Renae G.

Joining Scribophile (Scrib) was one of the best decisions I ever made as a writer.
Other reviews here note the membership cost--$65 a year is very reasonable, especially since you can store as many works as you want with that price.
The karma system makes perfect sense, as with most writing groups one would need to read and critique 3-5 other people's works as part of the exchange to get their own critiqued. I personally found that karma didn't really matter, as I am a novel writer, so I would seek out other novels and critique them. Usually by the time I had read and critiqued 2-3 novels, I had plenty of karma to post my own work.
The beta spotlight makes things even easier, since if you create or join a group you can exchange without using karma towards the posting fee. You DO have to pay for premium for this advantage, but again, it's rather affordable, and there are a lot of philanthropic members who gift premium to people who are hard up.
The community as a whole is pretty great--the main forums can get a little intense, but on a site with writers I think that's to be expected. Groups are a great way to socialize with like minded people and avoid the general area if that's more your speed.
Also, there are policies in place to handle people who give poor critiques and don't follow the "pay it forward" mindset of the site. Some other reviews here criticize it, but in my experience, the moderators and owner do their best to be fair. It may seem a little harsh, but usually if you try to follow the rules you shouldn't have any problems.
The site is a lot to take in at first, and I think it could be improved with some site ambassadors who reach out to newcomers and help them learn the ropes of the site, maybe assist with or review their first couple of critiques.
Other than that, it's fantastic, and I highly recommend it.