Again, exactly! I don't care about badges and titles and all that carp. If there's hidden forums that I have to pay to be part of, I really don't care about them. The sysop can do what ever they like, but I do know a donate button helps a lot.
I usually prefer to hit a donate button on forums, rather than have subscriptions. I haven't come across a donate/paypal button yet. Maybe I haven't looked hard enough, or the owners should install one.