the logic is that by opening the forums for viewing only then we can appeal to a wider audience, and hopefully expand our members list.
Just like any other club we are going to need to attract new members, even though we are planning on remaining "free" we still need something to attract them. We have a *long* list of ideas for the mud-club, and it was thought that opening our borders a little would make the club seem more open, friendly and have less of a "closed door" feel.
essentially, we figured we didn't really have much to hide :)
You'll see several new forums perhaps appear shortly, as well as other *exciting* new features .. keep watching ;)