I know this statement from Jaerik/Scragg is in one of the FAQs:
"Our users have made it abundantly clear that they would rather have ads, even RMT ones, than have to pay a monthly fee to access parts of the site."
But I'm still on the other side of the fence. I would like an option to make the ads go away. I will admit I haven't donated yet, and I feel guilty at that. But making ads go away would convince me to get off my ***.