Silver or Gold or Platinum or Diamond?

What's the point of getting silver if you can get gold at a lower price because you pay $4.95 for silver per month and pay $29.95 for gold per year.Also what's the point of getting Platinum for a year when you can get diamond for a lifetime. I just don't get it. That's why I'm staying basic until I determine which one I want.

Well, if you can afford gold or diamond (compared to silver and platinum respectively) than they would appear to be the better deal. However, some people can't shell out the 500 big ones for diamond but still want a lot of freedom on the site, and thus choose platinum.

The same goes for gold and silver; of course gold is cheaper but its paid at once, where as silver is paid monthly, and some people may feel more comfortable with it; say, a person who wishes to try out membership features but is not sure whether he wants to pay for a year of it.

ok, so it barrels down to how many extra privileges you want on the site (silver/gold or platinum/diamond), and then to how much you're willing to spend. Spend more at once? get a better deal. Makes sense to me, and I hope to you as well.

yeah cos some people only want some extra perks and features because they might feel a bit greedy

My suggestion would be to do what Nimzo mentioned, try the silver for a month, there is no obligation to get it for more than one month. Then, as you use and explore all the new features available to you, decide if you like that level or if you would prefer more access/features. If you are happy with that level, buy the Gold, if it's still not enough, move up to Platinum or Diamond, whichever you would prefer. I'll tell you, as someone who was once a free member, it's really hard to tell if you are going to like the higher level of access until you actually get in and try it for a while.