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Post by rsmith on Feb 23, 2009 21:10:52 GMT -5
I light of my recent near scam I was wondering what you all thought about not allowing guests to view without creating an account. Also requiring all guests to be approved by the moderator. Regardless, I have hidden my e-mail address in my profile. The way things are currently, we are vulnerable to scammers. Give me some feedback. I think I have admin. rights to make this happen.
We may also need to clean some old accounts out.
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Post by rsmith on Feb 23, 2009 21:30:09 GMT -5
I just deleted approximately 200 old accounts that have not been logged into for the past 365 days.
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Post by krimes13 on Feb 24, 2009 0:16:57 GMT -5
I know that I wouldn't be offended by being bumped off of a site that I hadn't logged into for over a year. Obviously, they have either moved away or lost interest. Thanks for doing some housekeeping.  I also have had a scam attempt. ( phoney cashier's check from Canada ) You definetly want to see cash in hand before any legalities take place!!! |
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Post by jharfst on Feb 24, 2009 1:23:43 GMT -5
Ya know. I'm kinda torn about this.
On one hand I like being able to browse amd search the web and gain information and learn how to do stuff by browsing forums that I have no intention of participating in; just looking for info/ideas and howto's. An open forum makes that easily possible and lets the information flow freely.
On the other hand, the bad guys let the info flow too freely and many times can take advantage of unsuspecting individuals. As a computer/IT guy by profession that has seen just about every computer related scam, trojan, virus, etc., I tend to treat my personal info with care and are quite wary about almost anything I receive by computer means and cautious proceeding with a transaction where I don't know (i.e. met in person) the individual I am dealing with.
Weighing all that, I guess the gavel falls to the cautious side and I vote to close the sucker down.
-jim
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Post by rsmith on Feb 24, 2009 8:45:15 GMT -5
Ya know. I'm kinda torn about this. On one hand I like being able to browse amd search the web and gain information and learn how to do stuff by browsing forums that I have no intention of participating in; just looking for info/ideas and howto's. An open forum makes that easily possible and lets the information flow freely. On the other hand, the bad guys let the info flow too freely and many times can take advantage of unsuspecting individuals. As a computer/IT guy by profession that has seen just about every computer related scam, trojan, virus, etc., I tend to treat my personal info with care and are quite wary about almost anything I receive by computer means and cautious proceeding with a transaction where I don't know (i.e. met in person) the individual I am dealing with. Weighing all that, I guess the gavel falls to the cautious side and I vote to close the sucker down. -jim Jim I am with you on this. That is why I threw it out there for discussion. I am like you and desire to glean information freely. I despise having to give information to sign up for accounts at every forum. I usually end up passing it by if I have to sign up. Do you think this action will have a negative impact on the "membership"? Should we take another route and hide and delete personal information such as e-mail and threads with contact information? I do not want to stifle discussion and the pursuit of knowledge. I may be convinced to change my vote. |
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Post by jharfst on Feb 24, 2009 18:02:40 GMT -5
Jim I am with you on this. That is why I threw it out there for discussion. I am like you and desire to glean information freely. I despise having to give information to sign up for accounts at every forum. I usually end up passing it by if I have to sign up. Do you think this action will have a negative impact on the "membership"? Rob, here is my train (wreck) of thought of how my vote fell to the lock down side and comments on your thoughts: 1.) Some view a discussion board (like many other web constructs) like a public place. Not much different than a city park or mall. People gather and have discussions with no/limited expectations of privacy. If you overhear a discussion (browsing forum) then you introduce yourself (sign up) and join in the conversation. People are advised, but don't a lot of times, to take the same precautions on a discussion board as they would do in that public place with their personal info. Other boards treat themselves like a country club (gotta sign up to play; sometimes a cost involved, entry guarded). Country club type groups are usually designed to keep the population limited or weed out unwanted individuals. On a discussion board, those would be the scammers. By locking it down, you do lose some of that "public, everything in the open" feel (and the chance that BillaVista would stumble upon your discussion, sign up, and offer true wisdom), but you'd then also kinda offer some protection and keep the 'feel' more intimate (in a close friend kind of way; not a lovey-dovey kind of way). 2.) Whether to lock down or not can depend on the scope of the intended audience. I don't think a local/regional board like this one would be harmed, membership or otherwise, much by locking down. Most people here are in the local (MS) area, hang out often, generally go wheeling/visit each other in person, share in local stories, etc. Given this, someone in the area wanting to join in the fun would sign up anyway. Our conversations would not generally be attractive to Arizona 4x4 clubs and that's ok. A national board like Pirate 4x4 lends itself to being more open as people from all walks and locations visit there and the discussion focus and nature is generally quite different. ...I despise having to give information to sign up for accounts at every forum. I usually end up passing it by if I have to sign up. ... I do not want to stifle discussion and the pursuit of knowledge. I may be convinced to change my vote. 3.) I don't think you'll stifle discussion as someone could just sign up in order to add to it. I agree that I am more apt to pass by a forum if I am required to sign up, but that is usually when someone posts a link onto another forum that I am a member of that piques my curiosity. If I don't intend on ever visiting the forum in the posted link again, then I'll generally pass by; probably not worth the time. If I intend on visiting again, then I'll sign up. To attract new people is what the general web site (outside of the confines of the forum) should be used for. ...Should we take another route and hide and delete personal information such as e-mail and threads with contact information? 4.) I wouldn't want to do anything that would require a significant increase in admin work for the admins (even though I am not one). Anything that would require an admin monitoring and censoring/locking/approving/removing posts with personal info in it would be too much of a pain in the keester. |
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Post by krimes13 on Feb 24, 2009 20:11:21 GMT -5
I wouldn’t be in favor of barring folks from browsing the forum. I was, although, in favor for clearing out some unused accounts that may be cluttering up server space.
I believe that the site is already set up so that someone can’t post to a thread without being logged in. I feel that someone also shouldn’t be able to view the profile pages if they are not logged in. That may already be the case.
As Jim said, this is more of a local/regional forum and there isn’t near as much traffic as the national sites. That being said, and correct me if I am wrong (because I don’t know how much it takes to keep up a site like this) it doesn’t seem that it would be a big deal for new accounts to be “verified” by a moderator. Of course the person wouldn’t be able to post a reply until a moderator got a chance to check out their info.
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Post by MyNameIsMud on Feb 25, 2009 18:42:03 GMT -5
I would prefer us not to lock casual observers out of the forums. Our membership is too small anyway. I would hate to see us do anything that may chase new folks away. I like the option of just hiding all personal information.
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Post by bcjeep on Feb 25, 2009 22:52:19 GMT -5
i am leaning toward the hide personal info.
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Post by Busted Knuckle Racing on Mar 2, 2009 16:57:02 GMT -5
I have made some changes that I believe will be a comprimise. I have made it where the for sale and wanted forums require that you be logged in to read. The rest of the forums will be able to be viewed by everyone.
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