This is a question that's been on my mind for quite a long time now but I've never asked it. My question is, why do you choose to show (or hide) your webforums from guests?

I personally think it's rediculous to not allow guests to view a forum, the only reason I can think of is if your site is some kind of closed clan or group.

I agree. Personally, I don't know what would even motivate someone to join a website with a closed forum unless they were referred there by someone who's already a member.

I do see the reason to limit and/or restrict participation to registered users only because "do-badders" like to monkey around when given the chance on some open sites.

You can do this if your site is for special focused group. Especially just a forum among few friends. I did this before. But now it is available for everyone.

I run a clan/gaming group and I mainly hide 90% of them to encourage registration.

I usually leave a couple general areas open for guests to view and maybe entice them to register.

Quite honestly, I think this is the best way to structure a webforum.