Damn!
There seem to be very valid pros and cons to ALL the options for "Read Only Forums"......................why, or why is nothing ever simple????
Personally, after reading through and considering the many thoughtful contributions to this discussion, I think that all of the forums, except those already restricted, should be open for viewing.
I realize that the Symposium contains some extremely personal content, but it also contains some wonderfully articulate, respectful, and interesting exchanges (and often, it seems, these two aspects of the discussions overlap). Posters like Anthy or yovargas or vison or Sass or tinwe (the list can obviously go on and on) can meaningfully contribute to a serious discussion in the Symposium, and ten minutes later can post something smart-ass spammy in the Turf. Later in the day, vison might submit another chapter of Erik of Rohan in There And Back Again, tinwe might discuss a recently released movie or Sass might be responding to the newest chapter discussion of the Sil in The Hall of Fire.
Back in my lurking days at TORC, I really enjoyed being able to see "all the sides" to many posters who would frequent different forums on a regular basis. I saw that many there could argue passionately about some element of the films, take part in a highly informative discussion of the book, goof around in the Talk threads, and even wax philosophical in Manwe. Some would participate regularly in a couple of forums, and others I would only see in one specialized 'territory'. Being able to do that not only helped me become familiar with the workings of each particular forum, it also helped me see how members could "adjust accordingly" to each venue. It helped me form a "big picture" of the board and was invaluable in helping me determine just where I might first venture as a noobie.
This board is the sum total of ALL its posters and ALL its forums, and the bigger and more open that picture is for potential members, the more accurate and informed their impressions, and hopefully, the more thoughtfully considered their choice to join or not to join. I can fully understand if some of the more sensitive threads in the Turf and Symposium are not considered "part of the package", so to speak, and support the idea of quietly archiving them, if possible. Like Eru, the thought of deleting them is somewhat repellent to me, but I suppose that this will come down to personal decisions made by those most affected by the entry of specific threads into a far more public domain. I do realize that there are some potential risks in opening up all unrestricted b77 forums to viewing, but really feel that these will be more than positively balanced by the potential benefits to this community.