I joined PNOW just after it was too late to learn anything to submit for the Bach recital but I was absolutely enthralled by the idea that anyone could join, even raw beginners like I was at the time. I've never felt excluded and while some of the comments were/are perfunctory even those help keep the enthusiasm alive because I want to earn something more than "well done." The welcoming spirit in PNOW recitals makes me want to participate. So I do. I limit my entries to only the quarterlies because I have to study my method book at some point and submitting to every recital gets in the way of that. BTDT, didn't even get a T shirt out of the deal. Or a cookie.
Here, I think this site's layout mirrors PNOW too much. More correctly, our beginner forum should be a sub-forum of the pianist forum. Calls for submissions to recitals (if any) should be posted in the pianist forum as just a notice of an upcoming recital. There doesn't need to be any mention of beginner or not, just a call for submissions. A notice that everyone is welcome to submit, even raw beginners, can be in the body of the announcement.
Changing the site map means we're all included as pianists first. Newbies just get a special place to ask questions and be together out of the crush of the main herd but still part of the entire tribe. I also don't think we'll get too many really raw players because, like me when I joined, they won't have anything to submit and, like most but not at all like me, will be a bit shy until they get more of a feel for the place. There are those who may never participate, for whatever reason, but all in all I think letting everyone have a shot at riding the merry go round will net more forum participation and membership in the long run.