but people always resist it, even if they would otherwise recognize that change is necessary to progress.  

I would argue that a prime reason Facebook has thrived while MySpace has withered is that MySpace's format has remained relatively unchanged for years.  In contrast, Facebook is always updating it's format, incorporating new features, some more popular than others.  But every time Facebook makes a change, at least half of my friends protest and say they're going to leave, but they never do.  A week or so later the dust settles and they're back to posting mundane musings that no one cares about.

Yes, VIP is worth it - TER is still the premier escort review site, and that's not going to change quickly, if it changes at all.  The cost of one year of membership is less than what you will lose in one bad session.  

And yes, there are some aliases who seem to exist for the sole purpose of offending others, and supposedly those....jerks will now be better contained.  It has been a nice change so far, and I hope it continues.  I would still advise that anyone who chooses to participate in the discussion better have a thick skin because pleasantries are often lacking, even if overt malice is not.

But despite all of its issues, I have learned a lot on this board, and I have made some friends.  There are some decent people here, and they even outnumber the jerks.

To read juicy details of reviews, and to pm other vip members. It also allows you to use aliases when posting on the boards. As for justposting on the boards, you don't need vip (as you know, since you were posting before getting it) How valuable your VIP membership is, is something only you can decide. We can't tell you to keep it or not.
As for where TER is headed, and how many people leave, that remains to be seen. I can tell you that i have been around TER as long as it gas been around (about 12 years) and a lot of things are still the same. There may be cycles. And people come and go, but nothing really changes.
As to the boards meanness ornastyness to newbies, some of the regional boards are very mellow, and some are pretty wild. The GD board has been very wild, and could chew people and spit them out, but that is changing in the past week, and even prior to that, if a newbie posted onthat board, many times the moderator would move the post here to "protect" the newbie.
As for the proposed changes, apparently right now they are just experimenting with two regional boards. A lot of people were upset (myself included) because these changes came on suddenly and with no explanation, then eventually with a poor explanation. No one really understood what was going on. Now that admin has explained what they are trying to do a little better. I dont think the change is bad, and I don't see people leaving in droves.
As for your VIP, it's your decision of course, but since you asked for advice, I would say keep it and stick around for a while and see how you like it. Then make a decision. Also feel free to join other boards, but post your newbie questions here

I hope it won't lead to alot of rambling useless posts by people.
I think people in general might  be nervous about posting for the first time
and that caution help to keep useless stuff and flames out of the boards.
And I think that is healthy for the boards. Keeps thing to a minimum.
I remember posting for the first time; I really wanted to have something
valuable for the community to read, not just a senseless blob.

There are over 13,000 users online right now as I'm typing this post
and can you imagine everyone of them losing or overcoming their inhibitions
to post, and how cluttered it would become.

Sometimes the difficulty in breaking through to the other side is healthy!!

I plan to stay, TER has been worth it's weight in gold and then some.

Yeah, stay and keep the VIP. The VIP gives you access to the main reason for this site. Info about providers. The VIP doesn't have anything to do with the discussion boards. I was a member for a year before posting the first thing. The site was still useful. If you want info it's here. If you want to interact beyond getting info you can but you don't have to. I would encourage you to write reviews though. My two cents.

I do observe the most recent reviews.  When I notice someone I want to see, I'll reup VIP & redo my bucket list.   It's just not necessary for me to have VIP continuously.
H

Yes, I've seen a lot of nasty behavior towards newbies (and others) The trouble makers, and the ones who claim they will leave, are the ones who plant themselves here far too much everyday! Oddly enough, they feel they have some kind of control here and get off berading other people. They should leave TER...perhaps then the negativity will cease and the site can get back to basics without all the BS!