Closed access forums

[Martee]

By this, I mean forums that restrict what you can do as a guest and you must register to see even the basic stuff. I can't tell you how many sites I've exited due to the fact I can't see what the heck is on there.

I understand in a sense why they do it but do they realise it turns people away and doesn't entice them in? What do you think of these forums?

 

[flame]

i think it depends on their intended purpose - lots i have see like that are concerned with quite personal areas and some even have an invitation only policy to join - you can find them but not get into them unless invited. where they are for things like mental health, victims of crime, etc i see the point of it - where they are something general or non-personal then the closed door is massively off putting

i mean i had real issues with this when running my forum when people were being naughty - and would find that boards i was making private were being made private because i was not comfortable with joe bloggs reading them which gave me to consider how i was running said forum.

what about the ones who have some areas members only like say the social area - so visitors can come and read the discussions and topics on the main boards but cannot see the members chatting about ordinary stuff unless they join - do you think that is a good idea?

 

[Sam1]

By this, I mean forums that restrict what you can do as a guest and you must register to see even the basic stuff. I can't tell you how many sites I've exited due to the fact I can't see what the heck is on there.

I understand in a sense why they do it but do they realise it turns people away and doesn't entice them in? What do you think of these forums?

ANNOYING!

But there is a purpose to it, a lot of the time the forums are about hacking or blackhat stuff.

 

[shadowslight]

By this, I mean forums that restrict what you can do as a guest and you must register to see even the basic stuff. I can't tell you how many sites I've exited due to the fact I can't see what the heck is on there.

I understand in a sense why they do it but do they realise it turns people away and doesn't entice them in? What do you think of these forums?

I believe in this to a minimum. On my site i have guests able to see most the board, but can see even more when registered as a user

 

[Southern Comfort]

I say let them see the forums, then hack their coompooters so day cn nvr lve lol!

Naw, I exit faster than lightning when I can't see ANYTHING. I can understand when a forum blocks people from viewing like galleries and certain forums, but a lot of the time people implement it wrong.