Pronto,
I don't disagree with a single one of the points and reasoning you have presented here. I do however, disagree with a 10 year moratorium on the availability of "lifetime memberships" that you suggest.
I've only been on this site since 2010. That is largely because:
A. I no longer owned a TR when TB.com came to be. Not by choice, but by theft. The theft of my '86 GN, purchased new in January of that same year, and stolen in '96. It took mea long time to squirrel enough money away to get back into a TR. That doesn't mean I haven't been and currently remain a "lifetime member" of the TR community, it means I was a "currently inactive" member of the community. There are several examples of the same type of member here, I can assure you.
B. I'm a "digital alien" and had never participated on any type of "forum" before this one, ever, at all.
So I will say again, I feel those who are of the same mindset as me and show that they are, shouldn't be held to some arbitrary standard that "old timers" set.
I hope you can see my side of this coin, as I have tried to see yours, because I believe both sides have merit.