Making posts only visible to members.

C

chemlex

Member
Sep 13, 2005
692
1
#1
A lot of forums do not allow non-members to view threads and posts without already being a member. Since registration is quick and easy, people can just register if they just want to read the forum.

The reason this would be very very helpful is it will keep web engine crawlers from getting into our forum and putting it into their search results. A simple google search of "chemlex" reveals all my posts.

If you wanted to change this, it would increase privacy and it would encourage more people to sign up instead of lurking about namelessly.
 
#3
I'll make sure Vlad looks at this... he arrived back in Germany fine but his internet is not working! So once his internet is back up he will look into this. We want all of the readers and the posters to be happy with the site so if you all think this is better we will try it out! I'll let Vlad make the overall decision though (I trust him with computers more than anything), and he will let all of you know what he is doing!
 
#5
Threads will stay open for SEs. Indexing of our forum threads increases our site's exposure and the chance of gaining new members and expanding our community. We get a good amount of SE traffic on our front page already, you'd be surprised what search terms lead to our blog. ;)
 
#6
I will look into options of disabling viewing of non-registered members but keeping the forum open for SE spiders.

Besides chemlex, I do not see a privacy issue with an open forum whatsoever. Your private information such as your email, is not disclosed to the public, and it's along your own measure how much of your personal information you share with the community.

Of course, posting of private details such as real names or addresses, SS numbers and the like of other members is strictly forbidden and will lead to immediate banning of the offender.
 
#7
One last thing before I need to hop off this awful dialup connection:

I don't believe that it's necessary to brute force members into signing up. I believe that it's better to let 'em lurk for a while and silently watch the action. At some point there will be a certain post or thread that the person will want to reply to and the signup will happen at ease. How could the potential member know what he's signing up for anyhow if she can't see what's going on.

I respect the way other forums do it, but here at the PF, I believe that it's an open house... with some restrictions. We don't allow guest posting, if you want to ask questions or give feedback, you have to register.
 
#9
Vlad said:
I don't believe that it's necessary to brute force members into signing up. .
Click to expand...

I honestly don't think having people complete a simple sign up process is brute force. I mean, really? I also don't mind non-registered users lurking the board and reading posts, my main problem was the search engines.

I know that from time to time, people like to talk about the ongoings on their personal lives in forums (like the post I just put about my younger brother and his LSATS). Now that I know how strongly you feel about hiding the forum from search engines, I'll make sure not to do that again.

If you've ever been the victim of cyberstalking, you'd know what I'm talking about. Most people like to use the same internet handle and if someone on another site or forum decides they don't like the person, they can google search the handle and obtain all the information they need for a personal attack.

Since hits are your priority, I see how you can't implement this feature. Thank you for considering it, though.
 
#10
chemlex said:
I honestly don't think having people complete a simple sign up process is brute force. I mean, really? I also don't mind non-registered users lurking the board and reading posts, my main problem was the search engines.

I know that from time to time, people like to talk about the ongoings on their personal lives in forums (like the post I just put about my younger brother and his LSATS). Now that I know how strongly you feel about hiding the forum from search engines, I'll make sure not to do that again.

If you've ever been the victim of cyberstalking, you'd know what I'm talking about. Most people like to use the same internet handle and if someone on another site or forum decides they don't like the person, they can google search the handle and obtain all the information they need for a personal attack.

Since hits are your priority, I see how you can't implement this feature. Thank you for considering it, though.
Click to expand...

I don't think 'hits' are the priority- I think you misunderstood Vlad/he said it wrong. We truly love the forum and the people that have joined- including you. It's nice to build a community and make friends in a way. But many forums are able to be seen by many people. I don't think there is an issue with it unless people personally find an issue with it. It is a hard topic because it is also true that people could simply register and lurk that way too. We are hoping the forum does not attract memembers like that- but stalking is possible in any aspect of life. No worse here that in the community you live in. Vlad and I will discuss this further and try to reach a consensus. Hope this all seems ok!
 
#11
Megs, it is certainly okay - this is your forum and you guys can make it anyway you want.

I was merely making a suggestion that might make community members feel more secure. The only thing that bothered me about Vlad's posts is that getting people to register is "brute force" - I thought that was a bit overdramatic.

Any decision you make on this is fine by me.
 
#12
Brute force was indeed a little strong. My point is that this forum will keep its doors open for everyone to read and see what it has to offer to its members - without needing to register.

As for the search engines and me prioritizing hits for this site:

As every other webmaster out there, I surely do seek the targetted audience out there to find what we have to offer. Every other webmaster on this planet wants the same. I could certainly push banners and paid links on other fashion related sites and pay for each visitor that arrives at our doorstep. But since this is a free site and I am not selling any goods (other than providing information), paid promotion would be a foolish thing to do. Hence, the way for the potential audience to find us happens via natural links from other sites and search engines. If we were out for just the hits, we most certainly would not put the effort, energy, time and money into this site to make it what it is. There is other, much easier ways to push hits.

We are not running a forum with sensitive information that needs to be shielded from the public domain. As I said before, it is up to everyone who participates to judge the kind and amount of information they post by themselves. I strongly encourage any member who has been a victim of stalking or is afraid that such a thing may happen, to closely watch what they share. And that counts for both members-only and freely viewable forums anywhere on the World Wide Web.

Again, we don't want private information such as telephone numbers, addresses, real names etc. shared publicly. In case of mutual interest between members, they can share such info via Private Messaging, if they wish. We enforce our rule that you may not post other member's private information anywhere on our site. We do keep a close eye on what's happening around here and will moderate inappropriate behavior.

Megs and I agree that search engines do not pose a threat to our community and its members, nor do they pose a security risk. Quite the contrary actually. They provide free means of traffic generation, they bring people to a site with contents they look for and I am very confident that they will help this community grow over time by sending more handbag lovers our way! :smile:
 
#13
Yeeesh ... the only concern that I have with non-members lurking about (and reading stuff, obviously) ... is that the 'fakers' have a tendency to do this and will then use this information (oftentimes verbatim!) in their wicked ways of scamming people!!! This is especially true in the Balenciaga bag arena.

I just really feel bad for folks who are scammed by these thieves! :sad2:
 
#14
it is a little irksome that if you type in fayden into google, i immediately pop up in the first ten results from the purse forum. how is it that my posts are "crawlable" in google in the first place?
 
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