I highly doubt that anyone would think this comm is dead -- besides, if you have a question, you can always look at the info and see when the last post was made. But it would be made clear that the content was (mostly) f-locked, and to join for access.

If people are joining and copying fics elsewhere without author permission, that's an entirely other set of issues, and one I would happily deal with the massive amounts of banning. This isn't so much about keeping a singular identity safe, it's about keeping the fandom... quiet. I don't know how long you've been in fandom, but I've never, ever found a situation, in my 20+ odd years of fandoming, where it was good to be "outed" in general. It's like an unspoken thing -- people know it happens, but if you don't publicize it to the populace at large, it's better for everyone. It's like sharing fanfic with actors, you don't do it. So keeping the comm off the radar to a greater extent seems prudent to me, personally. There's nothing to stop anyone from posting and then making their posts public, if I do make the change.

Thanks for your input. I appreciate hearing all perspectives. :-)