[Debate] Password Protected Boards: Good or Bad?

[Airdrie Boy]

I have a password protected board on my forum and a Committee Board also(staff).

It is good!

[Bubzzzy]

Yeah, my only pass-word protected board is the Staff Room board.

[myke]

airdrieboy said:

I have a password protected board on my forum and a Committee Board also(staff).

It is good!

bubzzzy1 said:

Yeah, my only pass-word protected board is the Staff Room board.

You guys please be sure to read the Discussion: Your ProBoard rules before posting.

[Brenton]

Yes, this is a debate, not a simple "whos got a password protected board discussion".

My major issue with password protected boards is, will people remember the password? I mean, its okay for a staff board, because staff are generally active users of a forum, so they should be visiting for example, a staff board a lot, and wont forget the password.

But lets say you have one of those "Adult Discussion" boards, is it really going to be very active?

In general, id say, where possible, find another option other than password protecting, eg: need to be in certain member group to access. I have to say, that password protect is really best as a last resort.

[Black Angel]

I believe that the password protected thing can go either way.. it makes no sense to have a password protected area for staff, if they are the only ones allowed to access that area.. my brother used to toy with the idea of having a password protected area for his flash, and previews to his latest episodes, as well as projects that he is working on.. but then there would have been the question of whether or not we could trust someone enough to have the password, and then then trusting them enough to not give it out, especially if, in the event that, they get into trouble, and then give it out, just to be spiteful.. deciding who to give the password to, how often it should be changed, and what the passwords should be..

So ultimately, we nixed the password idea, and instead, we made a group called "elite members" and they have access to these areas, as well as getting access to things that are exclusive to our forum only.. as well as having the ability to do more, (bigger avatars, increased pm space.. etc..), and have more control over their posts.. (like editing the title, removing the "last edit" etc..)

we don't have this based on post count.. because then, we would have everyone with access to these areas.. so instead, we go by their overall behavior, and what areas of the forum have they been most active at..

If we have someone with 1,000 [legitimate] (as in having at least 1 sentence, and not one-word answers) posts, and 95% of them were in the areas talking about my brothers flash, then that person will not become a member of that group.. because that gives us the impression that they were only interested in my brother's flash, as opposed to the community as a whole..

but if we have someone who has 1,000 [legitimate] posts, and they have been active in other areas of the forum, (and not just one section that isn't talking about my brothers flash..) then that person has a good chance..

We have a mature discussion area, and that area can be accessed by all groups, except those who were banned, have never posted, on probation, guests, or have been placed into the immature group.. all other groups can access the area..

Before we merged, I used to keep that area open to guests on my board, so that the staff of the company hosting my forum, can look and see for themselves that i am not violating their user agreement. but now, there is an account that we have set up for the people who want to check it out.. this way we dont have to worry about others going in there, and then copying our content..

This account information, is usually pm'd to the staff of the forum's host..

So, we just made a new group, with more features, and access to these areas, as opposed to having a password protected board.. it is easier, and is less of a headache, than the password idea.. but what works for me, may not work for you.. and vice versa.

But hey, to each his own right?

[Majik]

Bad. I find that password protected boards are VERY annoying. Especially when you've got a TON of password protected boards, it becomes a major hassle to remember all those passwords. When creating a board, I try to avoid this at ALL costs. I find that group-only viewable boards are a much better solution.

[#~CrAzY~ByOnD~ReCoGnItIoN~#]

i say good and bad

i have a password protected board at my site and it is hidden to all but certain groups but i was at another site recently(about 6 months ago) nd the had a password protected board in the open i felt locked out an was dying to find out what was so private that they had it locked up

[Dëvïn]

dravu2000 said:

People can give out passwords to their friends and other people didn't get the password like they were supposed to which causes problems. Also, you have the ability so only certain groups can see certain boards, which would mean that that board wouldn't show up on the main page and cause crowding (which is a better alternative in my opinion). There are better ways around using password protected boards, so unless it's a situation where password protection would be better to use (maybe during a fun event or something like the answer to a riddle is the password and you find a prize in the board or something), then I think that it shouldn't really be used.

Well via post or PM, it is easy to prevent it by putting it in the censored words list. Via IM they can do what they want. I don't use password protected boards as I have no need for them.

[grace]

I have a password protected board and my reason behind it is 21 and over so adults can talk freeier, And so that the remanding board stays G rated not to offend certian members. Some ppl get offended easy so only nice nice in the G area. I am thinking of making groups to avoid the whole who sees what they are missing.

[kelendria]

I've never had to use password protected boards but have seen them used.
Wouldn't it be confusing keeping track of who has the password & if you ever had to change it, to tell people the new one?
I can see how it would be useful for more adult themed subjects or if you don't want leechers taking something you've worked hard to put together!

[Beatle Aimee]

I have several password protected boards...

1. The staff board I made it so the staff can get in without a password, but the admin subboard is password protected.

2. I have a hidden board I use to keep links and notes in and that but I password it anyway

3. I made a secret board as a reward for getting 100 posts but all we really do in there is post rare Beatles pictures

4. I tried having male/female only boards which required passwords but nobody used them so I closed 'em down. lol.

5. If you get (I think it's 500 or 600) a certain amount of posts, people get their own little subboard and they can password it IF THEY WANT.

So: Use passwords when you have to hide something and you can't use other options. That's all I have to say.

[Shentino]

Personally, I only believe in passwords for the sake of security, not privilege.

If you have passwords, be sure you're aware of both how much you want the password leaked, and how trustworthy the password holder is to do or not do so.

Quite frankly, board passwords are a far cry from foolproof at any rate.

[Ryan]

shentino said:

Quite frankly, board passwords are a far cry from foolproof at any rate.

Agreed.
Someone else above mentioned that people can forget passwords, whihc is true. Password protected boards always have that problem, and then there's also the matter of "leaked" passwords. You'd be amazed, lots of people write down all sorts of passwords, accidentally divulge them, or make them easy to guess.

[$hØ©Këyë]

I don't really have Password Protected Boards. Who needs them when you can select certain staff groups for boards? I think Password Protected Boards are only useful in RPG forums, really. And besides, password protected boards are vulnerable to hackers which means you are totally screwed. My staff caterogy doesn't need password protected boards because guests can just guess what the password is every day. That's all for me

[//. Concha <3]

on my forum i don't have any password prtected boards. I think that every members has a right to go in which ever board they want. After all they did join to have their say on what ever they want.