> It damn well should be. The link is the basis of the www.
Anything on the www is only sacred if it's on your server. If you're on someone else's server it's up to them to extend the privilege of making links (or any content). Having links moderated for new users seems pretty fair--the vast majority of brand new users who make a post that contains links are spammers. The worst case is it will take a little time for a mod to clean up. You can even have your link be removed publicly but still function for members (so no Google juice but people can still answer your question).
If you have ever moderated a forum you will know how bad spammers can be. It's not just posts either, PM spam is really popular and a lot harder to police.
Anything on the www is only sacred if it's on your server. If you're on someone else's server it's up to them to extend the privilege of making links (or any content). Having links moderated for new users seems pretty fair--the vast majority of brand new users who make a post that contains links are spammers. The worst case is it will take a little time for a mod to clean up. You can even have your link be removed publicly but still function for members (so no Google juice but people can still answer your question).
If you have ever moderated a forum you will know how bad spammers can be. It's not just posts either, PM spam is really popular and a lot harder to police.