Barriers to entry are common in many hobbies, professions, markets, social circles, and other physical or virtual spaces. They can be tangible (owned assets, geographic location, physical characteristics) or intangible (knowledge, experience, influence).
Generally it’s good to have lower barriers to entry. However, there will always be players in a space that benefit from high barriers to entry, and oftentimes these players have enough influence to become gatekeepers in the space. This is why some communities lend themselves to teaching and mentorship while others don’t.