Do you think keeping a hidden section is a good idea for a forum?

[Claraviolet]

I am sure many forums got these sections.
I am talking about spam sections, VIP sections, staff sections etc., There are many forums which try to give access only to a few members, for these sections.
Do you think it's a good idea? I am sure crawlers can't access them most of the time anyway.
They are added in the statistics but they are not accessible. I am sure that's not a good thing to do.

 

[ossai]

It is a good idea, because when the importance of a thing is not know abuse is inevitable. And what you earn with money, you will surely get it and protect it , and you always want to post what is relevant in the forum.

 

[Good-Person]

I believe it is a good idea because it encourages members to buy upgraded memberships on the forum. It also shows that a forum can offer some extra features to its members. This might also include posting on the forum and earning much higher than many other members of the forum who do not have access to that area. From Search Engine Optimization point of view, I think it might negatively affect because some pages might not rank in Google or other search engines. This is because such a section is obviously not available to general public and it's not even available to ordinary members of the forum. So it might have an effect on search engine rankings.

 

[Seun4luv]

Well, the purpose of forum is to engage different groups of the same space together so they discuss some topic or give the opinion about something or provide useful information that can help another person or group and solve their problems or doubts, etc.

 

[Sake]

It is a good idea. Like when a forum has some hidden forum only for some.members who achieved a certain award or so. And maybe have some rewarding things inside like a higher pay than those outside maybe? To get users to effort more so they too can access the hidden sections. It makes it more fun somehow

 

[Royalty]

It could be a good idea depending on what your goal was from the beginning.
By hiding topics, uou can control which topics users can access at different times throughout the course.

 

[Johnbami]

I think i get what you trying to do. But I must say for most froums been a VIP is really what they want then they have to make it look special so yes I don't really see anything wrong in it for me. If you want to access it get the special package

 

[Kane]

I don't see any point of having a hidden section in a forum except that charging some fees for the members to access content. I don't believe in charging for content because content should be always free.

 

[Justin]

having a hidden section can be beneficial only on the forums with a very large members and a ,lot of content where people are willing to pay additional fees to access the hidden section. This is just an assumption.

 

[Ayokex]

Well, every forum still reserves the right to limit access to free members since some members have decided to pay for better services. The fact that the forum is opened for anyone to make money for free is a good gesture. If any member decides to enjoy better services then it may attract some payment.

 

[Shigobad20201]

I am sure many forums got these sections.
I am talking about spam sections, VIP sections, staff sections etc., There are many forums which try to give access only to a few members, for these sections.
Do you think it's a good idea? I am sure crawlers can't access them most of the time anyway.
They are added in the statistics but they are not accessible. I am sure that's not a good thing to do.

Keeping a space or a section on the forum like spam section , VIP sections for example is a good idea, I believe there are many spam on the forum that needs to be keep from the members.

 

[Alexandoy]

The forum in our office website has a board for the spams. We do not delete spam posts and we just keep it in the spam board. From what I remember there were hundreds of spam posts. The spam board is accessible only to the admin (that's me) and the mods. At least we can check on the spam posts if they are duplicates which means the spammer has registered a new account again.

 

[joy101]

I think it is good idea to keep section in your forum because it will help one to build their forum well, and it will open way in your forum to make money from it.

 

[GIFTMICHAEL]

Even in the office job, not all.employees or staffs have access to some hidden section in the company. Some high hierarchy staffs occupy are mainly allowed in that section, same applies to forum. Forums have staffs, and VIP members, so some sections here, will be limited to normal members. Life is all about rules, and steps in order to climb to higher hierarchy.

 

[Ralphjoe]

Keeping and an hidden section on a forum is not a good idea for a forum because that can make the integrity and transparency of your forum to be questioned by your members.

 

[Jhayms07]

Well I think it depends on the goal aimed. It is sometimes good for credibility and make the site look more efficient and gives users the curiosity and many would opt in for that

 

[Dagm1]

It is actually a smart idea. Like when a online discussion forum has actually some covert online discussion forum just for some.participants that accomplished a specific honor or two. As well as perhaps have actually some gratifying points within like a greater pay out compared to those outdoors perhaps? To obtain individuals to initiative they as well can easily accessibility the covert areas. It creates it more enjoyable in some way

 

[Heatman]

This is actually my very first time of hearing about a website or a forum having a hidden section because it is not something that sounds very familiar or even feasible for me.

 

[Ub40]

I don't know why you said it is not a good idea but to me I think the forum admin(s) have the discretion to make the said sections accessible by other members or not. To me, I don't see anything wrong with it as it will encourage members to buy membership just as someone already stated above. And this is also a means of making money for the forum. It is just my opinion though.

 

[Trexxxy]

Yeah sure it is a good idea, even this forum has something like that. There has to be sections that people can't access that only the webmaster and the staffs can access.