Hello Geoff,
Fear not, subscribers are not contractually bound to participate in the website – the website is not part of a subscription and is free and open to all.
Trhe down side is that as anyone can sign up to the website, we have had problems in the past with dodgy characters trying to scam classified advertisers.
We therefore check people's initial postings to deter this.
I would point out that another forum I a member of requires people to make 50 postings (i.e. to be an established and active member of the forum) before allowing them to even view the classifieds.
Neil