I've heard many voices that it is hard to get on board with all the restrictions for newbies and the time required to understand the nuances / structures of bitcointalk. What can be changed to improve this (and thus scale bitcointalk) as more people join the ecosystem?
What do you have a problem with exactly? This is a message board like any other and you make posts here relevant to the sub board you're posting in. If you want to move up ranks - which I'm going to assume is what you're really concerned about - then make
quality posts over time and you will naturally pass through the ranks. Or are there other nuances you're worried about?