I had been hoping to avoid it, but I've set a one day probationary period for new members. This isn't about fan comments. Instead this site (and many SB Nation sites) have been targeted by an aggressive spammer. The SB Nation tech guys are on the case, but it might take them a few more days to sort it out. I haven't been able to catch all the spam right away, and some of it has sat in the comments thread for a couple days until I deleted it. I don't like the probationary period because when I join a site I like to be able to comment right away. Hopefully I can reverse it in a week or two.
Thanks.