Why would ToE be an issue when we open if it isn't one now?
Without getting into it too deeply, since it is not really the subject of this discussion, I will try to answer this question from my perspective. If it sparks a separate discussion about TOE, I reserve the right to split the discussion off into a separate thread.
The way things stand now, everyone here has been invited by someone else who is here (or is an original member). It is very easy to control who has access to the TOE forum, and to ensure that minors and other people that should not be there don't have access.
Once we open to the public, it will become virtually impossible to ensure that minors or other people that should not be there can't get in. I am unsure of the legal ramifications of this, but I am sure that there are moral implications that can not be swept under the carpet. It is not sufficient, in my opinion to just have a statement saying that only adults are allowed inside. For many young people, that would actually be considered to be an enticement to come on in, hiding behind the anonymity of the internet. Do you really want to be discussing the intimate details of your sex life with a 13 year old?
Nor are the issues limited to access by minors. I could easily see some stranger coming into that forum and creating great havoc before we could take effective action to stop him or her, shattering the comfort zone that currently exists that allows members to discuss sensitive issues in an open and safe environment. I would think that it would be the members that regularly post in the TOE forum that would be most interested in maintaining a firm control over who has access to it. I strongly believe that when board77 opens, TOE should be a separate, closed, invite-only forum.
But I have no idea whether that view reflects the view of the majority of the membership.