[Debate] Guests Must Log-In

[catfish]

With the exception of a staff only board and one or two member only ones

I cannot see the point of not allowing guests to view the posts unless for some reason you do not wish new members to join
Certainly, I would never join a board unless I could see some of the threads
Only then can I decide if I like it or not
Even if I know what type of board, it is and it covers the subjects that interest me
I still want to see some of the threads so that I can decide if I like the way they are covered

[Reverie]

It's a horrible idea...I've been to many forums where they made it to guests must log-in, and honestly, i can say, i didn't bother registering to look at the forum. It's important you let the guest look at you're forum to see what kind of boards you have, what kind of members you have, as well as the content of the forum. When I go to a message board i automatically judge it based on the content, whether it appeals to me, and if it's worth joining. I'm not going to go through the hastle of joining just to see if I should stay.

The way i see it is, as a guest, i'm going to be judging whether or not i'm going to join by looking at everything. If there's nothing to look at, i'm not going to waste my time joining and then assessing the site unless it's highly reccomended by a lot of people for some reason.

[zachwad22]

I think that Members must log In should be off- if they can't take a peek around, they're not gonna go through the process just to find out what the heck the board is like.

[Gamoc]

Agreed, if someone doesn't want a guest to post, then they should just modify each board to where only registered members can post. You are more likely to lose members that you could have gained if you don't let them view the forum for most people aren't going to make an account for a forum they might not like.

[Marie-Cris]

I think one of the forums that I run is in Guest Must Log In Mode, but that was the choice of the main admin. We've got a good handful of members; they know what the site will be like by the name and the page design, and then they chose if they want to sign or not.

Problem is, I still want to take it down; I don't like the idea of not being able to see the page itself and a few threads if you're a guest.

The best settings I've found for a forum are to be able to have guests browse through regular threads like those in the general section, those with the latest news updates and so forth, but they can't post. If they want to post, they have to join. I keep a couple of boards "members only" as they contain things like rare pictures, which is something that only members can enjoy.

[progamerfourm]

I currently have my forum Pro Gamer's Forum in "Guests must log in mode." My forum is going through some changes and the appearance isn't to welcoming, so I don't want to scare guests away. Becuase I know when I open it, it will look much nicer and the guests who came before and saw it, won't think to re-visit. But, I have gotten 13 members since doing it. I seriously average 1 a day. But, I will take it off in 3 weeks with the new skin in place.

[Tech Geek]

I like it. With the help of someone else, we made forums on Proboards because a person on forums not moderated by us didn't ban a member that we all hated. We made the new forums, and we made it so he couldn't log in. Since then, the user has been banned from the original forums, but you know what? We still like these better.

Pros	Cons
Keeps annoying members out Keeps privacy Encourages people to join	People may not join You have to log in to see new posts People get annoyed

I like it. Good feature!

[flowerpetal]

having a forum set so guests cant see whats there, is like having a "no candy" sign on your door at halloween - people see it and pass on to the next forum that DOES have something to hand to them

you can set individual boards to be viewed by registered members only, but guests should at least be able to see what the board subjects are to know if the forum really does offer enough to make joining worth the bother

[Drewz]

If a forum won't let me view it before I register, there's no chance I'm going to register. I think it's just plain rude, and I wouldn't know what I'm getting into. I let guests see everything on Submission Bar, I couldn't care less if they stole any of my 'content', it would happen regardless and if an admin rellys on copying my content then their forum isn't going to last long anyway.

[Spozz]

I think it's good to let potential new members view your boards, as people want impressions before they join so to speak. On 'my' forum, we're very happy for people to browse and have a nosey but we've disabled guest posting to prevent WUMs and spammers. Works well

[Thing-Thing]

i used to have "guests must login" on my board, but after realizing how stupid it was, i've removed the guest-block, except for the coolest boards, and of course they can't post, after seeing some guests spam on a forum i'm a member on

[Christ Love]

I personally don't like it, if you want to protect your content from being viewed just make some of the boards only viewable by registered members so your guests can at least see what categories you have to work with and see the look of your board. You can also hide boards and make links to them in a welcome table saying that only members can access the particular areas. There are much better options than completely blocking people from viewing.

[sindyonline]

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.

I have to say that, I'm not in favour of the Guests must log in. I personally believe that if you show your forum and a guest likes what they see then they will join. I don't have my forum hidden with the guests must log in page. I have it open but pages I wish to keep solely for members to view, show up for the guest to see what the board is about but they are not allowed to view it.

I feel that if you can't see a forum to know whether you want to join, you may join and then decide you don't like it. So it is a waste of time really. This I would have thought deters people from joining as they don't know what they are getting into.

I do understand that it's a way of protecting your forum but as stated if they want to steal or cause trouble they will just join and do that anyway.

I have noticed though that the forums that are closed and guests must log in tend to be very quiet, not very active and have basic layout. Of course I could be totally wrong, but do folk do it just to boost their numbers. I must add a forum should be about quality not quantity.

Thanks for reading!

[toddwhite]

I'm new to ProBoards, so forgive this question regarding this topic: Our board was setup where guests had to register to view (although I still see "guests" shown as online at times) - how do I set it up where guests can view but not post?

[zachwad22]

I think that you should not set forced registration, and just limit access to any members-only boards like Advertising and GOAYBs.