We would theoretically remove the moderation once a new member proved to be a contributor and not a spammer. The mechanics of doing this involved several cumbersome steps. As a result, for the last five years, we only took the trouble to remove it for the most active posters.
The site has been improved so it is now easy to remove it from large batches of members in bulk. As a result, I have now removed moderation from many hundreds of accounts. As a result, only the two most recent members, who joined this weekend are still moderated.
If you joined us since 2008 and were frustrated by the lag in seeing your messages posted, you will now see them appear almost instantly. If you don't contact me directly. Now that the site's management tools have been streamlined, I will cancel moderation for new members within a week or two of joining.
My apologies to anyone who has been inconvenienced by the moderation.