I'll give some insight from NodeBB.

Adding in delays (x days until first post, y hours until upvote, etc.) do nothing to curb spam.

If your spam is manual, they will discover the waiting period, update their rulebook, and go to town when the waiting period is over.

If the spam is automated, it will work until the spammer admin discovers the waiting period, updates the script, and has the bots resume going to town when the waiting period is over.

At the same time it severly hampers usability at its most crucial (the first post).

The only thing that works to curb spam is a post queue with manual review... or locking the ability to post links behind reputation.