If you want to be a registerd user you should pay a subscription. Simple as that...
The user base can be smaller,
Not only would teh user base be smaller, you might get
fewer registrations. Had Perlmonks required a fee in
order to register, I would not have registered, would
not have discovered the real value of the site, and
probably wouldn't have visited more than once or twice;
as it stands, however, I now value the site and
would pay a reasonable fee
to be considered 'in good standing', provided I could
do so by sending a check (as I do NOT do credit cards).
The standing could be orthogonal to the XP-based rank
and go along with it;
it could be possible to be a scribe in good standing,
a monk in excellent standing,
a saint but not in good standing, or cetera.
$;=sub{$/};@;=map{my($a,$b)=($_,$;);$;=sub{$a.$b->()}}
split//,".rekcah lreP rehtona tsuJ";$\=$ ;->();print$/