As has been pointed out on other threads regarding the changes, the owners only contribute the hosting, with revenue solely from the advertising. Many users are now resorting to ad blockers to try and restore some usability to the site, which negatively impacts on the advertisers. The users of the forums contribute all of the content, which is what draws the visits for the advertising to be effective. Alienate the users, and what do the owners have left. Irrespective of how much the site costs, if you can't use it, it's worthless.