[Oni]

I'm going to close this, since discussion seems pointless at this point in time.

In short:
The upgrades serve as incentive for people to contribute to the forum. Don't have that kind of money? You can earn all of the upgrades just by posting. People have made it to Diamond on points alone before. I'd ultimately prefer people earn their upgrades, as well. The people who do pay for their upgrades, have contributed by covering site expenses.