Originally Posted by
randyjawa
BF is not newbie friendly ... Without ten posts, the person seeking information is, well, not getting much for a while. Ten posts, and I understand the need for scam prevention, is not newbie friendly.
Ten posts, though, isn't a high bar.
If a contributing member has a handful of interests, with cycling, then posting ten or more times into various interesting discussions should not present an insurmountable hurdle. Goes by quickly, actually, assuming a person is willing to post a few times a day to get the feel of the place.
Indeed, it's basically a "scam" prevention tool. Limit links, images and whatnot, for a time, to weed out those sorts. At the small price of requiring a few contributions to the forum's flavor. Not a bad trade, really.
As for whether new questions can be asked by new members, with replies in such a manner that are helpful and "good" contributions to the forum ... well, that'll largely depend on the questions and goodwill of the participants.
I, too, was once a new member. As I recall, there was no ability to post a "for sale" link, post links off-site, post images, etc. Just good basic participation in discussions until I was ready to begin asking about certain things in new threads. Wasn't all that long a wait.