Well, just for the sake of argument, lets imagine a scenario where regular was applied automatically after a given time. Here is my interpretation of what would happen if such a rank was set at 20 or 24 hours:
-More people would become regular
-Due to this reports might go up, but with more people able to vote, it would probably balance out (after all, regulars cant really do much anyway)
-Less people would join forums (not sure how you feel about this.)
-I know it would increase the quality of the kind of people who did come here, as they would obviously be people who are interested in the community, not just the rank of regular.
-Less users registered on the forums with zero posts, since they don't need to register to be recognized for their dedication.
And the best one probably for you
-Less reading of cookie cutter regular applications which don't really help you get to know a player at all anyway.
The implementation of such a system just to see how it works might be the limiting factor here, since I have no idea what kind of work it would take, though I've seen it implemented elsewhere with much success. It all looks up from this point of view. How do you think this would compare to the current system?