Are those barn beam's bad?

The old barn timber photograph at the top of my blog is typical of the interior of an old barn, built of post and beam construction. The wooden pins sticking out the side of the beam are known as dowel pins or wood dowels. The reason for them is they are the nails that hold the part together.
  This is a description of how this works.
The timber that stands up right is a post which has a large tab called a tendon.
  The beam that sits on top of it has a pocket carved in it up from the bottom side which is called a mortise or pocket
  The angle brace up above it has a tendon on the bottom this also sits in a mortise pocket below it.
  So the two tendons are inserted into the mortise pockets then the holes are drilled threw it then the wood dowels are driven into them locking the joint together.
 The cracks visible on the sides do not affect the integrity of the timbers. These are a natural result of the timber drying over time in the building.
 The circular mark to the right of the wood dowel pins is a saw blade mark. This is typical of the early rough cut lumber, used in the old bars of the heartland.
 I always welcome questions
Thanks