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So I was thinking....

So I was thinking....
erudolf

erudolf

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We all know we have lurkers.....and I'm sure we also have lurkers that never create an account....I also think that probably the most valuable information on here is the sneak peaks thread......sooooooo.....would it be possible to make that and the releases thread viewable to members only??? I'm thinking that would 1). Boost members. 2) make people more likely to post if they have finally registered and 3). Discourage people from just using all the information and not contributing to the community.

Thoughts?
 
I understand what you're trying to accomplish by that, but I'm not sure that it will work. It isn't like it's difficult to register for membership (nor should it be) ... and people still can be registered members of a community and *not* post or contribute. I don't agree that being signed up will make a person more likely to post. If you look at all forums, every member participates to a different degree; some post all the time, some barely post, and some, I'm sure, don't post at all.

Assuming your scenario about the lurkers and the sneak peeks thread/releases thread is correct (and it likely is correct for at least some of them), well, what I see happening is that those people would register for membership, sign in to check those threads and ... sign out. I'm sure that you've heard the expression 'you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink'? In this case, you can lead people to sign up for membership but you can't make them post or contribute to the community.

Ultimately, I believe that all this would do is artifically inflate the membership count with people who don't really want to be members in the first place and possibly lead to bans that people would just try to get around. These lurkers should know by now that we're a very friendly group and welcome new members all the time - but they should sign up because they want to, not because they are pressured into it.
 
I'd have to disagree. Sure, it won't get everyone to start posting, but it could get some. Think of it as impulse buying....when you are in line at the store and see that chocolate bar (or pick your poison) sitting there saying "mmmm, Buy me" you are more likely to buy it because it is right there and you don't have to seek it out. Similar idea here. Say you never bothered to register and one night you are reading a thread that sparks your interest and you have a thought that you consider posting....but when you got to post you realize you never registered and think "ah, forget it" and put it off yet another day. If you can get them to take the step to register that is one more step to participating. Sure, you may only hook a small percentage but every bit helps.

I'd also disagree that the numbers would be artificially inflated. To me, the numbers should reflect the amount of people USING the board, not just PARTICIPATING. Forcing people to register and be logged in to view select data would be a far more accurate estimate of the community.

Also, the reason I mentioned those threads is that it is some of the most valuable information on the site. Why let everyone read it if they aren't even willing to take the time to join?


Edit: ok, thinking some more....I still stand by my theory but there is one negative that came to mind. With other forums out there people that are registered could just steal the info and post it on other boards which could cause people to go there....on the other hand, the release night thread would be real time and people would want access to it....
 
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erudolf said:
Also, the reason I mentioned those threads is that it is some of the most valuable information on the site. Why let everyone read it if they aren't even willing to take the time to join?
Click to expand...

I completely agree.
 
I agree.

I have at least 5 firends who are avid pin traders who have signed up just because I asked them to but I also have 20 more that just dont want to sign up because they will never post and there is no reason. I can assure you that if they had to sign up, they would but I can also assure you they would NEVER post anything nor respond/

The whole idea of a forum is to share information. Perfect example is your typical talk radio station stays in business because people call in. Did you know that typically less that 1.5% of the listening audience calls in and many are repeat callers. many people just like to listen and may people just want to look.

You dont take away the medium just because they dont want to participate. They still deserve their entertainment. And also, people who want to post will post and I dont wan people forced to sign up having to post for no other reason that to post. That is what gives us duversity. Some like cherry, some like chocolate, some like vanilla. We all have different taste and lurkers are a part of it.

Do you sign up for every forum you look at? Every site you go to? Have you never just looked / lurked?
I welcome all lurkers and can tell you that I was one of them until one day I just had to ask a question.
Their time will come but to be forced is not fair and also bad publicity.

As soon as you make it mandatory, they may talk smack. Also, I will guarantee that many lurkers find out about pin trading events and show up to them. The site works in mysterious ways. Its ok to lurk. Would it be better to call them voyers? lol
 
Ok, just to be clear, I'm not suggesting the entire site should require membership, just select pieces. Somewhat of a VIP area and if you don't want to contribute by simply registering then you don't get to see that select information.

Dan, the flaw with your analogy is that this is not a business. A talk radio benefits from just people listening. People that don't even register here don't help the community succeed in the same way.

I agree that the point of a forum is to share information. But people that won't register or log in aren't sharing anything. At the very least if they logged in they would be contributing to a more accurate statistic. I'm not saying these people need to post up a storm. But I for one would like to see a more realistic number of how many people use the site.
 
I belong to one UK Forum which has a specific "Users Lounge & Bar" - only select members can access this area - ok it is by subscription, but it is the principle here, if members wish to post certain information for specific "eyes only" then this is a suggestion & may force the issue of creating an account. In my opinion a certain proportion of information posted is seen/taken from other web-sites so we are providing consolidated information which is available elsewhere anyways!

I agree that forcing people to join a forum is really peer pressure & I think is not the way to go. Lurkers are part of every forum & always will be, period! There is also the opportunity to hide your browsing session which some members may choose to use - so in fact they are not guests but full members choosing to go stealth - remember this!!

Of course there is also the option at some stage to disable accounts which have not been used for a certain period of time if you want a truly accurate statistic!
 
I really don't get your logic....I feel like you are making it sound like a dictatorship or something... Peer pressure? Really? It is a website....and you don't even have to use your real name!!! If you get a Jewel card or some other special store discount card do you call that peer pressure? Is ebates peer pressuring people becuase you have to sign up to use it? I don't see how this is peer pressure at all..... In exchange for access to their discounts, they get to collect information for marketing purposes. It isn't like I'm talking about the whole site, I'm talking about two or three threads that would incent people to join which is the first step in encouraging them to participate.

A forum won't thrive if it doesn't have ample participation from a wide range of people. Right now I'm seeing the same people posting over and over again and to be perfectly honest, I don't even read some people's posts anymore because it is just the same thing over and over. I saw them say it on Dizpins, I saw them say it here once already, I don't need to see it again. It would be nice to see some new people post their ideas.

I'm just offering a thought/suggestion on how we could possibly encourage people to take the plunge and start participating. If you don't like the idea and want to shoot it down, that's fine and your right to do so. But how about offering up a different suggestion so that at least some progress can be made? What are you ideas to promote participation? And don't say "word of mouth" or "trading cards" because those are already being done. I'm talking about the people that already know about the site, use it, but still don't contribute. How do you propose we get at least a small percentage of them to participate?

Just saying "lurkers are part of the community..." and "that's the way it is period..." isn't exactly helpful or productive. If everyone took that attitude and decided it was ok just to lurk then there wouldn't be a forum at all. Why is it ok for some people and not others? Let's try to make this place better rather than just accepting the status quo set by "other forums". Quite frankly, I don't care what "other forums" do because I haven't found any to be interesting enough to join or go back to (so to answer a previous question, yes, if I frequently use a site then I join). I care about this forum and its success and am just trying to think of ways to help make it better...
 
A contradiction of terms here:

QUOTE
"I also think that probably the most valuable information on here is....the sneak peaks thread......sooooooo.....would it be possible to make that and the releases thread viewable to members only??? I'm thinking that would 1). Boost members. 2) make people more likely to post if they have finally registered" & "A forum won't thrive if it doesn't have ample participation from a wide range of people" & "Forcing people to register and be logged in to view select data would be a far more accurate estimate of the community" & "I feel like you are making it sound like a dictatorship or something"

- how can people post if they have not registered, your suggestion which would require people to register to provide "ample participation" those that do register are not mandated to post & if they don't it is something that no-one can stop. Forcing people to do something is pressurising

QUOTE
"would it be possible to make that and the releases thread viewable to members only???" & "I'm not suggesting the entire site should require membership, just select pieces. Somewhat of a VIP area and you don't want to contribute by simply registering" & "But how about offering up a different suggestion so that at least some progress can be made?"

- a specific "Users Lounge & Bar" my suggestion

QUOTE
"Right now I'm seeing the same people posting over and over again and to be perfectly honest, I don't even read some people's posts anymore because it is just the same thing over and over" & "With other forums out there people that are registered could just steal the info and post it on other boards which could cause people to go there"

- "In my opinion a certain proportion of information posted is seen/taken from other web-sites so we are providing consolidated information which is available elsewhere anyways" - my observation, at least we agree on something

QUOTE
"If you don't like the idea and want to shoot it down, that's fine and your right to do so"

- Dancecats, Dan & myself have provided our opinions, you also have the right to yours. We all care about this forum & it's success & we are all doing our best to promote it where possible, some doing probably more than others
 
Quote:

"- how can people post if they have not registered, your suggestion which would require people to register to provide "ample participation" those that do register are not mandated to post & if they don't it is something that no-one can stop. Forcing people to do something is pressurising"

Uhhhh....that is the whole point of what I am saying. Exactly, people can't post if they haven't registered. So, I'm saying to incent them to register so that they get it out of the way and posting will be easier. And I said numerous times that you may only get a small percentage of those that register to post but every little bit helps. If an additional 100 people registered and 7 actually started posting that would be great! It would be nice to see different people posting! Also, I think you are blowing the word "forcing" waaaaaayyyyy out of proportion. It isn't like I'm saying we should go to their house and threaten them if they don't join....I'm saying to make a SMALL portion of the data exclusive so that they at least me some small effort to join. They still have the choice. They can chose not to join and enjoy the other 98% site or they can join FOR FREE and see the other 2% as well. I don't get why it is such a big deal....

QUOTE
"Right now I'm seeing the same people posting over and over again and to be perfectly honest, I don't even read some people's posts anymore because it is just the same thing over and over" & "With other forums out there people that are registered could just steal the info and post it on other boards which could cause people to go there"

How is that contradictory.....? Those two statements had nothing to do with each other. In the second statement I was pointing out one flaw with the idea. I never said it was perfect. It would require some additional thought....


Quote:
- a specific "Users Lounge & Bar" my suggestion


How is that different from what I am suggesting??? It is the exact same thing! You basically just said that your suggestion was to just take what I had suggested and name it "Users Lounge & Bar".... what is the difference?

I'm all for opinions and other ideas, but some of them just aren't making sense...

I really get the feeling that you may not be reading what I am saying closely enough and are interpreting it in a way that is not its intention...
 
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Everyone has made excellent points and we appreciate the input everyone has given. It shows you care about the site and other members, and for that we are immensely grateful!


This subject is something the DPF team has been thinking about for the past few days. It's tough to balance the free flow of thoughts and ideas with the exclusivity expected by registered members, so a compromise had to be reached.

We have decided that only registered users may view our most popular posts. We feel that this is a fair trade between casually browsing the site as a guest and taking the time to become a registered user.

We realize that different people use forums in different ways. It is not our goal to dictate which way people use our forums. By simply registering, you are not forced to change the way you use our forums. Registering gives us a more accurate picture of who uses the site. In turn, knowing who uses the site helps us grow, improve, and maintain DPF in the best possible ways for our members.

By taking the time to register, it shows that you value the information and content being provided on the site. Information that DPF staff and members have taken the time and consideration to search and post. Registering is quick, easy, free, and ultimately, helps us help you and eachother.

Please remember that registration does not equal participation. Just because you are registered does not mean you have to post. Although we welcome everyone to create and engage in discussion, you can lurk all you want and still be registered. Thanks to all our members, Disney Pin Forum can continue to grow and improve in the best way possible for the Disney pin trading and collecting community. What we can't do is grow and improve for the part of the community we don't know is there.


Of course, as always, everyone's thoughts and suggestions are welcomed.

- The DPF Team
 
Very well said thejessta! That is exactly how I was thinking of it, you just have a far more elegant way of putting it! :bowdown:
 
:bigthumb: thanks for everyone's input -- as of now the only POST this applies to is our sneak peeks. only the first post requires registration -- the rest of the thread is available to guests.
 
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