Yes, we hear you, but we don't have any better way of getting to know new members than by asking them to post a few times so the community gets to know them before they just come into the chat rooms.

These are all features of membership with us. Without establishing that membership in some manner, it would be far more meaningless, open to spamming and abuse (and creating a much heavier burden on us and our moderation team, all of whom are volunteers).

Thanks for your understanding.