I think that cgod made a good point, at least I think it was cgod, that people come because they have something to say right now. It's not always necessary that this person have time to figure out what Hubski is in order to provide valuable content, discussion and conversation. Imagine this, a thought leader in a particular industry stops by Hubski to comment in a discussion regarding an article they wrote but cannot. There are any number of scenarios like this that would occur. I think your proposal throws the baby out with the bathwater. Edit: if you're really concerned with people knowing that Hubski is a different place, and let them know upon signing up.
this would require moderation, which is something we're not exactly big on here, but what if all new users have a 48 hour period where their comments are moderated, and need approval? I mean, i'm not sold on the idea, but it could be a possible way to implement the above solution and still cater to authors of content.
Blows scalability to shit. There's currently zero moderation, but your solution creates a chaperone situation where somebody gets blessed with the task of reading (and approving) every. Single. Newb comment. Which, during the last tidder invasion, would have been a thousand comments a day whining about vote counts. I wouldn't wish that on anyone, and above a certain traffic level it just becomes mk's 24-hour mute through inertia.