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mizgeorge
09-09-2009, 05:50 PM
I just logged out to check what is visible to guests, and it seems that absolutely everything is.

Could consideration be given to closing some boards to non-members - perhaps at the very least the off topic and (for example) swap sign-up threads?

It might even encourage some of the lurkers to register and join in as well :)

EmmaRose
09-09-2009, 05:56 PM
I think you can't post as a guest though??
Em

mizgeorge
09-09-2009, 06:30 PM
No you can't Em, but I have this odd thing about preferring to know (even if they're just made up names on a list) who's reading some things. The informative stuff and on topic threads are fine, it's the chattier ones that bother me somehow. It's pretty standard practice on boards for chat threads to be closed to non-members.

Petal
09-09-2009, 07:10 PM
I agree.

I also think it would be useful if only members were able to view our profile info too.

What do others think about this? Or is this me having a 'mild paranoid attack' ! :D

Jules x

caroleallen
09-09-2009, 07:22 PM
I agree with this as we like to keep our mystique from potential customers and lurkers.

mizgeorge
09-09-2009, 07:29 PM
Jules, I hadn't realised they could see profiles. Now that I really don't like - makes me glad I don't have any personal info on there.

Please don't tell me they can view the member list as well?

Emerald
09-09-2009, 07:29 PM
i set my profile + to forum members only can you still read what has been written even then? willl go and have a look [-X

mizgeorge
09-09-2009, 07:30 PM
Most don't actually seem to bother to say hello anyway ;) I think lots register in the hope of winning some fabulous prize.

Emerald
09-09-2009, 07:31 PM
if you go into profile and profile privacy you can make some things private to members only:)

Petal
09-09-2009, 07:42 PM
Jules, I hadn't realised they could see profiles. Now that I really don't like - makes me glad I don't have any personal info on there.

Please don't tell me they can view the member list as well?

Hiya,
I just logged out too and they can view the members list. Now I don't like that at all [-X On other forums you have to have registered to view the members list.

Jules x

geti-titanium
09-09-2009, 07:44 PM
Most don't actually seem to bother to say hello anyway I think lots register in the hope of winning some fabulous prize.

The vast majority of registrations will be spam bots - automated programs that search out forums to register on and place links to other sites.

amazingbabe
09-09-2009, 08:29 PM
I am totally with you on that one George ....

agent_44
09-09-2009, 08:30 PM
God, yes, I agree!

EmmaRose
09-09-2009, 09:40 PM
Membership cull please! LOL
I agree should be membership only. Someone flag the admin??
Em
(off to find how to set my profile to members only)

Emerald
09-09-2009, 09:44 PM
but anyone can register they dont need to post, so then anyone can see everything so who are you....... who am i, once we register we can see everything, its then up to us wether we post or just look at whats going on and members etc

Emerald
09-09-2009, 09:55 PM
there are as many members on at the moment as guests all but one

mizgeorge
09-09-2009, 10:26 PM
I know Jo, but at least they've got an email address and visible (well to admin anyway) ip address, and can be moderated or removed if admin chooses to do so.

Personally, I would remove all registrations from people who never re-visit the forum (and are likely to be bots or spammers anyway) after 30 days. We do this on one of the boards I admin (a travel one), and in two years have only once deleted a 'real' user by mistake. It's not hard to re-register anyway.

I think there are some implications which people who have included contact information (msn, icq, skype etc) might want to think about though.

Sunnybank
09-09-2009, 10:40 PM
You have to go into a public forum assuming that they are public.

This one like many others has come down ten or so people who frequently post, some of them one line responses "I agree", "don't know, but Ben will", which don't really add an aweful lot, except to build up forum relationships. Some of the posts read a bit more like Facebook that a public forum.


There is then usually a small group of forumites who post less regularly, but are all good quality useful and informative posts. These people are also "in" because they post enough and provide good technical information.


Next are the members like me who occasionally post when they have something to say or ask about, who are a bit intimidated by the intimacy of the core group of ten or so. With the odd exception most of the regulars appear to be professionals rather than hobbyists, note the websites and business talk.

The final group of members are those that joined for whatever reason and have posted once or not at all. Having had a look down the membership list many of these people haven't signed on since they joined.

Finally there are the guests, who, since it is a public forum are perfectly at liberty to visit the forum. I do think though that "Off the subject" should be members only.

I know that none of you intend it, but it is a bit intimidating to post when I only do so occasionally, I find many posts informative, I've tried the boiled egg to oxidise and am very pleased with the result and often follow links, but I have nothing to say that I consider worthwhile. I'm wondering if I'm a lurker for doing this.

I would really like to enter into the secret santa, but it comes over a bit as a very select group that has signed up so far and like Su I'm not sure if my skills are adequate.

Sorry I've gone on a bit, but basically don't put anything on the forum that you consider private.

bustagasket
10-09-2009, 06:13 AM
I know what you mean about the board though. I fall into the spam and advice category. :rofl: But I can be serious at times and even though a beginner even find I can give a bit of advice.

I am afraid i am purely spaam as i just dont feel qualified to offer the faintest bit of advice, but if i am honest, i doubt that i ever will, for fear of being contradicted.

I have tried to tone down the number of posts i make as it appears to be a sore point. Trust me i am still here as much, i live on these boards, but i will now go to reply to a thread and then stop myself and erase the reply.

The boards have become somewhat intimidating to me, and so i have withdrawn a little.

Secret santa to me is terrifying, whilst there are a few people whose opinion i would appreciate on my stuff, i cannot handle tellings off in any shape or form, i just get myself in a state, i've just always been that way, i just try to keep everyone happy, its the way i was brought up.

I think there should be some differentiation on the boards for members and a regular inactivity check should be carried out. We cannot force people to post but the member list does need thinning occasionally to keep it up to date.

dgrose
10-09-2009, 06:50 AM
Hi,
I've changed it so that only registered people who are logged in can see members profiles / who's online.
We already remove accounts that we definitely know as spammers.
Dave

bustagasket
10-09-2009, 07:08 AM
Thank you Dave, much appreciated

mizgeorge
10-09-2009, 07:18 AM
Thanks Dave.

Perhaps the admins could also consider making some parts of the board (chat, off topic, swaps etc) members only as well. We all deserve a little mystery!

agent_44
10-09-2009, 07:32 AM
I know Jo, but at least they've got an email address and visible (well to admin anyway) ip address, and can be moderated or removed if admin chooses to do so.

Personally, I would remove all registrations from people who never re-visit the forum (and are likely to be bots or spammers anyway) after 30 days. We do this on one of the boards I admin (a travel one), and in two years have only once deleted a 'real' user by mistake. It's not hard to re-register anyway.

I think there are some implications which people who have included contact information (msn, icq, skype etc) might want to think about though.

I agree, and I just looked at the members list, of you order it by number of posts there are NINETEEN pages of people who have registered and never posted a comment (I assume our mystery Rolling Mill winner was in that list).


You have to go into a public forum assuming that they are public.

This one like many others has come down ten or so people who frequently post, some of them one line responses "I agree", "don't know, but Ben will", which don't really add an aweful lot, except to build up forum relationships. Some of the posts read a bit more like Facebook that a public forum.


There is then usually a small group of forumites who post less regularly, but are all good quality useful and informative posts. These people are also "in" because they post enough and provide good technical information.


Next are the members like me who occasionally post when they have something to say or ask about, who are a bit intimidated by the intimacy of the core group of ten or so. With the odd exception most of the regulars appear to be professionals rather than hobbyists, note the websites and business talk.

The final group of members are those that joined for whatever reason and have posted once or not at all. Having had a look down the membership list many of these people haven't signed on since they joined.

Finally there are the guests, who, since it is a public forum are perfectly at liberty to visit the forum. I do think though that "Off the subject" should be members only.

I know that none of you intend it, but it is a bit intimidating to post when I only do so occasionally, I find many posts informative, I've tried the boiled egg to oxidise and am very pleased with the result and often follow links, but I have nothing to say that I consider worthwhile. I'm wondering if I'm a lurker for doing this.

I would really like to enter into the secret santa, but it comes over a bit as a very select group that has signed up so far and like Su I'm not sure if my skills are adequate.

Sorry I've gone on a bit, but basically don't put anything on the forum that you consider private.

In registering my details for a forum, that implies a level of security. Over time people can build up friendships on boards like these and being able to share information about yourself with out the world being able to see it is perfectly reasonable to expect.

There's no reason why you shouldn't enter the Secret Santa, I have and I don't view myself as part of any select group, I have to admit that made me giggle a little bit, perception is an odd thing! Some people are in a position to post more frequently on this board, and some have volunteered as mods, which implies they will have to be more involved, but if you are an active member who posts every day or every couple of weeks, neither is any less welcom in my book!

Petal
10-09-2009, 07:44 AM
Morning all, :~:

I think this forum is a good balance of professionals and newbies. Sometimes it can be a little intimidating when you ask what you think is a simple question, which then, because of lack of knowledge, turns out to produce a quite complicated response. Then you sit thinking, ummmm, where do I go from here then, because I have another question I'd like to ask, but don't want to hog the forum with what others might feel is a silly question that I should already know the answer to. I've tried looking things up in my books, Googling and the Cookson knowledgebase and that takes absolutely ages, but a short answer can sometimes solve the problem.

What I have learnt about being on this forum, is sometimes even though a thread I might be reading is really interesting and I could answer and contribute, I sometimes don't because I don't have anything constructive/different to add, or I'm very busy and don't have time. Other times I will wait a while until I've received a few more replies to a question I have posed to get a more general view. I must admit, I made some absolutely awful posts when I first joined, 'cos I was excited and it was my first forum and it felt great to be involved. If I'm on here posting every day I won't get anything else done, so I now limit myself much more than when I first joined.

As Sunnybank says, anything you write on a forum is public and not private. I'd go further and say that anything written by email or on a PC with internet access is not private, we might like to think it is, but it isn't - its public. BTW, I don't like this nanny state we live in either, but its there, whether we like it or not. Sorry, got a bit too serious there (oops).

It might be useful to have some of those more experienced forum posters to, perhaps with the collaboration of the Mods?, either post some simple guides on those things that are producing a multitude of questions on (or a link to something that already exists), or maybe have a 'tip for the day/how to clean your shinies' post come up at the top of the forum page?

What do others think ??


I'm off to do a few things, back later with a cup of tea and a look at posts!


[]
Jules x

bustagasket
10-09-2009, 07:57 AM
It might be useful to have some of those more experienced forum posters to, perhaps with the collaboration of the Mods?, either post some simple guides on those things that are producing a multitude of questions on (or a link to something that already exists), or maybe have a 'tip for the day/how to clean your shinies' post come up at the top of the forum page?

What do others think ??


[]
Jules x

Now i really like that "tip for the day" idea. Anyone who has a tip could submit it to the mods who could then perhaps make a "lucky dip" and post the one that they pull out of the hat each day. In that way the onus to think of tips is not all on the shoulders of the mods, but is open to he suggestions of all those with some knowledge to share.

What you guys might think is everyday knowledge to you, might be just what some of us noobs could do with hearing, without it all getting to involved.

I know the mods have a lot to do, and i hate to put more on their shoulders, but perhaps one of the Cooksons admins wouldnt mind taking on the task of collating and posting the daily tip? please, please pretty please with a cherry on top??[[]]

caroleallen
10-09-2009, 08:14 AM
Even though I make my living from jewellery making I still have a lot to learn. I do tend to switch off though at some of the really technical explanations.

I think no-one should feel intimidated as we all had to start somewhere. Doing something like the Secret Santa may help us think beyond what we normally do, which must be good. The whole point of it being secret though is that no-one should know who made what.

Kalorlo
10-09-2009, 08:28 AM
Sunnybank: This is partly why I'm posting my beginner stuff in the Show Your Work section, even when I know I can make the next one better. I learn a lot from seeing how other people make things (of all skill levels!) and how they fix things that went wrong. So the more people feeling up to showing their work, the better for me! :Y:

I understand the lurker thing - I do that in a number of other places, end up reading everything so I'm fairly familiar with the participants, then when I do post no one knows me because, duh!, I've been lurking #-o

apike
10-09-2009, 08:29 AM
Good morning all,

This has developed into an interesting thread with some very relevant points being raised. When I first developed a plan/proposed this forum last year after much research, my objectives clearly stated that the forum should be a public platform open to the viewing public which coincides with much of what Sunnybank has stated. I agree that as well as our most valued members, you guys who post and visit regularly, the forum should act as a information tool for those less social members for the good of Cooksongold.com.

I agree that your profiles and list should perhaps be private which Dave has now actioned, however I have noticed that members don't seem to disclose sensitive data anyway, so from my perspective I thought you guys might see this maximum exposure as a positive factor in regards to increased referral traffic as Cooksongold.com attracts in excess of a million visitors a year and growing fast. As for the privacy issue, I suggest if you would like to discuss anything of this nature, you use the private messaging service or the chat facility once live, which will be limited to members only.

Also the issue of stagnent members, we will send out reminder emails after a suitable period of time for this group and for those who fail to log in just to remind us that we're still here!

Hope this helps clear a few things up. Please let me know of any further concerns...

Cheers,
Adam :)

ps_bond
10-09-2009, 08:40 AM
I do tend to switch off though at some of the really technical explanations.

Can't think what you mean :D

apike
10-09-2009, 08:55 AM
Just to clarify as I have received a few PM's from concerned members - no membership restrictions or bans will be issued to members who do not sign in or post commments. I fully understand the different and varied statuses and uses of forums and that some people simply enjoy using it as an informational tool as opposed to being a fully active member, however we do encourage people to get involved, but it's the individuals call!

bustagasket
10-09-2009, 09:01 AM
Thanks Adam

I dont have a problem with members seeing my profile as i dont, as you rightly say, put anything that personal there.

It is nice to think that there has been a point to being a member, is perhaps access to a few more boards, but again, its not a major issue to me, well if it was i guess i would be here as much would i?

I think i have learnt more from these forums than at my course, and for that i am very grateful, and i am sure it will continue.

I still think "Tip of the Day" is a great idea tho :D

EmmaRose
10-09-2009, 09:24 AM
I do so hope those of us who post alot don't give the impression of some sort of exclusive club- speaking for myself I love people joining in and welcome any advice, experience or contribution. I do hope I contribute enough by way of advice (sometimes it has already been said or I feel others will know more) Beginners have just as much to contribute, whether its asking a question that makes us all think (and I have certainly learnt new and/or better ways of doing things) to simply whether you "like" something. We ALL learn, and have things to learn, no matter how "stupid" the questions is, so ask as many times as you like. If its too technical or you need a point clarifying, say so! IMHO the banter doesn't "add" anything but it does make this feel more like a community of friends and a welcoming place to be, rather than just a dry Q&A where anyone with more experience is being tapped constantly.
Please do join in, make yourself known, don't be afraid to post (we don't bite. much ;)). And Su, as far as I'm concerned (ie can't speak for anyone else), don't hold back, love your chat and contributions, thought you had been quiet recently...you are a forum stalwart!!
hope I haven't offended anybody or said anything contentious [[]]
Em

Sunnybank
10-09-2009, 12:19 PM
I've had some lovely messages, so yes I'm going to join the secret santa, thanks everyone, but whoever gets mine might regret it!!!!!!!!!!!!! :Y:

MuranoSilver
10-09-2009, 12:22 PM
Yay! So glad you're going to join the Santa Sunnybank :)
I'm sure whoever gets your present will LOVE it []
nic x

EmmaRose
10-09-2009, 12:32 PM
Glad to have you onboard Jane.
Em

Di Sandland
10-09-2009, 12:45 PM
Hey, well done you Jane! Welcome on board (and I quite like Sunny too - makes me want to smile)

Emerald
10-09-2009, 12:49 PM
Thanks for that oringianl thread George,it developed into some really interesting points being raised and may have helped some of those that feel intimidated about posting etc i know i did at first but once you start you just cant stop lol:)

rashi
01-08-2013, 10:02 AM
hey
nice thread for off topic discussion.