It's the start of the process for testing the low-cost ad-free version which will be launched shortly so that users can tell which version they have and also to maybe minimise the number of "why am I getting ads?" messages/emails that I get.
Ahh, I was just about to read through the Site News forum to see what was happening. Can't wait for that. I fully understand the need for ads etc, but constantly having to scroll back up on every page after the video pops up and jumps it to the bottom is wearing thin now.