I seem to remember DeV mentioning that ls.net had... was it 100,000 new registrations last year? That hardly sounds like it keeps people away. On the contrary, it might add a certain mystique... people will register just to know what the hell it's all about.

I'm all for compulsory registration actually. Considering how many complete idiots that worm their way in here, I shudder to think what it would be like if there was free access, anonymous posting and so on.