[Debate] Guests Must Log-In

[myke]

Guests Must Log-In

How do you feel about the practice of leaving a forum in Guests Must Log-In Mode?

Some people say they do this to protect their forum's content, to make it more difficult for people to plagiarize it for use on other forums. Some people do this simply to get people to register to view the board, either in hopes the person will stay, or to increase their forum's member count.

Others think that leaving a forum in guests must log-in mode is not the best thing to do. It is thought that if people want to steal content bad enough, all they have to do is register an account and steal away. Some people are of the opinion that a forum should show what they have to offer to guests, so that it may persuade them to join if they like what they see.

So what do you think about leaving a forum in guests must log-in mode?

Debate.

[Ímþ®óvîšâ†ó®]

myke said:

Guests Must Log-In

How do you feel about the practice of leaving a forum in Guests Must Log-In Mode?

Some people say they do this to protect their forum's content, to make it more difficult for people to plagiarize it for use on other forums. Some people do this simply to get people to register to view the board, either in hopes the person will stay, or to increase their forum's member count.

Others think that leaving a forum in guests must log-in mode is not the best thing to do. It is thought that if people want to steal content bad enough, all they have to do is register an account and steal away. Some people are of the opinion that a forum should show what they have to offer to guests, so that it may persuade them to join if they like what they see.

So what do you think about leaving a forum in guests must log-in mode?

Debate.

Very good topic Myke

I would have to say that I admit I used that "Guest Must Log In" function when I first created me forum, and I realised, a few things...

Time for my table of positives and negatives again lol ;D

Positives	Negatives
Keeps the forum protected from guests possible hotlinking any images there would be on the forum Combining the "Limited Registration" with this one, is be far the ultimate form of security as noone can get in without first registering AND getting staff approval before posting.	Doesn't really generate activeness that much if a guest wants to view what the forum has to offer first. (If Limited Registration was ALSO enabled) It makes it difficult to report forums for ToS violations if you've deleted your account there and forgot to get some evidence of such violations. A forum I used to be apart of, completely describes this...

Notice again how the positives and negatives contradict each other

Anywho, my overall opinion of the Guests Must Log-In feature is pretty much useless (espacially if you're trying to get your forum rated at G.O.A.Y.B lol), the only thing it IS good for however, is keeping nosey guests away from viewing parts of an admins forum that should only be viewed by those that join it

[Artemis]

I think it's a bit worthless. In my opinion they either just want members to join; if it were private, they could just disable signups. I don't join any boards like that no matter how good they look, I'd rather just look normally at it. I can understand a privacy issue, but when it only takes about 2 minutes to register and activate an account, it doesn't help that much. Sure guests can't see the boards, but they can do more damage as an actual member than just a guest, if that's what some are worried about.

While some might be amazed at what they see and stay, some will most likely be disappointed and leave. Personally, I want to know what the board is about, and the content before I join. I won't just join because they have an uber awesome banner and cool buttons. If it's a design site for example, how can I tell that it's unique from other design sites? The same with Harry Potter sites. I want to know the content before I sign up, and enabling this feature just makes it a hassle.

So basically, I think it's pointless. People can simply register if they want to any damage like copying, and once a member they can access more than a regular guest could. So it doesn't help in my opinion, it simply hinders the growth of the forum.

[Enchant]

I am going against the majority here...

I personally have found it to be helpful. I used to have the EE open to guest and it got alot of spam. It also had other forums stealliing the concepts made for the EE. These were my primary reasons.

It has been mentioned that people should leave the boards open to guest so they can see what you offer....while I understand this concept, I personally feel that that should be a priviledge for members....I mean if that was the case....then why have membership sign ups in the first place? Being a member has priveldges and should be treated with priority..... As for know what content you have...that is what your board discriptions are for.....

As for making guest join just to get membership...perhaps to some....but I delete all inactive accounts and anyone who doesn't like what they see there are free to delete thier accounts....I do not force people to join or stay if tey do not want to....

It has also been mentioned that if they wanted to steal if they wanted to...TRUE....however.....it works as a deterent not as a absolute....and the good thing is there IP is logged ....therefore...should I visit thier forum and notice a theft, I have thier IP dated on the EE.....

I made a poll open to guest and members alike on the EE (in the infobox)and it was for this topic and I was surprised myself to see that people rather liked the EE for members only...SO I think it might depend on the forumitself...and what works best for you.

[myke]

enchant said:

But the difference with your forum is guests can browse the index page to get a taste of what types of boards you have. They don't see nothing except a small table telling them they have to log-in to view the forum.

improvisator said:

Very good topic Myke

Thanks, but Esther PM'ed me with the idea, so credit goes to her.

[Enchant]

myke said:

enchant said:

But the difference with your forum is guests can browse the index page to get a taste of what types of boards you have. They don't see nothing except a small table telling them they have to log-in to view the forum.

improvisator said:

Very good topic Myke

Thanks, but Esther PM'ed me with the idea, so credit goes to her.

My bad.... I completely over looked the word "mode"....I was referring to Guest logging in....

redoes post....I think a forum in log in MODE....is a completely different story....the fact that a guest has no idea of content, or topics is really worthless and for that I tend to agree with the masses.

[∞ ConqueringWolf ∞]

Whew, I thought Enchant had gone whacky

I have to agree that guests must log in mode is a very bad thing. Most people are not going to go through the effort of registering with your forum to even see what kind of content you have on the forum and if they want to be a part of it or not. It is more than enough to keep sensitive areas set to members only as I have that even on my own forum, but you need to keep at least part of the forum open to guests so they can see if they would even be interested in what your forum has to offer. You could lose a lot of potential members if you force them to register and they don't even look at your forum because of it.

[buttonpresser]

I agree with Conquering Wolf. Sometimes, if you even get a guest, than they won't bother to register just to look at what the forum holds. BUt, there is a rare occassion that some guests will be so enticed by teh sample of colors that are seen on that login page that they join, but once again it is very rare. I am annoyed when people who want there board rated post it in GOAYB but have it in that mode, they are basically asking you to join.

[Anselm]

I find Guests Must Login as a bad idea. I like to let guests see my forum and the content before. Things do get ripped all of the time, so I really wouldn't protect my forum because of that.

The only reason I'd see a reason to enable it is on a private board. Then, you don't want guests seeing the content.

[Bones]

I strongly discourage it, it looks desperate, the only instances where it is fine is if you've had alot of work/graphics or anything stolen for your forum like Enchant (Though i think with you Enchant it's a unique case, you are one of the unfortunate who has had alot stolen and i do think it makes you slightly biased here. You're doing it for the right reasons, but i think your view is slightly biased based on your own experiences)

The only forums I've kept where they must login are forums that contain art, fan-fics and the like but that's understandable to protect our member's work and an no way can be put in the same basket, period. On occasion I've had a general forum on my board private, but at the members request due to sensitive information or personal stuff as most of my forums are very very close communities. That notwithstanding, 98% of all my forums are guest viewable and that has always been the way.

I personally would never make an entire forum of mine entirely so that guests must login/register before they see the board, it can be very off-putting.

[Satai Delenn]

I don't like the idea of forcing Guests to log-in/register. It makes the board seem unfriendly and why would someone want to be part of a board like that? The only exception I have for that is if you are in a gaming situation such as KOC (Kings Of Chaos) or Fall of Empires or some such thing like that. Then I can understand having private sections where non-members cannot see things. There are too many spies in games like that and "clans" need some protection from their enemies so that's the only instance I can see for having closed off sections.

[varas]

I used to think it was a good way to get members, but after a very short period of thought, realized that most guests that would come to my forum and see that, would think i was desperate for members (which I was) and that would drive them away. And also, I agree that people hardly ever join forums without knowing what the content on it is. If it was put in guests must login mode, the few people that did register would probably only do it to see what was on your board, then leave. I can't find any good reason to use it, and if they wanted to steal your stuff, it wouldnt' take much for them to log in.

I'm against it.

[pcdude]

I don't like leaving mine in Guests Must Log-in mode. In my opinion you can't get guests interested in your forum if they can't browse through its content. I know I personally wouldn't register at a forum if I wasn't allowed to see what it had to offer beforehand. I've also found that leaving your board in Guests Must Log-In mode is a good way to get inactive members. They log in one time, and then you never see them again. To me, allowing guests to freely browse about will result in having members that are there because they want to be there, not because they were forced to be.

[mrsyukisohma]

Closing your forums completely from guests will not solve plegiarism. Your forum can be plegiarized from members that are apart of your forum. I hate boards that are closed off from guests, because I want to see what the forum looks like first. I don't want to waste my time logging in, see the board, and end up not liking it. That's a waste of time. You can lose members by this.

[Foozlebootz]

We have tried the different options, including a 'guest book' so guests could ask questions that might help them decided if they wanted to join or not. All that got us was Chinese spam. So now guests can view most boards on my site, but cannot post.