Why not let anyone post?

[markmckibbin]

I am new to this forum however I think the idea of a forum is to toss around ideas and get information on something you don't know about, so why restrict participants to members of the club? The answer to the next question you post may only be in the head of someone who is not in the club but may be reading this forum.

[cheifrider]

i believe one of the reasons may be to keep out folks who are just going to come in here and harass everyone. we allready have one dude who gets in here trying to sell us all cell phones and whatnot.

[darrylri]

I run the Vintage BMW club's web site. We allow nonclub members to register on the forum and participate in some of the discussion areas.

You simply cannot believe how many people have time enough on their hands to join groups and post spam and porn. Some of them have scripts that can create new users at will; the forum would be overwhelmed. I had a guy around Christmas who was perfectly willing to create new members by hand, as many as a dozen a day. (Fortunately, they all had a particular characteristic that I was able to use to recognize his user ids.)

How much work do you want to make for Admin Guy? I can tell you that for a lot fewer people on my forum, I spend a lot of time watching it. I have to run the forum in administrator mode, which means that everyone has to wait for me to look at their request to join before I approve it. (The scripts seem to be able to get by the "type in the blurry characters" test.)

I think you'd be unhappy at the results of letting the rest of the internet in; and I know that Admin Guy would be.

[Paps]

For those very reasons, I agree. Paps

[Ohio-Rider]

I belong to a couple other forums as well as this one and with out question this forum is quite a bit more professional than the others. Some of the credit for that I believe is due to the fact that you must register here first.

You won't find many big heads around here either. We are truly members of a world class oganization. Lots of great info and losts of great idea's here as well. I've been hanging around here for a few years now and have yet to see a problem that a member could not find the answer to here. Hummmm. Except, maybe for why a panhead won't start when its hot. LOL Still no solid answers for that one. -Steve

[AdminGuy]

Thanks Darryl - you must be a member.

[markmckibbin]

OK fair comment, I'm on several forums that do let everyone on and they are great, however maybe the Admin guy has his work cut out for him because of all the low life that is attracted to the internet.

[AdminGuy]

Steve your a smarty pants like me. Check coil is insulated/isolated and not grounding. Valves may be hangin up. Not enough clearance in guides. just a thought. Won't start Hot? Do a compression check hot. Everything has a solution. Gotta start with basics and progress. Or just sell that old piece of junk to me.

This is an open door. As I don't want to hold the hand of members who can read and follow directions. Nore do I want to be heavy handed and put up road blocks and additional waiting time for something that should be instant if you have your ducks in a row. Your Nat. mem number must match your name. This forum is an excellent place for members to carry over discussion from the magazine, ask for help, discuss ideas, locate parts, etc. An invaluable tool at the memberships disposal. Membership in this club is inexpensive. It's not a big deal - just join it online.

I belong to five different M/C groups/club/organizations. The AMCA is an international, well organized group of people passionately involved in a life long hobby. We have alot of fun and try to help each other out.

Now I must delete a few more fake russian members. Why anyone would want to hack this forum is beyond me. Some people have too much time.

[Buzz K]

If we are to grow this club and attract fresh blood I would recommend making this forum more accessible to non-members to bring them into the fold.

Isn't there a way for non-members to post, but the post does not go public until the moderator reviews it for content (no cell phones, porn, stock tips, etc).

Potentially, this site is one of the best tools for recruiting new members, why not use it as such?

Just my two cents.

[INLINE4NUT]

I personally like the set-up the way it is some sites shouldbe open to all,this one retains much of what our club is because of the ,for no better word, closed door policy in place ! 30 bucks a year is a small price to pay for little to no spam,people that can disagree,but get along with each other and still find what they need Paul keep it just the way it is!

[darrylri]

I can't say about vBulletin, the software that's in use here, but many of the forum packages don't have this capability.

As someone who runs a forum (for the Vintage BMW club), let me say that I would hate to put that kind of a job on a volunteer. It's amazing how many people out there seem to have time to post spam anywhere they can find.

With the current arrangement, it's very unlikely someone with posting privileges would post spam, so nobody has to look over the posts carefully. If the forum were opened up, there would be a ton of postings, mostly spam, and it would take a long time for each real post to be allowed through.

Everyone who runs a forum or a mailing list these days has to come up with some way to eliminate all of the spammers automatically, it's more than a full time job otherwise.

Let non-members see what's being posted here so they can appreciate the value of a membership, but don't let them post!

[exeric]

I agree with Darryl. A club member is going to exercise some restraint if a discussion gets a bit hot, and a club member is not going to post pornography, radical politics, or something that could be embarrassing if they are confronted with it at a national meet. We all plan to attend national meets and hopefully get to know our fellow members. The whole idea behind this forum is to promote antique motorcycle knowledge and do it in a friendly way. The most civilized way of doing this is within the confines of a club that requires membership dues. That seperates the truely interested from the 14 year old computer nerd with a bad attitude.

[c.o.]

I totally agree with the last three posts. What are we eleven or so thousand strong??? Our club meets attract members and non-members alike. That sounds like exposure to me. I joined this club to meet like-minded members and discuss old motorcycles with them. I know that there are probably non-members that would contribute positively. But who wants to see our site bogged down by uncaring spammers??

[m.crabb]

wanting to get in on the forum is reason enough to join the club.I think most would agree your either into this stuff or your not.Do i like old motorcycles?well...gee,i dunno...maybe.M.C.

[D.Mac]

Ditto here,
I think if you want to participate in the Club, (such as using the forum) you should join. I also think we should get the word out to all members, so they realize what a great resource we have here. I belonged to the club for a long time before I just happened to look at the forum, I didn't realize what I was missing out on.
Doug.