Hi!
I think it was not a good idea at all to change the "Join the ..." to "Become a supporter".
My point is that "being a member" of something (even if just an associate one) suggests a much stronger bound than being just a "supporter". So I think using phrases as "Join the FSFE", "become a(n associate) member" etc is way more compelling for most of the people.
In my view "supporter" is someone outside of the circle while "any-kind-of member" is someone who is inside of the circle. So I do believe demoting "fellowship members" to mere "supporters" made this status too cold and less compelling.
I think FSF is doing this much better. If you visit fsf.org this time of the year you immediately run into a very encouraging and inviting banner about joining them.
I really miss this inviting spirit from fsfe.org. (Also, why is no similar banner on fsfe.org in the last two months of every year?)
I think recruiting members and encouraging people to donate is important. So it worth making extra efforts to doing it right.
What do you think?
Best, Gergely