Thanks for the question.  Actually, this forum is open to the public, however, it is necessary to obtain a registered identity (real or not) to attribute a post to a poster.  This permits features such as: subscribing, moderating, notifying and banning abusive posters.  It also prevents posters from impersonating other posters.  Unregistered users may read this forum's posts, yet this access could alternatively be denied by the forum admin. All that is needed to register with this site is a valid email address.  You will receive your login credentials via email after you register. Just so you know... forums can be created and participation restricted to classes of users by assigning permissions to roles to which users are assigned.