Back when I was playing World of Warcraft I thought the same - the payment requirement keeps the worst scum away. And it does, I have no beef with that. But if you need to drop $20 to even test out the thing, that's kind of an overkill.
Honestly; what's the harm on making free trial accounts without the ability to communicate directly and/or access the majority of the common areas?
In the 'free' room I guess, but why would that affect the paying members in any way?
I will not be renewing my membership, it's simply not worth it since if I want to have meaningful discussions with people I have IRC, which is totally free. 3DXchat looks better than anything else on the market, but with the price tag there's simply no reason to pay for it. I'm not going as far as saying that I was duped to pay for it, but I must say that I am surely dissapointed.
I know exactly what kind of replies to expect, but don't bother - you can have your little playarena all to yourselves.