When the boards are open, the best idea would indeed probably be to have that forum restricted.
I wasn't going to discuss it now, but I've already said something about it to Ber, Eru and Griff.
Basically, when the boards open up, we'll have the forum "Private" so no one can read it, but not "Hidden" - so that people *can* see that there is a forum (but they'll only be able to see the title).
If they want in, they'll have to:
1. Click one of those lovely buttons that say "yes, I am over 18". If they lie, it's not our fault.
2. They will have to be an active and posting member of the boards for at least a month (to avoid lechers and perverts who just want to make a one time post and really make it about porn).
The rules for "banning" people from that particular forum (but not from the whole board) would have to be different as well. If someone, for instance, became verbally abusive towards people posting in there then he/she could be "banned" from that forum upon request (after, of course, a check to see if the abuse is real), even though they wouldn't be banned from the boards.
The whole point of the forum is that it's a place where people can comfortably talk about the most intimate aspects of their own life, without having to worry about offending anyone, and without having to worry about people judge outloud (which could easily lead to that verbal abuse I was talking about).
That comfort level would be lost if we opened up the forum to anyone who bothered to click a button. Lets keep it a bit more private than that, yes?
Edit: oh, and Leoba - I've already gotten private thanks from a few people for going ahead and saying I was going to create a seperate forum for this kind of talk. So yeah, there have been people who didn't want to see it.