If I were to upgrade to Gold membership, would I be coerced to upgrade to Platinum like I am while being a free member? And from Platinum, would I get bothered to upgrade to Diamond?

it's worth the platinum...

I'm sure it is. Would I be tried to be sold diamond if I went platinum?

Get it anyway, then you won't have to worry about it :)

What's the price difference between diamond and platinum?

Just over 13 cents a day. So, you're absolutely right. Diamond is the way to go...

The coercing doesn't stop at the platinum, you'll be handing over your car keys soon enough.

lol

the value received for a diamond membership is significant when one starts watching the videos available.  for those who don't like learning from a chess book (you have to purchase the books yourself), the videos are well worth the extra cost.  something approximating $0.25 US per day.... not a significant cost when you weigh in the total variety and range of options available to all users who 'pay the price' for full membership here.

for free stuff:

http://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/most-instructive-chesscom-threads-blogs-or-articles

for paid stuff, go to the top, mouse to members, and memberships, and you can find out all the chess you can get here for a ridiculously small amount of money daily.

  Life is full of choices.  make yours wisely, but keep this in mind, If you regret the decision, simply don't renew.   or ask Erik for a refund of a reasonable amount of your payment.   [you might want to tell him what disappointed you about the options available to you from paid membership if you do decide that paid membership is a mistake - so he can look for ideas for future improvements]

above is my personal opinion, and not sponsored or endorsed by management.

you will NOT be sent regular messages about upgrading like you are as a free member.

I'm a gold member ( though for some reason it doesn't show up in this forum.) and I've never received a message to upgrade further.

Thank you. Yes, your cool little gold star is there. No worries.