I agree. I've been a member for several months and just haven't said much so I didn't have enough posts when they made this change to be able to post.
I guess it would take too much time to review and "approve" all the newbie posts though.
I guess. I joined the site to be able to participate in the new exchange thread that started yesterday, but unfortunately can't participate as I'm restricted to this little sand box, apparently until I spam post enough to become a Jr. Member or something.
I run three blog sites and an SMF forum myself, so I know the challenges of dealing with spam. Can't say I'm impressed with this answer, tho.