[Debate] Password Protected Boards: Good or Bad?

[Joe Q]

Dec 9, 2007 9:50:02 GMT -8 @arsenal1993 said:

If its something like a staff area, then its better just to use a member group filter, so that only people who are recognized as staff on the forum may enter the area, this is more effective than a password because staff dont have to waste time entering a password, they just have to click on the board, also this prevents unauthorized access.

Exactly. I was extremely tired of having to type in ten passwords for all of the blocked boards.

[arsenal1993]

I dont have password protected boards, you only end up forgetting the password, instead i hide certain boards so that only certain member group(s) (like staff) can enter.

[Goldenheart]

I have exactly two password-protected boards on my entire website. One is old and dead, and I'm only keeping it for sentimental reasons (as in, I had my warrior ceremony on that board. For those who do not know what a warrior ceremony is, it's where an apprentice whose name ends in 'paw changes to a warrior with a unique name ending, so I went from being Goldenpaw to being Goldenheart. It was from a whole-site plot in which one RPed oneself.) The other board is entitled "The Secret Admin Broom Closet," and is where my co-admin and I discuss matters that aren't ready to be passed on to the rest of the site. The only things we keep in there are the Drawing Board and a bunch of Kissable Brooms. (See, our favorite thing to say in response to the question "What's in the Secret Admin Broom Closet?" is "Just a pair of admins... making out with the brooms...")

[blazikenblade]

Dec 6, 2007 11:29:53 GMT -8 Enchant said:

Dec 5, 2007 21:46:50 GMT -8 blazikenblade said:

Passwords are ok if you know how to use properly & for what purpose. I use them to lock content that are over 21 from prying eyes, never had a problem.

Please clarify your comment and give at least a minimum of four sentences, this board is intended for discussions on personal experiences and suggestions...Thank you

Sorry I just signed up just recently.. My site which is based on Dragon Quest does have one piece of Adult type content. I do us the password as a protective measure to keep members who are under 21 to stay away. I remind my members to reveal their ages if they do not, they get a warning. In the past I did have problems with people not being genuine about their age & totally caused a huge ruckus but now seems ok.

About the "staff only board" idea is ok but there would be a problem of moderators to be in that board if they especially cannot remember the password to access the board.

[Karen]

I have several password protected boards on my forum. And have never had a problem with them until just recently. When a password was required for a board that members need to purchase (using what we call simoleans) rights to access, such as to post a private blog thread (we have public blogs also), a seasonal board about relationships called Cupid's Crush, or Harry Potter, Secret Pals, etc., roleplay discussion groups, team boards for the newsletter, Link Crew (welcome wagon type thing), group think tanks for projects, no one questioned those.

But recently we gave a password protected board to a winner of a contest to use as this member saw fit. She has the use for six months and can invite (or not invite) whomever she wants. At first, everyone thought it was a wonderful prize, the best we've ever given. That is until this member only invited six other members to join her board, and rejected everyone else.

She did it nicely, and had a good reason. She and these other members were writing a roleplay story together. They didn't want too many members, with a multitude of characters, plots, etc. It would've been too much. Unfortunately, some members construe this board as a "clique" and are offended that they can't join, feeling it isn't fair.

So now, although the majority would like to have the opportunity to win their own board, these few disappointed and disgruntled members have made me wonder if it's such a good idea to offer password protected boards as a prize for a contest.

As for Staff, Admin only boards, I have those too, but they are only visible to these ranks and not password protected. We use them to discuss upcoming projects, contests, rules, to put together threads before posting, a place to store archives of standard notes and ideas, etc.

[Wolfykinns]

Well, I use password protected boards for Headmaster's office, and for the room of requirement. . . yes it's another HP RPG. . . . as for houses I do member groups.

[♫cat lady]

I think password protected boards are really useful on in areas where only staff are supposed to discuss certain things. I know that on my role playing site, a few of us staffies need to develop plots and such on our own, in secret, before sharing them with the general public.

I don't know if anyone's mentioned or even noticed this, but regular members have full access to everything on password protected boards by clicking the "100 most recent posts" button. I've removed it from my forum, but I think it's redundant if it's so easy to access them. I had one member who began posting on a PW protected staff board--but she didn't even know it was a staff board, she just saw a post that looked interesting and clicked. It let her reply and even look at other threads on the board by entering that way, and it didn't even ask her for a password. Perhaps it's just her computer? I'm not sure, but it's definitely a problem.

[[x].xx.Silentstorm.xx.[x]]

Passwords are useful for these following reasons:

***If you have an RP and you wish to ensure that they atleast LOOK at the rules then you can add a codeword to the rules***

***If you have a territory RP or a Harry Potter RP you can ensure that only a(some) certain charrie(s) can enter***

***If you have a board for discussion, And you want it for two, three or any other certain amount of people allowed, then you may want to block others out of it... Hence the password ***

[Wolfykinns]

I agree with you, expect that I believe most topics should remain open for decision. I am a strong believer in Freedom of Speech. Yeah-I'm liberal. . . . . . .

[Kami]

I've always had password protected boards for staff areas (I've not had them limited so that members can see that the staff areas DO exist, and that they ARE being used) and for boards that have mature content (no ToS-violations, just more mature than PG-13).

I hate it when forums have so many password-protected boards. I can't remember all of them, and so I tend to just leave when I see a board that's labled as "password protected" -- especially RP boards. I find that the passwords get troublesome, and as a matter of fact often times serve no purpose.

It's like board creators forget that password-protected boards are for security purposes...

[Enchant]

Jan 10, 2008 4:52:05 GMT -8 Wolfykinns said:

Well, I use password protected boards for Headmaster's office, and for the room of requirement. . . yes it's another HP RPG. . . . as for houses I do member groups.

Welcome to the discussion ..However in the future, make sure that you give at least a four sentence post with more depth... Telling us what you did was good...but what was the outcome of it, your experience, lessons learned and what other felt about it....

[Wolfykinns]

Jan 12, 2008 9:34:33 GMT -8 Enchant said:

Welcome to the discussion ..However in the future, make sure that you give at least a four sentence post with more depth... Telling us what you did was good...but what was the outcome of it, your experience, lessons learned and what other felt about it....

Okay. sorry about that & thank you. Back to the main question. Yes I think they are good for RPGs as in my example they work wonderfully for Harry Potter. JK in her books has passwords set up so only certian students get access to their house, or Dumbledore's office. I thoiught it would be a great idea to do member groups for the houses becaue too many passwords get too confusing. But in my personal opion one only needs ones for the Room of requirement and Headmaster/Headmistres's office becaue one has to find the room of requirement and sub member groups can get too confusing. So far this is working out great on my forurm.

[harcotalk]

I thought about putting an "adult" area on my board for grown-up discussion, but then I realized that any 13yr old with an ounce of commonsense can create a profile that claims to be 65yr old and con me into giving out the password. So I decided not to bother - and if the content on my board gets out of control, that's what moderators are for!

[Michelangelo "Spike" Scarlatti]

Okay I have a few passworded boards on my roleplay sites
One is basically if anyone wants a home for their character they have a choice if they want a password which I like that cause its almost like a key to your own home
so you can lock it at night so to speak
And the staff board has a password so members cant read what the staff is talking about if another member caused trouble or something and we're trying to come up with what to do
I do see that some members feel left out when they see a passworded board as I would too
but when you think about it would you leave your front door unlocked so everyone can just enter your home?
Nope I wouldnt and thats why I let members have homes,apartments,etc with passwords to those sections and I give them the choice to give out their password to whom ever they want
Also it comes in handy for another board of mine thats not active cause Im gonna have it where the students try and guess the question I will be posting to access these boards
there sorta like secret passage ways

But you get some members you give the option of having a passworded board to and they choose not to yet they want to complain cause they cant see whats going on on the other passworded boards
but like I said above about the homes I let members have its like a key to your home and Id prefer to have a key(where I can lock it) rather than to having it unlocked

But all in all I think there much better to have some areas for the members themselves and for yourself to get away from all others in the passworded areas.

[Star Teller]

I have one password protected board on my roleplay site for the staff. It's private because I don't want every member on the site coming and interrupting our conferences XD and they're not allowed to see the future plots.