Your rules say registration is free, but later you go on to talk about a subscription. What kind of double-talk is that? Can you explain the difference between registration and a subscription? In short, what does registration gain me vs. a subscription?
Thanks,
Let’s define the terms.
Registration: What you do when you first come to the Straight Dope Message Board. We charge no fee to register, you can register and never give us another dime. You’ll be a Guest on the board and have the ability to read, post, search, etc.
Subscription: What you do when you wish to be more supportive of the Straight Dope Message Board Community. This will cost most people $14.95 per year. For that $14.95 you get all the stuff Guests get plus a few more options (with more coming as we can make them available to you).
Does that help clear things up?
To be even more clear, perhaps:
Registration: the act of giving specific personal data to the Board, in return for which, after indicating agreement to the rules of the Board, you are granted a user name under which to make posts here. In sum, registration is how you become able to post (among other things).
Subscription: paying a fee for the purpose of receiving additional privileges. Primary among those privileges is the removal of advertising from your view of the site. In sum, subscription is paying to avoid ads (among other things).
Oh, can guests search now? That’s good.
Seems like I’ve heard that last line before. What are the options we have gained so far other than no ads?
I believe you have the ability to put a picture in your profile.
There are one or two other minor things.
Say what? The OP has been around since 1999, has 5,700 posts and is asking this? He’s a charter member, so must have been paying subscriptions since they started. I think we’ve either been whoosed, or someone is using the account without permission.
Um, no. The original poster is making a not too subtle point, I think, though if you peruse some of the questions he poses on this site from time to time, I think maybe he actually thought registration was the same as being subscribed… 
Ahem…members have often been promised many exciting, but “undefined” features. Since we don’t know what they might be and when they might be implemented, we don’t know what to complain about when few or no new features appear…many members (not me, not me) wonder if we are being strung along with empty promises.
That is all. Carry on and I return you to your regularly scheduled program at this time. Sorry for the interruption.
I’d have to say, this may seem obvious to you but to a new user this is confusing.
When I signed up there were conflicting information in different stickies. I believe one had the current information, others said that membership required a subscription, etc. Just make one global information page with updated, clear information.
The way things currently work, it would probably be less confusing if “subscriptions” were renamed “donations”. At least that seems to be how other sites that have similar ways of doing things word it.
You’re probably right but “subscriptions” is what vB called it so we’re going along with that.