Hi Norcal;

I just use the information to screen out forum spammers -- they rarely can get all the bits to match. Other than that, the only time we (mods) use it is to look up your location, since certain pool questions have LOCAL or regional answers and to (rarely) call you if there's a problem with your account. (But mostly, we only do that with subscribers.)

Subscription does the same things as info, by creating a personally identifiable trail to you, which is something the spammers try very hard to avoid.

Regarding the endless pools, I have only one caution: TRY BEFORE YOU BUY!

I've seen several of them installed, and found that mostly people no longer like them after a year. It's a lot of money to spend, unless you are going to enjoy it longer than that.

Ben