You could reinstate .83chan as a paying members only feature as done on other bicycle forums such as
www.mtbr.com,
www.ridemonkey.com and
www.observedtrials.net.
It seems to weed out the lurkers and make for more community. Acts of drunken valor or commitment to the community earn lifetime memberships.
The OTN boards got super rowdy in the Off Topic which was only accessable by registered users, then paying members could see extra threads and sub sub forums etc... mega shenanigins. This forum has a world wide following and has produced some of the best friends I know.
This forum is similar.
Sheganarama?