Strategies Guests vs. Members: Unlocking the Power of Anonymity in Forums

[Cedric]

I've noticed something interesting in our forum lately, and it got me thinking. I’ve seen a few members that sometimes tend to lurk around as guests and only log in when we want to post or reply.

But why is that? What's the psychology behind it, and does it affect the dynamics of our community?

Let's dive into this topic together and explore the pros and cons of viewing the forum as a guest versus logging in as a member. Is lurking as a guest a way to maintain anonymity and privacy while still benefiting from the forum's knowledge? Or does it sometimes lead to missed opportunities for meaningful connections and engagement?

I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences on this. Do you prefer to stay anonymous, or do you think being an active member adds more value to your forum experience? Share your insights and stories – let's spark a discussion that helps us all understand our forum's dynamics better!

 

[Spartan]

Some forums limit the content you can see as a guest, that’s the biggest con of being a guest imo.

There’s ways to stay anonymous if you really are concerned about it, so while it may be a factor in not signing up I don’t think it would be a deciding factor. Depending on the niche if you can see the content they may just be no point to sign up unless you feel like contributing.

 

[Cedric]

Some forums limit the content you can see as a guest, that’s the biggest con of being a guest imo.

There’s ways to stay anonymous if you really are concerned about it, so while it may be a factor in not signing up I don’t think it would be a deciding factor. Depending on the niche if you can see the content they may just be no point to sign up unless you feel like contributing.

I wasn’t talking about guest viewing when you have no account. I was talking about existing members viewing as a guest and logging in to the thread they want to post to.

I’ve seen this by at least two members on AJ. Which I’m not going to tag without permission. But I’m curious to to the reason of this behavior.

 

[Sinistra]

Could be you are lurking to see if someone is online that you are trying to avoid or trying to see if they are avoiding you. But I do agree there are other ways to lurk and stay logged in.

 

[Spartan]

I wasn’t talking about guest viewing when you have no account. I was talking about existing members viewing as a guest and logging in to the thread they want to post to.

I’ve seen this by at least two members on AJ. Which I’m not going to tag without permission. But I’m curious to to the reason of this behavior.

Awhh okay maybe, it’s possible they log out after every session and only log back in when they're ready to post on a topic

 

[Cedric]

Awhh okay maybe, it’s possible they log out after every session and only log back in when they're ready to post on a topic

Yes, that’s indeed the purpose. But why ? 😀 I’m a curious type of person so I saw that happening a few times and can’t help but wonder why. So I’ve PM’ed the persons that do this technique. Hoping they are gonna answer and explain. ☺️

 

[Tracy]

was talking about existing members viewing as a guest and logging in to the thread they want to post to.

I’ve seen this by at least two members on AJ. Which I’m not going to tag without permission. But I’m curious to to the reason of this behavior.

Extra steps needed to log in compared to being able to simply view? I generally log out if I am going to close the tab, otherwise I leave it open and logged in.
With XF, you can enable post as guest, and guests can reply to a post (and be made to register before it gets posted) or if the "guest" is a normal user, they post and then use their account to sign in with when prompted by XF to sign up/in due to the guest posting.

 

[Ravenfreak]

Depending on the niche of the forum, these guests could be browsing the forums for an answer to a question they searched for on Google. This is why forums are still needed on the internet and why they're not going away anytime soon. Especially since Reddit recently had a blackout when many subreddits went private. If this happens again, as long as the owners of specific forums are still around their forums will be too and all that information. Also, I tend to lurk on forums I like before joining so I can get a feel for how the forum is set up. When the time is right, I'll join a forum that interests me. I did come across a forum recently that allowed guest posting, which I thought was interesting. It also wasn't filled with spam either, and the staff answered guests questions. It's a wiccan forum hosted on Proboards, I can't think of the name of it off the top of my head though. Going back to the Reddit thing, honestly the reason why Reddit is probably so popular these days is because people don't have to sign up on a bunch of different websites to get the information they're looking for, as long as they have one account they get access to thousands of communities. Perhaps that's the reason why there are tons of guests on forums that never sign up.

 

[ClicketyKat]

I've noticed something interesting in our forum lately, and it got me thinking. I’ve seen a few members that sometimes tend to lurk around as guests and only log in when we want to post or reply.

But why is that? What's the psychology behind it, and does it affect the dynamics of our community?

Let's dive into this topic together and explore the pros and cons of viewing the forum as a guest versus logging in as a member. Is lurking as a guest a way to maintain anonymity and privacy while still benefiting from the forum's knowledge? Or does it sometimes lead to missed opportunities for meaningful connections and engagement?

I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences on this. Do you prefer to stay anonymous, or do you think being an active member adds more value to your forum experience? Share your insights and stories – let's spark a discussion that helps us all understand our forum's dynamics better!

I lurk when I'm on my phone. I don't log into sites while I'm on my phone and it's a habit I prefer to maintain. It has nothing to do with the site, whether I like it or not, I just want to go and read things at times, such as if I'm waiting for a doctor's appointment and stuck in the office or in the waiting room. It helps me catch up on topics.

In the evening I browse on my phone while my husband and I are watching tv. I noticed that the topic here was also brought up about members who browse threads and then login to post on that thread. I've done that. It's not a big deal. Sometimes I browse to see if there is a thread that interests me before I attempt to do any login, and this has nothing against anyone on the site or the site itself.

There are also times when I equate logging in as the same level as walking into a store. The store keepers expect you to purchase something. In turn, the staff on forums are hoping you post. If I have nothing to reply to, I feel I've let someone down...just like with a store when I walk out empty. Can anyone relate to that?