As a moderator on the RiffTrax forum, I am constantly zapping spammers there so maybe closing off the wide openness on the world wide web might be a good idea… 
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I’ve given it more thought and I still feel the same: keep the forums walled. I get that now more than ever we need to get word of MST3K into the world, since the show’s continued existence depends on revenue from sales/rentals.
It makes sense that the other sites – mst3k.com, gizmoplex.com, etc. – need to be indexed by search engines and roll out the red carpet to new visitors, but I don’t see the forums as a part of that – this is the place for people who are already fans, and avid fans at that.
This forum is a special place – no spam bots, no trolls, and what little disagreement we have is very civilized. I don’t think it’s asking too much to require sign-up to browse. We could even make topic names visible without signup, so prospective members can see whether the overall vibe appeals to them.
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I agree something like that could be a good compromise. Anyone not signed in can see the types of discussions we have here, but if you want to read the posts, the least you can do is join the community to do so.
The Doctor Who forum I help moderate is walled and we have no problem getting new members.
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