User blog comment:Cristina7/Introducing Discussions, a New Platform For Engaging Your Community/@comment-5501257-20160908180311/@comment-25653892-20160908190122

We need to remember that account creation is not always a good thing. As OP says, new users are often less familiar with the rules and have a tendency to spam (intentionally or not). Wikia has said it wants to cater to existing communities, but it's clear the intent is to get more users on them for added site usage, revenue, or whatever other motive.