Keith, my suggestion to not allow "Guests" to view pictures was not made as a bandwidth saving measure, but as a means to get people out of the "Lurk" mode and into the "Member" mode.
I've been on the net since the fall of 1996, and back then forums like this with pics did not exist. The few forums that are still text only are not very popular, as the old saying "A picture is worth a thousand words" holds true, thus, the ability to view the pics becomes a good reason to sign up. On a number of motorcycle forums I'm a member of this is the rule, and it works, the number of guests lurking is very low. They do a membership drive twice a year, and the forums are very healthy as a result.
I think that if you can get people to sign up, then they would be more likely to take part, in posting and hopefuly supporting SMC.
I don't know what the big deal is anyway, it is not like we charge to become a member, or that you have to give a 4 page essay or something to be added to the list, the sign-up here is short, easy and painless, after all I did it!
I agree that paying the site's System Admin a monthly fee is only fair, and I'm all for that.
In the end, this is all on your plate, and I trust that you will find the balance needed, as you have done so for several years now, providing us all with a wonderful resource.
Thanks for your time.
Cheers!