As MaestroVendor has stated, it is to prevent spambots from being able to plaster the forums with spam. When they are kept here they are more easily eliminated and the other forums are not affected. We're currently discussing the possibility of cleaning up the Newbie forum; it has evolved into more than just a place to contain spam, so depending on the direction we receive it may be a more pleasant place to spend time in in future. Libtertas