$12 a year isn't much. But I wouldn't pay it if forced to. If that were the case Badspot would be making quite a bit of money from the forum despite him not putting forth a lot of content.
Whereas I would pay $12 a year via a patreon system if Badspot were a content creator (yes, he does have other areas where he produces content, but that's not for me).
I would be more likely to give $12 a year if it was simply a donation to help keep the site running.
But I'm sure the hosting fees are practically covered by alts/habitual problem users anyway.
And the forums don't have a dedicated large team of moderators who I would be helping to support either.