Have any of you done this on your WordPress website? What did you do & how’s it working out? Are there any plug-ins that work OK?
There is an option to allow people to register and/or have an account to comment. Look under the settings tab. You will need to know php to make the sections part, WordPress Codex will help
You can try out the S2 membership plugin to handle members and logins especially if you need subscription control:
WordPress › s2Member ( Membership w/ PayPal® ) « WordPress Plugins
Hope it helps =)