If I offer a service or product for $X, and you say that the price is too high, no one can tell you that you're wrong. Value is highly subjective; what is worth millions to one person is worth nothing to another.

Setting a price-point is difficult, to say the least. What's the price that will encourage the most people to subscribe, yet will net the most $$? For obvious reasons, having 500 subscribers who pay $50 is better than having 1000 subscribers who pay $20.

I suppose in many ways I'm a typical artist. Most creative types don't enjoy dealing with the money side of anything. We just want to be left alone so that we can pursue the thing that we love to do. Reality is harsh, however. I've been well aware for some time that without money --in particular, support from the audience-- UF can't survive.

So if you don't want to subscribe because you feel the price is too high, that's a choice you absolutely get to make; it's your right. However, if so many people feel the same way that we can't raise the money needed to sustain the site, a right you won't have earned is complaining because daddy took the T-bird away.

BTW, to answer your question: a membership gives you the ability to view the site without the ads. Yes, some people use filters to block ads instead; I'm aware that a certain number of these individuals apply this practice to UF.org and don't pay for a subscription or in some way contribute to the financial burden of running the site. You can find a description of them here.