Sorry about the confusion @codinghorror. After looking into it some more I realized that the frustrated comments about not being able to post are actually from users confused by the absence of a New Topic button. They end up clicking into a topic and the only option they have is reply. I don’t suppose there are any ways to call it out to users that there is a New Topic button, but in order to use it you will have to reach Trust Level whatever.
Definitely not critical. Just looking for ways to better educate users on trust levels and permissions.