Because it's possible, I have set the software to allow viewing of the Collector Forums only to registered users who are logged in.

In the 24 hours prior to this change made at 5:20 pm MST on 12/7/2008, there had been 549 total visitors of which 516 were either not registered members or were members not logged in.

I will change the software switch to allow viewing within the next 24-72 hours.

Since you are viewing this, you are a logged in member. To see what it looks like if you were NOT logged in, simply log out.

Your comments are welcome.

I'm assuming that you want to see how many of the non-members and lurkers will now register instead of just reading and leaving the Forums.

And how many might already be registered, but just cruise through without being logged in.

Well, call me a cruiser. But why is that bad? I don't post frequently, and when I want to, it isn't hard to login and begin typing.

Rick

I would recommend we go back to normal as soon as possible. We encourage participation but we cannot demand it. We should feel fortunate that so many visit this site even if they do not post.

Bob

As much as it pains me to have to agree with Bob, I have always liked that the CF was open for all to read and learn from. If we are not, people will wonder what it is we are trying to hide. I hate being forced to register for a site just to see what is on the site. I fully support requiring a person to be registered and logged in to post (would not have it any other way), but I believe we need to keep this a short experiment. We don't want to chase people away before they even get to see all the information conttained on these pages.

Yes, registration is free and fairly simple, but I still prefer an open to read policy. Many of us just stayed logged in so it isn't really an issue, but I know not everyone does this.

I have to agree that the Forums should be open to read to everyone. When the Forums first started I had no computer at home and my company had a policy that you could not use your computer to actively participate in computer forums of any type. Had it not been for the open forum policy I may never had stayed to discover how great these Forums are. I personally stayed logged in 24/7 to keep it simple and fast to post.

I also stay logged in 24/7, it makes it simple and fast for me to read the posts and add my two cents worth where and there.
I agree the forums should be open. I joined after I read though some of the posts to be sure it was a site I would want to join.

I was referred to this site by Harbour Lights. After watching and reading for several days...I joined. I felt this sight had alot of friendly knowledgeable people and there was tons of information to be had for the asking. Not only did this site offer HL info...it also covers lighthouses I've never visited,photos, experiences.
I agree with the open forum format for reading and continued regristration/login to post.
I stay logged in 24/7 for easier posting.

I too am logged in 24/7 both at home and at work. I believe we should remove the requirement to log in before viewing. The thought being that someone new would want to see what the forums are all about before they register.

I'll throw my support in for as open a forum as is sensible- that is let anybody read but make them register to post.

I'm also sure that this is a short term experiment for a reason known only to John. I expect he will return us to the old setup shortly.

Dennis

Interestingly, we have gotten 4 new members since the Forums has been closed in just a day. Normally we get 2-3 in a week with the open forum. Of course, these new members may or may not post, so we will see what happens.

Now a much more interesting fact, and I don't know if it is possible or even tied to the fact that John has closed the Forums, is that the amount of spammers has decreased from our daily norm of 20-25 to 7-10. Any comments of this fact John and Dave?

I think we need to be patient and see what happens. Rich has all ready come up with some interesting facts.
John said this is a temporary thing. Maybe we will learn something by this.
One thing for sure it gives us something to talk about.

Wow, this is a lot like having a Save the Whales benefit on a Japanese trawler...

While I like the fact that you need to be a member to read the forums, I have to remember if I didn't have accesss to read the forums first, I propably would not have joined.

Too bad there wasn't a way you can give someone access two or three times before they have to join. Maybe something linked to there IP address.

As of 0830 this morning we have had 7 new members and only 10 spammers. The spammer total is down from the 50 we would normally have in a 2 day period.

How is a "Spammer" identified or differentiated from a person who just cruises in and views threads but doesn't post or login?

Are we (The Collectors Forum) being "spammed" to death?

What are the statistics being used for?

Now you got me interested in all of this.....

Rich is referring to those who apply for membership. We believe that there must exist some program thatspamm ers to automatically register for membersip in the various forums out there. At one point we allowed automatic membership - you registered and login info was mailed to you.

For several years now we have actually looked at each new registration and made a determination on whether or not to allow membership. The vast majority of spammers are obvious. We have added some mandatory responses that have to be made, and spammers fill in those fields with a variety of incorrect responses.

While this closed status has certainly appeared to help keep the bad guys out I also wonder if it has also kept out more good guys. Yes, 'good' registratios have increased, but how many people have found a closed forum and gone elsewhere? I know that if I first came to this forum and found it closed to even being viewed I would move on and probably not come back past to see if the policy had changed.

We have now had 9 new members and only 14 spammers since this "test" has begun. This is the good side. However, we have gone done from approximately 550 visitors with 35 of them being members during any period to approximately 190 visitors with 70 of them being members. This is the bad side.

The members that are now logged in don't seem to have raised out posts by any significant amount and we are going to loose the viewership of the hundreds of visitors that will no longer come back after 2-3 attempts.

I know that I would certainly much rather not approve the 20-30 spammers a day and approve the 2-3 new members a week then have it the way it is trending now. Once you've lost the game plan it is hard to recoup it.

John called and asked me to re-set the board to allow open viewing by all. Had to dig a bit to find the right switch, but it appears to now be back to 'normal' (if that is possible . . .) I would imagine John will drop in when he has the opportunity to share some thoughts about the experiment.

Now that we're back to normal and since that time we have had 10 spammers and 0 new members but we are back up to 508 visitors. During the time that we were closed we did rack up 13 new members with only a couple posting. Sure would have been nice if all 13 had posted. I'm personally glad we're back to normal.

WOW
643 visitors and climbing