Pending membership questions

[ZandraJoi]

Hello! I have since made registration restricted & put in 2 simple questions to weed out spam.
What do you hope to achieve or benefit from by joining this group?
How did you hear of Holistic, Organic, Secular and Tolerant?
I also put: No response will be automatic decline. I will approve or deny within 7 days.

I got a new member who didn’t answer. I have Allow Request Message set to Yes & already had a member before who signed up & wrote a response so I know it’s working.
The IP is okay. Similar to rules that I asked about, do we be strict? Do I email the person?

The second question is because I’m advertising in several places & would like to know if some places are actually working. The first question is because when I had open registration, I had people join to cause trouble.

Thank you all!

[Kami]

If you say "no response is an automatic decline" I do not see why you are asking this question (:

[ZandraJoi]

LOL Just wanted people's take on it is all!

[Kami]

Aug 12, 2020 6:30:04 GMT -8 ZandraJoi said:

LOL Just wanted people's take on it is all!

:P I mean here is the thing: you made a policy on your forum, and someone didn't follow it. We talked before about enforcing rules (or a free pass) equally. Be consistent.

Your policy is to deny people who don't submit an answer. Are you willing to email every single person who doesn't? Imagine, for a moment, that your forum becomes popular. Is this behaviour sustainable and scalable?

My take: if people don't read the registration question, how can I trust them to read anything else?

[ZandraJoi]

Very good points! Being new to the forums it's hard for me to think ahead. So I ask for 'words from the wise' aka people here who have had forums for a long time lol

[Kami]

Aug 12, 2020 7:32:54 GMT -8 ZandraJoi said:

Very good points! Being new to the forums it's hard for me to think ahead. So I ask for 'words from the wise' aka people here who have had forums for a long time lol

my general tips would be:

1. be consistent. if you say something, follow through. if you decide that certain things get a free pass or two, have it apply globally.
2. be member-focused. think about how actions and policies will impact your member experience. if you were a member, how would you feel about x?
3. be forward thinking. chances are, your forum won't be the next internet sensation. but is what you are doing sustainable and scaleable as you hit 10 members? 20? 50? 100? Even more?
4. be transparent. you don't need to disclose everything but you should be open about why you do things. this includes not defaulting to a "because i said so" attitude, if asked (though sometimes it's needed, just don't default to it).
5. be personable. you're a member before you are an admin. there will always be a divide between you and your members, but shrinking the divide is key to building trust and a healthy atmosphere.

[ZandraJoi]

Thank you for that!

[Retread]

Aug 12, 2020 6:06:06 GMT -8 ZandraJoi said:

Hello! I have since made registration restricted & put in 2 simple questions to weed out spam.
What do you hope to achieve or benefit from by joining this group?
How did you hear of Holistic, Organic, Secular and Tolerant?

I agree with Kami . If you state that not answering will result in an automatic rejection, you should simply reject the application.

But you should also think about this from a registrant's point of view. With open registration, one simply enters their email and selects a username, then submits. They then go to their email, follow the link to complete the process and they can immediately begin posting.

Restricted registration adds more to the process. Hurdles they may not have expected. It's already a turn-off for many prospective members, even without the question and answer. The second question is rather benign. I think almost everyone would be comfortable answering that.

However, the first question sounds more like something one would hear during a job interview. I reckon some people will be put off by that and just stop right there. They may have thought they'd just want to join the conversation or begin one of their own, but think an answer like that might not meet your standards.

If you're not concerned with weeding those people out, just leave the first question as-is. If that does cause you some concern, consider removing or changing the first question.

[ZandraJoi]

Thank you Retread for your input as well!
I had too many spammers that is why I went to Restricted.
The reason I have that first question is ‘cos mine is not just general chat & games. It’s on the secular, holistic side which tends to spark debate. I’ve registered at forums where I had to answer questions. I willingly did so ‘cos it made me feel like I would be cared for there & not just another number.
I’ll keep all these points in mind & adjust accordingly.

[Kami]

Aug 18, 2020 17:29:05 GMT -8 ZandraJoi said:

Thank you Retread for your input as well!
I had too many spammers that is why I went to Restricted.
The reason I have that first question is ‘cos mine is not just general chat & games. It’s on the secular, holistic side which tends to spark debate. I’ve registered at forums where I had to answer questions. I willingly did so ‘cos it made me feel like I would be cared for there & not just another number.
I’ll keep all these points in mind & adjust accordingly.

Spammers are generally kept at bay with the following board settings:

Who can view: Everyone
Who can access: Everyone
Who can create threads: Members & Staff
Who can create polls: Members & Staff

I know we've discussed this before, but you can also create something more specific to avoid allowing people posting before they fulfill certain conditions, by limiting posting to a single board and setting who can create threads/polls to "custom" and enforcing a minimum post count requirement. You can also enable the EXPERIMENTS option in your admin panel to force all new users into a particular group, that allows for viewing but not posting and you can manually remove them from the group once you vet their membership via PM or something.

I would say restricted registration is a last resort, or if there is an actual purpose to it that affects the running of your forum (EG: multiplayer video game forums that require you to provide your in-game name in order to join).

[Retread]

Aug 18, 2020 17:29:05 GMT -8 ZandraJoi said:

I had too many spammers that is why I went to Restricted.

Spam can be a bit of a nuisance but it's easily managed. Setting your boards such that guests can't create threads and reply to threads will filter out many (but not all) spammers.

Those who do bother to create an account and post their advertising can be easily dealt with. Ban them in all ways, including by IP, and remove their posts from public view (move to staff-only board or delete). If you have some staff members to assist you, the spam won't be visible for very long.

Managing spam can also be a good way to bring some members onto your staff who may later prove to be valuable in improving your forum. If you create a group with global power to only move threads and posts, they can't cause any irreversible damage. This gives them an opportunity to serve without much risk to the forum. They would move the spam out of public view, and you or other senior staff members would handle the banning.

Restricted registration does prevent most of the spammers who do create an account. They want quick results so it's unlikely they'll bother to return after their account is approved. But there is a cost. You also filter out some potential members.

Aug 18, 2020 17:29:05 GMT -8 ZandraJoi said:

I’ll keep all these points in mind & adjust accordingly.

Of course. Understanding the function and effects of the various tools is important. After that, each forum owner will decide which course of action best suits their wants and needs.

[ZandraJoi]

Kami That’s good to know Re: Experiments option. I’ll keep that in mind.
Retread Thank you for explaining more on spammers & staff members & their powers.

[Former Member]

Aug 18, 2020 7:36:22 GMT -8 Retread said:

I agree with Kami . If you state that not answering will result in an automatic rejection, you should simply reject the application.

I am not sure how relevant this thread still is, but here is what I think:

I agree with having the "No response will be automatic decline" added, because otherwise, how would the prospective member know why he or she has been rejected. This way they know what's coming.

I don't agree with the "within 7 days" wait though. Far too long a time. The admin should check their forum at least once or twice a day, to see if someone posted, and if someone registered.

I don't use restricted registration, but add a "Welcome" PM that tells new members to introduce themselves before going anywhere else. It's not asked too much, but for some reason there are new members who don't do that. They come on again and again, and don't post at all. So now I delete a new member if they have been on twice and not bothered to post. If they do post, but don't introduce themselves, I would send them a PM, asking them to do so. It's just something I like members do, to break the ice.

[ZandraJoi]

Valdy I have changed it from 7 to 3 days. Thank you for your added sense/cents