Administrative suggestion: protecting posts? - YouLookFab Forum

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Administrative suggestion: protecting posts?

Michelle

(website)

Veteran

Hi Greg,

During the course of conversation on another thread, Angie asked me to post this suggestion in a different topic.

A few of us were wondering if it would be possible to make certain posts visible only to readers who have reached "active member" status or beyond. I for one have noticed a spike in the number of OT posts as people become more comfortable with other forum members. Some of us, myself included, have shared personal information while wishing there was a way to limit the number of people who may stumble across it. Now that you have established a ranking system, my uneducated guess is that it would be a little easier to implement filters (forgive me if I'm way off base)! The way I envision this would be just to have something like a check box on the page where new posts are written that is turned off by default, i.e. your posts will be visible to all unless you specifically select the option to limit its access. Is this something that would be feasible from your standpoint? And for other forum members, do you think this would be a worthy addition?

General

75 replies

Latest reply was from Vani

taylor

Veteran

Do you mean they have to specifically log on in order to see a private" member only" written post Michelle? Or something like that , so casual internet cruisers don't have access. There would be at least some record of their e-mail address if something questionable should occur

Privacy and safety is important I agree. I always pull my photo's after a couple of days and change the privacy myself so they are no longer available to view.

Michelle

(website)

Veteran

Yes, Taylor, that's effectively what I mean...If I chose to protect a post, you as a veteran or say Queenie as an active member could see it at all times, just like it were a normal post. But if Sarah Random is browsing the forum to evaluate the tone, see if the advice is to her liking etc, she wouldn't be able to read it until she herself reached active member status.

Anonymous

That's a great idea to pull your photos Taylor. What do you mean when you say you change your privacy?

florida

Veteran

I would like it if only logged-on, active members could see forum posts. I don't know if that's the best thing for growing readership or not, but it would make me a tad more comfortable about posting pics and personal information.

fathenry

Veteran

Perhaps there could be an option for posters to elect "private" or "public" on the forum for each post, similar to the way we are able to select by category? That way members logged in could see the "private" posts and decide based on their comfort level or the sensitivity of the topic at hand.

taylor

Veteran

It makes sense to me. I like that. Any post that the Poster would like protected from random lurkers could be tagged.."Members only" or some such limited access.:)

San Flicker has privacy settings...anyone can see or private

agrace

I like this - and agree, but how would a newbie gain access? By being on for a certain amount of time?

fathenry

Veteran

I don't think all of the posts should be private. This is the only forum I have ever felt comfortable posting on. A big part of that is because I was able to read many posts before I joined and realized that this is an awesome, safe community that I wanted to be a part of. Without that opportunity, I never would have felt comfortable jumping in. I would have felt more comfortable at first, if I had the option to make my posts with photos private. Now I obviously don't care

taylor

Veteran

Any newbie would still have access just the "Members Only" tagged posts would not be accessible to the random non logged in lurker.

agrace

Taylor - Makes sense to me! I like it! A LOT of forums and such - heck, even Facebook (I don't have an account but I know this from trying to click on links) requires you to log in to see any information...

MNsara

Veteran

I don't have a lot of experience in a variety of forums, but I do belong to TPF (The Purse Forum) and there they require you to be logged in to be able to click thru to any links in the posts -- so that would include all picture links.

To be logged in, you must be registered, and to be registered you have provided your email address, etc.

I guess I like that!

Greg

[thanks to Angie for pointing me at this thread]

Michelle's original idea (ability to make a post "active members only") is a good one and the sort of thing we had in mind when we created the levels. So yes, the next update will have something along these lines. We'll use the replies on this thread as input, so if you have ideas on how this should be implemented, I'd love to hear them.

One risk with "active members only" posts is that people start using that flag by default and as a result the forum gets uninviting for new members. Any ideas on how we can avoid this?

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

How about just having one private forum that only active member can access? That would give a safer place to post off topic posts (it could even be the off topic board if you wanted to do it that way), and you might be able to set it up so that it doesn't show at all for non-active members.

Maya

Veteran

I would personally only use "active members only" if I was posting something more personal, or posting pictures. I can't speak for anyone else but I can't see the value in using it any other way.

Frances

I really like this idea for posting photos and more sensitive content, though of course, wouldn't want to cut off so much content that it discouraged new people from joining.

florida

Veteran

I think that people would tend to use an "active members only" flag by default. I agree that making the forum accessible to active members only might make it a little intimidating to potential new members, and might not help readership.
I don't know if this is technically feasible, but perhaps you could restrict access to hyperlinks that we put in our forum posts to active members only? As in, only active members could follow hyperlinks that are in the posts.

marianna

Veteran

I especially like this idea for off-topic (OT) posts. I think the fashion posts should be open to everyone because this is a fashion forum, but the other stuff that is a bit more personal should have the option to be "members only." Maybe posts under the "Everything Else" tab can be automatically visible to active members only, or something like that.

Debbie

Veteran

I belonged to another board a while back that had a members only board. The only problem I saw was that suddenly everything became private and the main board died. I do see a need for it but new members have to feel welcome too. Like Taylor I do pull my pictures after a couple of weeks.

I hope I made sense.

marianne

I like the idea, and I would probably feel more comfortable if I were addressing only people I "know", but I also could see how it could become unwelcoming. A "Make it private" checkbox that is unchecked by default would probably be the most flexible approach - I don't think it'll be abused. As far as link restriction, this could be implemented if YLF stored pictures, but I don't know if you want to get into this

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

I'm more of a lurker than a poster. I would disagree with making tiers of accessibility. I think it would put off newcomers. In fact I feel this forum is getting more clubby than when I first started reading it.

taylor

Veteran

I don't think anyone wants to insisit that one must post and not just lurk we all starteds as lurkers, I know I did. Rather, log in to see photo posts perhaps.

Maya

Veteran

I think it would actually encourage lurkers. If they want to see hidden posts, they just need to sign up. Simple enough. No one is talking about making the entire forum private, just specific threads. I guess I am part of the "club" so my opinion probably doesn't matter, but I still feel YLF is just as warm and welcoming as when I joined 2 years ago.

I agree with Anna that we shouldn't block posts from members who haven't reached a certain status though. That just seems mean-spirited and alienating.

I think as long as certain threads are public--like the who's who and welcome posts--it really isn't a big deal. There could be a little blurb near the "active members only" checkbox suggesting when to use it, vs when to make a post public.

Michelle

(website)

Veteran

I kind of like Khris' idea of having a forum category that's only visible to active members. This way lurkers don't have to feel left out when they're browsing, but they get a pleasant surprise when they've graduated from member to active member.
I still think the original concept could work provided people remain mindful of new members and don't start protecting everything they post. I'm with Maya -- I'd personally only be inclined to use it for more sensitive off-topic discussions myself. Others may choose to use it for pictures, and that's fine, but I suspect many people would still keep photos visible, crop their faces or take the protective measures they've already adopted. In my year on the forum I can think of no more than four or five occasions where I wished such a setting was in place. If it's discrete and used in moderation, I suspect it wouldn't change the forum dynamic too much. In fact, knowing that type of protection is in place may encourage more bashful lurkers to become more involved.

taylor

Veteran

Agreed Maya!!!
If those who post photo's are willing to log in and share...then those who view photo's should at least log in... I agree that membership would improve.... and I for one would not have waited over a year to post photo's if I thought it was a bit more discreet and safe to do so.

Michelle ,we posted about the same time, so I didn't see your comment:)

Good point debbieK

Debbie

Veteran

I think the forum is very welcoming and I think it will stay that way no matter what. A private board is a good idea for overtime posts. Sometimes I think about posting something or replying to an OT post and don't because of privacy reasons.

Maya

Veteran

The only reason the private forum doesn't strike me as a solution is because it would relay a lot of posts there, as opposed to the other appropriate forums. So if I wanted to post a WIW, but wanted it to be private, would I post it in the WIW forum or the private forum?

taylor

Veteran

Is it unwelcoming to have people log in to view photos...I don't think so. Is it unwelcoming to have an OT place for forum members only...I don't think so. That would encourage me to log in and join the fun:)

Michelle

(website)

Veteran

I happen to agree that it wouldnt' change the dynamic much, but that said I wanted to thank Anna and others who don't dig this idea for speaking up so frankly. I think we're all interested in sincere feedback and I don't think anyone wants to be discouraging or make anyone feel like their opinion isn't being heard. Frankly, Anna, your perspective set things before me in a way I hadn't thought of, so thank you so much for speaking up.

MNsara

Veteran

I guess that if there was a member-only category, then people that prefer to remain more private would tend to post in that category (lots of us never get the posting category right, but whatever. . . )

I wonder if that would seem to be a potential problem, or just the nature of things. . .

I like the idea, though, of being logged to gain greater access to forum and its features.

I think the TPF also requires you to be logged in to do any searching in the forum. Their advanced searches are pretty cool -- that's another request for Greg I have been ruminating on for a while.

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