I knew bay12 would offer some good feedback! I've updated the original post to mention the release; thanks for pointing that out.
Before this release, I spent many hours contemplating freemium approaches to the game, but had to side with a subscription model for more than one reason. For one, I'm keeping things as simple and stable as I can. Fremium games tend to be run by companies with deep pockets, who can stay afloat while they run huge marketing campaigns to herd players through their nickel-and-dime shops. It's just me here, and, as stated by miauw62, I have to start paying the bills. The best way for Island Forge to succeed is for the community to appreciate that this is an indie title that offers a lot of unique features, in which each player is directly helping to support by subscribing. Think of it this way: the cost is less than buying one pizza per month.
Regarding other countries, it's a matter of legal cost. You'll notice that many internationally-oriented games have multiple terms of service rules, regulations, and policies, and often set up different services to adhere to each country's laws. Naturally, I'd love for everyone in the world to play, but this is how I have to start out. I understand if you're not comfortable clicking through the ToS.
Regarding "3P1C 1SL4NDZ", as much as I would prefer everyone to stick with the classic fantasy role-play theme, I've decided to make a player-created content game, and I'm going to be as lenient as possible, so long as the content is not offensive, disruptive, or otherwise against the ToS. If it proves necessary, I might be forced to enforce a "spirit of the game" clause. The community can somewhat self-regulate such content by using the complaint system, in extreme cases.
I've thought about noting the best islands. Having a "weekly/monthly/yearly best" island is a good idea. I already track visitation and ratings, so an overall winner could be picked. I'll document this for a potential future feature, maybe as part of the Atlas page. Thanks!
On a technical note, I'll see if I can make my forums read-only for non-users. I've run phpBB (and I see this site uses Simple Machines), but I wanted a simpler, more integrated/single-sign-on system, so I'm using a WordPress plugin forum (islandforge.com is built with WordPress). I like the simplicity, but it consequently doesn't have many features. I've already spent many hours getting it to work better than it did out-of-the-box, so I'll add this to the list!
Thanks for everyone's input.