A useful thread can help someone long before they are ready to join a community. If a person searching for a device fix has to make an account just to read an old answer, that extra step may stop them from finding the solution at all.

Reddit has a reason to limit bulk scraping, but a middle ground might keep some ordinary reading open and rate-limit repeated automated requests. That won't catch every scraper, and the limits would need care so shared networks aren't unfairly blocked. Still, it gives people a way in without putting every answer behind a login.