GUEST ACCESS TO THE FORUMS...

I've received a lot of emails complaining about how we no longer allow guest access to the forums. If you dont login, you can see the forum index, and the thread index for each section, but not read the content of the posts. I did this as sort of an additional screening process to keep the wrong people from wandering through discussions, and figured it helps keep things a little more intimate around here. Anyhow what do you think? Should we allow guest access like we used to, or make people register and login?

Back your answer up with a reason and post it below.

if people don't have the 10 seconds to register they do not deserve to see our completely awesome and inspiring thoughts.

cops will take the time to register if they feel it's needed.

I say let the outsiders see what's up, then they may want to join.

Discussions, yes.

Flickage? no.

i personally have never been worried about cops being on this board. if they are here, good for them, this board will give them no evidence resulting in my arrest.

and damn it, i like it when things get intimate.

I say leave it like it is now.

I kinda like that you have to register and log in to view the posts. In the event there are some 'undesireables' on the site...at least there is a record of sorts and an IP address.

The only reason I can think of to make it like it used to be is the lazy part of me that liked to leave the site up and check it without being logged on while I was working.

edit:

I like gliko's idea of no pics if you do allow the discussions to be visible.

I think you should be required to register before viewing the content on the forum for the exact points you made, Raven. Because the board is based on graffiti and has become a community that has moved beyond just looking at flicks or sharing information like, "how do I make mad spraybomb tagz, yo?" to sharing more personal info that may be helpful to the wrong people, it only makes sense to have people register.

Like the sliding chain lock on your apartment door, its only a small security measure that probably doesn't really do much, but once you don't have it, you realize that it makes you feel better if its there.

i think you should have to be a member to view the boards...lurkers suck...you post a vid or song and within 2 hours its unavailable...and plus why would someone wanna be that much a loser and not register yet see/hear/get all the shit that goes around these boards

I also agree that people should sign up due to the fact that it is a somewhat closeknit (loosely based) community and to have people simply reading and taking notes without joining in on discussions seems to me as prying into business that they have no reason to be involved in.

On the other hand though...I have fun viewing posts from people like our friend on DHabz haunted hotel thread (I guess she did join though, but may have never wanted to browse if she had to join?). I also think that if you do not keep it as an open forum for all to view, you will get quite a bit of random people joining and people signing up multiple times just to view once or twice. In the end I suppose the choice is yours...I'll support either cause.

In the event there are some 'undesireables' on the site...at least there is a record of sorts and an IP address.

i think you should keep it a members only board, and then post somthing forbidding law enforcement for registering at all....not just for use in evidence. i sort of like it better than if anybody can see the forum. like efyoo said, just another security measure.

1988 brought up a good point; although i'm kinda divided on this one.

i browsed this forum for a couple of months before i finally registered.

some want to get a feel of the forum before posting.

i personally liked it the old way, but then that's just me not wanting

to log in every single time i want to read threads, as steve austin said. i'm lazy.

I voted NO, but i only just understood the issue.

So, i'd say allow guests as long as they need to be logged in to post, forums who allow posting guests feels kind of like those girls you know get jammed by any random penis walking by.

So, make that a YES.

No.

SteveAustin has the right idea. And if nothing else, glik's thought of discussions and not photos would work as well.

I think the board should be viewable by guests. I viewed this board anonymously for a long time before I posted. Most of the time when I go to a board you have to register to view I'll just not register and ignore it. Try before you buy.

fuck no

one thing you have to put in consideration...is that if you only allow members to view the posts....then you will get an excess of registration on the board, an unneccesary amount...because ultimately they could get access 10 seconds later....it will be alot easier for you in the long run because of all those people who register only a select few will utilize their name....and for those who are too lazy because they get turned off because they would have to register to view...than the ones who get turned on by just viewing some of the things we talk about...before he registers....

the only reason i would say yes is because if i go somewhere, i dont like loggin in if im goin directly to view something and leave, like if im at a friends, cuz then i am usually still logged in at that place,

other than that, no,

Originally posted by <KEY3>@Oct 12 2004, 04:19 PM

cops will take the time to register if they feel it's needed.

I say let the outsiders see what's up, then they may want to join.

Quoted post

i agree with this :chicken:

I thinm you said it best Mr. Raven when you said that it screens out toolbags and keeps things a little more intimate.

It allows us to police ourselves a little easier rather than opening the floodgates and allowing any joe sixpack or sally housewife of the "graffiti world" to come waltzing through.

If someone is willing to go through the registration process and create an account, then most likely they're worth something. Those that aren't are still quickly and effectively dealt with.

Think of it as a siege in medieval (sp?) times. You're gonna get a few invaders that manage to make it on top of the battlements but chances are they're gonna get slayed pretty fucking fast by the stalwart defenders (in this case by Seeking, captain of the guard and battle scarred Sergeant Europe backed by their powerful posse). However, if you open up the gates and let that drawbridge down, the huns'll overun things pretty fast and things could get ugly.

i say we keep it as it is now. if we find that a member is a suspected police officer, we will have a record of their ip address, which we can then use to ban any other usernames with that same ip regardless of whether they post or not. if people are free to browse without registering you don't have that control over who can see what's going on.

and the fact of the matter is, how hard is it to register a username? even if you don't want to post, is it really that much of a hassle to sign up?

let anybody see that shit i need all the rep i can get! :dunce:

honestly though, i agree if you dont have the 2 minutes it takes to register then to hell with them... and all this cop talk nonsense, if you arent observent enough to be able to discern a cop (and i stilll dont think 12 oz is overun with fuckking graffbusters{ala gangbusters} anyway) from a fellow writer then my dear freinds to quote my hero mr morrissey- "i change my plea to guilty"

i don't see what the problem with guest browsing is as long as there isn't guest posting.

didnt read the rest of the thread, but i voted no. i guess it would be okay t VIEW it. kinda. but not post as guests. veiwing, yes, posting no.

...i really like it the way it is now...one of my favorite changes from the switch...i like seeng who else is on a thread...and like evrybody said, it helps regulate the people on here....don't change it back...

Glik0 & Steve Austin

register only...rock the vote!!!!

I think this system would also mean missing out and a bunch of potential interesting members. I don't know if anyone said this, but I for one signed up after feeling the need to respond to a thread. And then i just kept posting. And i'm pretty sure that's how it was for a lot of people.

Similarly, cops or anti graff enthusiasts could get whichever info they want. If they can view it as guests is just the same as if they can view it from their 12oz account, if you consider that most of them who view this site aren't as retarded as bobobi was, they probably never post and just read. And all the cop sounding people who post a lot usually get busted, probably a lot of non cop members got "busted" as well from members here as we are all driven by paranoia quite a bit.

As long as you avoid name dropping and saying real stupid stuff on this forum, there's not much a cop can do aside from saving flicks from his hard drive that his department probably has anyway cause if it's anything like where i live (or where i used to live), they flick as much as possible for the record.

All in all, I repeat, YES to guest viewing.

I think that people should atleast register to use the forum...Just think of it this way ...if ur not registered and u try to view something ..and a message pops up to login ,thats going to make the person want to register just see to why you have to log in to read stuff on the forum.

I definitely say they should not be able to view the forum, or even the forum sections without logging in....