Please don't make Indie Hackers invite-only. The Indie Hackers website is surely for people who need to find an online network of like-minded people, especially for those who struggle to find it elsewhere. They might not be part of a startup accelerator, they might not be good at networking, but joining the website might be the first step for them to join the community. It would be a shame to require that people be part of the community before they can be part of the community, if you see what I mean.<p>Don't get me wrong, having a hurdle to sign up is a good idea. You will get more invested members that way, and less spam. But you can choose different hurdles that don't exclude people who aren't well-networked. For example, you could require every new user to fill out their profile with detailed answers to questions, before allowing them to post on the forums.