Appearance can be important and must be a factor, sometimes in spite of facts. If it appears that 8WR is more willing to ban someone once they paid their dues and became a premium member it's reasonable that less people will be likely to pitch in their twenty bucks. I'm sure nobody wants that. I think people may suspect some "dominance humping" from time to time but I've never been a close enough witness to a ban to judge it's legitimacy. I just know that, for some reason, only the people I like get banned. That may say more about my taste in friends than the politics of this site.
This isn't a bad thread to start. Nothing wrong with open discussion. And in a forum of all places!