the message not the medium is the key - eye candy is fine for the youngsters who can't read more than 10 words (usually more than they can string together into a coherent sentence) - personally I browse with images turned off, javascript disabled + firefox set to ignore the sites layout/font etc and to use my choice - too many people are failed graphic artists (a prime example is the IoMFHS - notice how many people need to tell others where the actual link on the page is - poor layout + choice of colour - the pic adds nothing to the site info).

That said there are improvements - in particular a sticky message so that long term info is on top - possibly a login requirement but I doubt if this would really defeat spam - newcomers to get a welcome and basic info page.

You don't want photos posted - I'm afraid there are too many p_orn artists out there - also the download cost is high - not all are on broadband - others are on capped download. Even being able to post links is a potential problem - an innocuous site can turn overnight into a potentially hostile one (eg see what happened to Nigel's old site)