Can we make Somersoft a private forum?

Perp

Perp

I would prefer to have the Somersoft forums only viewable by members. Why?

1) I've encountered, when organising get-togethers here in Brisbane, that lots of members forget to sign in when viewing the forum, because they can view without signing in. Then they miss out on private messages and are disappointed that they miss out on things. If they had to sign in to view, it'd remind them to do so, and they'd get their PMs. :)

2) I may be mistaken, but I believe that limiting the forum to members only would prevent forum content from showing up in search engine results, which would be a big enhancement to our privacy.

3) Privacy again... We share some pretty personal stuff sometimes - and it's good to feel free to do so. Yes, anybody can sign up, and it's still not "private", but if the forum's only viewable to members, it'd still restrict the info on here to tens of thousands of people, rather than "the universe".

4) It wouldn't prevent but may deter some trolling (though thankfully that doesn't seem to be a big problem right now).

In short, I see some significant potential advantages, and no disadvantages. But perhaps I've missed some advantage of being publicly viewable... :confused:

Thoughts???
 
In principal I would agree that a 'private' forum would be better from a privacy point of view.

Regarding contacting your social group - They should have received an email advising a PM so really there is no excuse.;)

The problem I see with having a private forum is that it would reduce new membership. I imagine that presently a lot of new lurkers and eventual new members find us through search engines if SS were a private forum the search engine entries would no longer be there to find thus over time reducing new entrants to the forum.

With a reduced new membership ovver time the forum will loose it richness and diversification of views and eventually die.

Cheers
 
handyandy said:
Regarding contacting your social group - They should have received an email advising a PM so really there is no excuse.;)
Click to expand...
True, if they have that selected in their options - I'll remind them to set their options to be notified of new PMs. :)
handyandy said:
The problem I see with having a private forum is that it would reduce new membership.
Click to expand...
Good point, I hadn't really thought of that. Perhaps we could have the forum set up so that we show up in search engine results insofar as you can see that the forum has a post containing all your search words, but can only view that post by joining the forum and signing in. I've seen other forums that work in this manner, so it must be technically possible.

Thanks for highlighting this point, handyandy; those of us who've discovered Somersoft must remember those who haven't yet been so lucky. ;)
 
ozperp said:
...would prevent forum content from showing up in search engine results...
Click to expand...

This may be misguided, but I'm guessing this forum would have been initially created to increase awareness of the Somersoft brand.

Having, 'no search engines' would be detrimental to that purpose.

In addition, members who don't log in to view PMs and end up missing out on events, should eventually learn their lesson.
 
I don't think making the forum private would remove much risk. Why? Because any additional privacy would be offset by members enticed to reveal more private information on the 'private' forum. However, anyone could still join the forum with minimal personal information.

The greatest advantage might be that content is not automatically googled. Though I believed a forum administrator can set code that stops spiderbots.
 
I never would have found Somersoft without a hit from a search engine.
Is the email notification for PM's on by default? Mine was off, so I've changed it.
Without new potential members being able to find Somersoft, we lose diversification over time and they lose the benefit of our depth of experience, which we are all willing to share with them.
 
I've seen other forums manage quite well with some public and some private sections, as well as some that you can read once you've signed up but you can't post to until you are approved. Works quite well for the forum I'm thinking of, they maintain a high standard of posters and still have lots of new signups.
 
This forum is a dictatorship - not a democracy.

Ian runs the show, he pays the bills and hence it's his forum.

Whatever he wants - he gets. Whatever he doesn't want - doesn't happen.

All you need to do is ask him. The big question is - what does he want and is there anything in your proposal to aid him and his objectives.

His answer will either be yes or no.

Quite simple really. :)
 
Dazz said:
This forum is a dictatorship - not a democracy.

Ian runs the show, he pays the bills and hence it's his forum.

Whatever he wants - he gets. Whatever he doesn't want - doesn't happen.

All you need to do is ask him. The big question is - what does he want and is there anything in your proposal to aid him and his objectives.

His answer will either be yes or no.

Quite simple really. :)
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Concur with all. My initial post - given that this is in "Help and feedbacK" - was directed to the mods, asking if they knew whether Ian had made a conscious decision for the forum to be open, or otherwise. Of course, if Ian/mods don't have a strong preference either way, it would be great to hear what other members think. But I wasn't intending to suggest that it was my or our decision to make! :eek:

If we had the forum set up such that search engines showed that Somersoft had matching posts for keywords, but that searchers still had to sign up in order to go on to view those posts, we'd have lost very little in terms of publicity. And Somersoft would boost its membership, which if Ian is interested in Somersoft as a promotional tool, would help further those aims.

If we don't go the "have to sign in to view" road, perhaps we could look at changing the default setting such that you DO receive an email if you get a PM. Obviously people could then change it if they found it annoying, but it would minimise the number of people who have no idea they have PMs sitting waiting for them... :)
 
If we had the forum set up such that search engines showed that Somersoft had matching posts for keywords, but that searchers still had to sign up in order to go on to view those posts, we'd have lost very little in terms of publicity. And Somersoft would boost its membership, which if Ian is interested in Somersoft as a promotional tool, would help further those aims.
Click to expand...

Have you ever seen a search result on google that you can't then go and see? I don't think I have.

Making it member only viewing would result in way way less users. Even if people knew that there was a somersoft property investment forum, many people don't or can't be bothered joining unless they have an idea if it is worth the hassle (ie. is the content any good). I'd be amazed if this forum went completely private. On the other hand, having some sections dedicated for members only might work. If there is enough demand for it?
 
My vote is to leave it As is.........

I believe the purpose of the forum is to inform, inspire and intrigue any that may stumble across it.

Many may not register/.................indeed I know of many many lurkers that view but arent members

ta
rolf
 
s_t said:
Have you ever seen a search result on google that you can't then go and see? I don't think I have.
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Hi

I'd say over 90% of published academic papers fall into this category where you are unable to see the paper and at best an abstract. Also a lot of private forums as well. I suppose it depends where and what you are looking at?

If you wanted to create a private forum you could either set your own up or create a yahoo group. Their access is limited by the moderator who vets all applications to join.

Of course we could be patient and wait a year or so until the credit crisis has passed and properties have been flat for a while. By then the D&G will have bought their 40% off specufestor home in Western Sydney and the tone of the forum will have changed.

:D

I have to agree with Rolf. I spent many years lurking without contributing.

Cheers

Shane
 
I'm amazed that none of my farming mates have come across my 'TC's farm thread' yet. Any of my neighbours withing 20 k's would quickly work out who TC is. I've been waiting for one of them to dig me in the ribs and have a laugh about me posting all that farm stuff to a bunch of mainly city people. But not a one has found it yet.

Google mustn't display somersoft prominantly on it's searches. That's fine by me.

See ya's.
 
I think it is great the way it is. There are plenty of people that use the forum and get great information from it. If it aint borken don't fix it.
 
Sim said:
Sim' looks at Rixter, then at the cracks in the walls and mutters something about dodgy foundations.


:p


:D
Click to expand...

Rixter looks at Sim, then at the walls and mutters something about who's been around longer and's qualified to conduct the inspection.

:p


:D
 
One suggestion could be to enable automatic login by checking the Remember Me check box. (I think that's what it is called)

Only the first time when I became a member I logged in. Since then every time I hit my bookmarked somersoft forums link it automatically signs me in. Works quite well.

Once logged in apart from being able to view your PM, I like the New Posts link. It tells you all the new posts since the last time you logged in.

Cheers,
Oracle.
 
I think making SomerSoft a members only forum is a great idea.

This will keep the time wasters out.

I am a member of a members only forum and I pay $2.00 Per Month to have access to it.

Id pay for the privilege to come in here..

Cheers

Mick
 
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