I definitely like the idea of ending newb restrictions, they were definitely keeping a lot of users from the site. The four hour wait/post requirement was pretty brutal, I remember posting mostly useless replies to get past that. I do think it is necessary to have a "Newbie/Beginners" section though as it was definitely a good net for spam and basic bitcoin questions.
I think a four hour wait being 'brutal' is a bit of an overstatement
. It's annoying for sure especially when you want to get posting, but making one post and browsing around four hours isn't exactly torture. Maybe we could've got rid of the four hour wait but kept the one post rule whilst confining them to the newb section. The effects of the restrictions being lifted will only become apparent over the next few weeks, but I don't think the newbie section should've been archived regardless. 
