[mparas]

I understand that something needed to be done. Still can't help but say that it's a pity. A blanket ban on new users posting doesn't seem right. There are many people like me who "followed" HN for a long time, but then decided to create an account recently to post and ask for feedback, only to see the submission get blocked.

[dang]

There's no blanket ban on new users posting, and even when there's a bar, it's a low one.

I hear you that it's not great for users who are genuine HN readers but haven't posted before. I wish we had a better idea what to do for those cases!