Tough point, Floyd.
Used to think of that the same way. When they first started posting urls to groups on TMF, it really pissed me off.
"Why should I join and give out my yahoo address to a complete stranger?" I asked myself.
Then I simply made up a yahoo identity just for that, and coped with it.
To be true, it wasn't THAT traumatic either. So far I've joined a lot of tk groups, and nobody has flooded me with virii, spam or any kind of unsolicited mails - yet!
I've had much more problems with my public emails - posted on "straight" non-tk related sites.
So, while I understand your gripes, I don't find groups unfeasible to cope with.
Since most tickling related stuff is adult material, by Yahoo rules, they require users to actually subscribe to groups - as opposed to making those groups free.
It is really a means of keeping minors out than making it harder for adults to access tk material.
Besides, asking for a membership of some kind, helps the group manage gauge his site's popularity.
This reminds me I have something in store for you guys. 😉 😉 😉
Hope I was clear without being biased. 🙂
EDIT:
Oops, I didn't feel involved. 🙂
I posted this before you edited your post, but as you can see, I shared your opinion, so I hope you understand why I left my group private instead of making it public.
Reg's.