Morning all.
I wondered if people would like a members only section on here?
I was thinking it'd be useful for the more delicate areas of discussion? Hassles with your job, potential legal issues, insurance queries....that
sort of thing?
For questions you wanted to ask the knowing collective but you'd rather they were kept a little more discreet. I have a job issue at present and
would like advice on it but I don't want to post it publicly on an open forum! Of course it wouldn't be foolproof but perhaps it would put
off the average browser.
I've asked Chris and it is possible, just need to see if people would like it?
Thanks everyone
Sounds ok, but it might turn new people away. If I'm looking for an answer for something and you get a form with members only bits it annoys the
hell out of me.
Other than that suppose it could be useful.
Tbo most of it should be members only,might make the cheapskates cough up
I'd be in favour too. As said by the OP there are times when it would be preferable to post to members only.
In fact I have chosen not to post on certain issues in the past precisely for this reason
A Good Idea. IMO
+1 
Don't see the point.
What's the significant difference between a member and non-member?
quote:
Originally posted by designer
Don't see the point.
What's the significant difference between a member and non-member?
Sorry was not suggesting contributors and non contributors so it's not the case of who's paid and who hasn't.
Just who has joined the site and who hasn't.
There could be a paid only section I guess but this wasn't the base of my suggestion.
Thanks all!
No. I hate forums with members only sections.
Well there's no point then... As it takes 5 mins to sign up and anyone wanting to check up on you can easily do so.
Contributing would hopefully be a step too far for most spies.
I think this has already been made clear, but there are distinct differences between a non-member, a member, and a contributor.
If you wanted to be really picky, there are 'unverified members' too, but you don't see them because they can't post.
For those that signed up a long time ago, to verify you need to confirm a working email address and make a phone call to the site without without
witholding you phone number. This gives me a slightly increased hope of tracing someone if they turn out to be a troll/porn poster/company trying to
get free advertising/etc.
I think the suggestion is for a section limited to verified members only.
I'd be happy to integrate it, but I think I would set two conditions:
1. That it's invisible to anyone that doesn't meet the criteria. ie people don't know they're missing it until they get it
2. That it's only to be used for discussion that has a real reason not to be made public
Chris
I can't see the point myself (but then I may be missing the point).
Since there's not criteria for signing up and becoming a member what's to stop anyone from signing up simply to nose through the members
only section - if they're that interested.
The suggestion that you might not want to post something on an open/publicly viewable forum but you might post it ona members only forum also seems
odd to me. Looking at the member list (20/page and 548 pages) there are 10,000+ members. If you're not comfortable posting something on an open
forum why would you be comfortable posting it to 10,000+ people 99.9% of whom you don't actually know from Adam.
I'm not against it BTW, just don't see what it would bring to one of the most healthy, useful and balanced forums around.
quote:
Originally posted by ChrisW
I'd be happy to integrate it, but I think I would set two conditions:
1. That it's invisible to anyone that doesn't meet the criteria. ie people don't know they're missing it until they get it
2. That it's only to be used for discussion that has a real reason not to be made public
Chris
Seems reasonable to me, if it's hidden then I guess the titles wouldn't show up on the front page summary.
I only hate forums where you can't get to useful technical information without signing up, having a small private area doesn't bother me at
all.
I don't think having to sign up for free makes you an elite of any kind.
Though having it open to anyone that signs up means people will still need to be careful posting bad things about their boss/ex-wife etc.
At the risk of a thread hijack but on a related note, is there any way some of the almost never used sections could be put into an archive area (or even at the bottom of the list) - there's already a lot of sections to scroll through if you're on phone or similar.
I'm against it personally. The Westfield boys have just gone. To a new site and that is so reatricted for non members that you can no longer even
see recent posts.
I am a great fan of the current format. Let's just keep it the way it is.
Good Idea!
You could call it the Gary Glitter V.I.P. room
or
the Pete Townsend Internet Research Centre.
Why would you want to post on a Forum, something you would not like everybody to see, and for it to enter the public domain? That's what Email, or telephones are for!
quote:
Originally posted by designer
Why would you want to post on a Forum, something you would not like everybody to see, and for it to enter the public domain? That's what Email, or telephones are for!
Radical & Blatchat are private I believe, so none of the techy stuff can be viewed.
This forum is the dogs knob, if another section appeared for contributors only, the site will continue to function as now, as an excellent resource
for car related stuff. A private section wont put any of those off, if all your after is an answer to what calipers go under a 13" Compomotive
wheel.
A while ago I had bother trying to contact a blatchat member about parts, due to it being locked down
Here its an open resource - Thank you Chris.
IMHO - Wont make any difference to the non believers of payment, and those who do get another section to whinge in ....
Go for it