So glad you are liking it. I felt the same when I migrated here from another site about 4 years ago. :)
As for the lag issue, it shouldn't lag at all - but for a premium member the site will be faster to the extent that your pages won't have to load advertising content. Speed-wise, that's the only difference.
Certainly the best one I've come across, and I've played on a few (mentioning no names.) I'm so impressed with it, I'm pretty close to buying membership for the year and beyond and committing myself to genuinely improving.
The access you have as a free member is fantastic. One of your competitors won't even let you post in the forums unless you're a paid subscriber, which I think is just a bit spiteful. You can read them, but you can't post in them, and they are absolutely dead as a dodo. Cutting your nose of to spite your face, as we say in the U.K..
The site does seem to lag a bit, and that's where my one question comes in. Will it be a bit more 'streamlined' if I was to upgrade to the (for now) Gold membership?
Cheers all, Tommy. (magic_pluck)