What if you had a second MySQL db running and loaded it with the real users names and addresses, and then included a field which matched the USER NUMBER to the one in the Threads db. That would "link" the records together.
But actually I want it to work in reverse, where I add a flag (eg. Paid up member="yes") to the user db, and then when they logged into Threads, it would authorized them depending upon the state of the paid-up member status.
So.. would two databases be a good way to go?