have many times offered me donations. I have always rejected them (with gratitude and appreciation) I dont like taking money from people without providing something in return. So we now offer the Gold Membership which has a number of perks. Most notably is the discounts from vendors. You could make your membership fee back and then some on just 1 order from one of these vendors!
The old Pro Stock forums were barely ever used. So it was natural to convert them to Gold Member use.