I like the idea, but I can also see how it might discourage potential new members. A compromise would be to have a private category for only OT, personal stuff. All the fashion posts ( which are huge majority anyway) could stay public, as they are right now.

I like the idea of a little more control about who reads what. I like the idea that only people logged on can click through links and search the forum. I would like it if only members or maybe only active members can see the lists of everything other members have posted.

Hmm, I can look at this two ways.

A member's only area that is publicly labeled as such could work two ways:

1) Could peak a new user's curiosity and drive registration OR
2) Could be a turnoff/unfriendly for people that regularly visit the site but do not prefer to log in

Typically, when you're trying to attract new readers/participants/customers, the fewer hoops they have to pass through the better. The appeal of the forum is that it is a friendly, caring and safe place for people to improve their style and self esteem. The wonderful thing about it is that it is open to ALL, no matter whether you are just starting to take care of yourself for the first time or you're a style guru.
I wouldn't want a members only area to be looked at like a place for frequent posters or style gurus only!

I like the idea of posts that are designated as "private" by the author being viewable as a pleasant surprise when you log in, just like how we can see the conversation status bubbles (green, gray or white). You don't really miss them when you are not logged in, but nice to see once you're there!

Personally, I don't think that people should post really sensitive information online if they have privacy concerns. I figure if you're putting on a website, you're okay with the info being out in the world. And I hate it when I have to log in to a new site to access content.

I would not make the privacy flag a default. I would make it a checkbox that has to be rechecked indicating the request for privacy each time a user posts.

PS - BTW, I love thinking about this stuff because I'm in marketing and it's my job so I hope I'm not offending anyone. I'm going to continue logging in all the time regardless

I just want to add my thoughts:

I'm not particularly concerned about my own privacy but for those who have situations that call for more protection when posting online I think some type of privacy measure would allow them more freedom to share and grow.

When I first started coming to the site one of the things I appreciated was being able to see what others (women in "real time") were wearing and how they were styling their outfits. I also appreciated viewing photos to see how members' style evolved. It really gave me encouragement to see that people try, make mistakes, take risks, ask questions and eventually get their groove going. I read, viewed photos and studied the archives in the site a lot before becoming a member. I don't join anything online until I can see that it aligns with my personal values so it was great for me to have access to forum in order to make that determination.

The idea of having the option to make a photo private to members only and having a private off-the-topic area for members only sounds reasonable to me. It would allow for privacy and protection the times it is needed without totally cutting off the opportunity to share publicly and reach out to non-members. Even though I probably wouldn't use the privacy option very often it would be nice to have for more revealing photos like swimsuits or photos with our children in them.

I think any fashion realated posts NEED to say public as that is the point of YLF, but I totally see about having an off topic area that could be kept to registered members only, we would all have to be vigilant about keeping it for OT posts only though and not putting fashion related threads in it x

These are all valid comments. Thank you! Greg and I need to do a lot of thinking because it's a slippery slope. We WANT to attract new readers, but we want to respect your privacy issues too.

One thing is for sure though - we will not be able to please everyone.

I haven't thought about it enough, but at the moment I am not keen on the idea of a separate OT tab. This is a forum about fashion and style feedback and support. The odd OT threads are fine but if they get out of hand, we will lose the focus of this forum.

A good point, Angie.
Thanks to you and Greg for always listening so attentively, even when we aren't sure exactly what we want yet!

Always prepared to listen and learn, Michelle. I hope we're able to offer a solution that meets with the approval of most.

I agree that there are obviously privacy concerns but at the same time everyone who posts should be vigilant of their own privacy. Everyone posts knowing that this is a public forum and should keep that in mind when posting. While it woiuld be nice to restrict access to certain posts (and that I too would be more comfortable posting photos if it were like that) I think it would take away from the open and inviting atmosphere here. Although, at the same time, the people who do not have access to these posts wouldn't know that are missing them so maybe it wouldn't affect morale. It definately is a slippery slope.

Interesting ideas from everyone. Good luck figuring this one out, Angie and Greg.

Thanks, Marianna.

Mellllls, you articulated what is in my head perfectly. Thank you.

I'd just like to echo Angie's thanks for all the great input. I think we understand the points made by everyone and I'm confident we will find a good compromise between openness and privacy. In the meantime please let us know if you have any new thoughts on the topic.

I hope I am not stepping out of line here but I have some concerns. A forum I belonged to a board that dealt with custody of grandchild so the issues were sensitive. The administer open a private board suddenly everything was a private matter. So their were no new members and the board died.
I guess my point is it is a fine line to balance and I’m not sure how you balance it.
I think having the tags is already making some people feel left out.
I will support any decision Angie and Greg make.

I just want to pipe up that as a relatively newly joined member that I like the tags. It did not make me feel left out.

Thanks for chiming in again, Debbie. That's interesting.

Scarlet, good to know.

I feel very strongly that privacy online is an illusion. Even if you are posting in a "protected" environment, i.e., Facebook or some other forum that is supposedly private, there is no guarantee that information will stay private in perpetuity. Websites sometimes change hands, privacy policies change, etc. Even the suggestion that we make a private forum on YLF only registered/active members can see is not really private. All anyone would have to do is register, and it's very easy to achieve "active" status. So what are Angie and Greg to do? How stringent will access to the "private" forum have to be? Also, how much legal responsibility will Angie and Greg have? If something that is "supposed" to be private somehow became public due to computer error or whatnot, would YLF be legally responsible in some way? See, we're getting into a whole can of worms here that I feel is very tricky, and is really not needed. I'm happy people feel very comfortable on this site and can talk about things that are fairly private in nature. However, the purpose of this site is to talk about fashion. I mean, really, that's why this site is here. That's a fairly innocuous topic. There's not much that I can say about fashion that I would be embarrassed if some strange person happened across. I also respond to some OT posts that are not of a "fashion" nature. However, I never post anything online that I feel uncomfortable with people knowing about me. Once I post that information, I cannot control who sees it, or what they do with it. So I never post items like that. You guys, do not post things you feel uncomfortable with strangers knowing. Only you can decide what your level of comfort is, and you are ultimately responsible for what information other people may or may not be able to find out about you.

Ana, *hugs*.

At the end of the day the internet is not private no matter HOW you look at it. That's a crucial point. It *is* easy to achieve active status on YLF and that's all it would take.

I haven't even begun to think about the legal issues because my mind is slow to think that way. But thanks for bringing up that point, Ana.

Angie & Greg, it's true that you won't be able to please everyone. But I think it's been a great dialogue to have, and reading everyone's responses really got me thinking about the complexities of managing this forum, the importance of privacy, the responsibility we each bear for the content we individually contribute, and the fresh perspective that new members bring to our ongoing conversations. I personally will support whatever decisions you make and thank you not only for taking the time to listen to everyone's perspective, but for creating this unique forum and investing so much of your time and energy in managing it. While I like to imagine it's a labor of love, I know it must take up a good deal of your time, and I hope the diversity of responses indicate to you both how much your members value and cherish this special community you've built.

Frances, what an absolutely lovely comment. Please accept a huge hug of thanks for your awfully kind words.

You know, I'm starting to think this whole idea is kind of pointless. First of all, the entire forum isn't going to be private. Only selected posts are. Second of all, "private" is a true misnomer. Nothing is going to be private. It takes about 2 seconds to sign up, and once you do, you can see all the posts. That is not "private." Everyone can still see what you post. There is just an extra step for some people, and not a very hard one to overcome.

Even then you are not obligated to post anything. You can STILL be a member without posting anything.

I'd be interested in seeing something that told me how many members vs. how many "guests" were on the forum at any given time. I often forget that people lurk around here because they have no presence. Being able to see that would serve as a good reminder.

I think I might go back to blurring my face again after this discussion. It has been a wake up call for sure.

Some really good points have been made, both pro and con. While I do like the idea of different tabs/topics sections and have suggested something similar in the past, I have to join the skeptics on making any of them private. Ana's points about people having more realistic understandings of how thin online privacy really is are excellent ones. Moreso, I have never been in favor of anything on YLF that alienates new or lurking readers. It's the same issue I have with the buttons under our names now; I think it can too easily cultivate an 'us vs. them' environment, which is the antithesis of what YLF has been about.

I would prefer fewer OT posts, or more discretion used on their topics, long before I would want to see a private OT section. I think it dilutes the purpose and spirit of the forum. At least that's my perspective on it!

Maya, I'm glad this has been an eye-opener for you! I think it's always important to remember everything you post on the internet is going to be seen by many people you will probably never even know are there. I've had that lesson taught to me time and again in my years online.

Even just recently, I had a couple of my outfit photos added as "favorites" by someone on Flickr. I keep all my photos open and available for anyone on that site because I also have thousands of non-outfit photos under that name, and I frequently get requests from church bulletins, non-profits, other websites, etc to use my photos in their marketing. I followed the links of the people who liked my outfit shots, assuming it was another fashionista on Flickr (there are pools of those groups too there). Imagine my shock when I discovered it was a sexual fetishist who had photos of naked and/or bound women! I have no idea why they liked my innocuous outfit posts, but it was a huge wakeup call for me!

Since then, I have had to change all my settings on my Flickr account so no one can find me in random searches. I'm sad my flower and nature shots are hidden away too, but them's the breaks!

Mellllls' post is exactly what I would have written if I were a more articulate poster.

I've been a newbie on forums that had members' only areas, and it was so difficult to reach that status that I finally moved on, feeling that much of the real community was behind a closed door. Then again, if reaching member status is easy, it defeats the purpose in the first place.

Internet privacy is an illusion and we're responsible for what we put out there. I thought about this when I started posting pictures. My first pics were neck-down photos. But you know, unless you can put faces to posters, especially as a newbie, it's hard to feel part of a true community. It's one reason another board I visit requires posters to use names (even if it isn't your real one) in order to foster a sense of togetherness. I love the open, inclusive community here. I'd hate to see that change.

I tend to believe in the saying: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." After reading all the wise comments, I too don't really see the point in making a "private" sector of YLF. We each have the power to share as much or as little info as we want. No one is forcing us to share our real name or post our pictures, etc. I haven't seen Medusa on the forums lately, but she is a great example of an active forum member who was very discreet. It's doable!

Truthfully, what a poster puts out here rests squarely on~ the posters~ shoulders. Don't share on the net if you don't care who knows, particularly the very personal, private and sensitive OT stuff.

Angie and Greg may have essentially solved this prob when they implemented the private message . If you want to share something private, so far that has worked wonderfully well.

Either way I am very happy to continue to post my photo's and later remove them myself")

While I certainly understand the desire to be able to post things for just "the inner circle" to see, we have to remember that this forum is really a business venture of sorts of Angie and Greg... I think I remember her saying when they launched the store that her long term dream was for the blog to become a full time endeavor. (forgive me if I am mistaken) They need to be able to run the forum in a way that most benefits their efforts and I support that 100%. So we must remember that we are all here as guests of Angie and Greg and this isn't our own personal web site as our Facebook accounts might be. We must use discretion when posting personal information and be aware that just because we feel at home here, it is still a very public place.
Angie and Greg- thank you both for all the time, energy and love you put into this forum and blog. We all benefit beyond comprehension from your generous spirit genius style sense.
kudos to you both!

Excellent points, one and all. I certainly would never want to compromise Angie and Greg's amazing accomplishments and would rather abandon this line of thought altogether than create uncomfortable situations for them. Privacy settings may indeed be too much trouble and not worth the effort. And everyone has raised excellent points about personal responsibility.
Thanks a lot, everyone.

A lot of great input and support in this thread -- thanks very much.

I just want to reassure you that we will probably never provide the ability for "on topic" posts to be "members only". That undermines the point of YLF, which is that the answers to one person's question are here for other people to read later on.

I also agree that complete privacy is impossible to guarantee, even on a secure system. Just look at all the high profile iPad users who had their email addresses leaked recently.

Michelle's original suggestion was very specific though. She was only talking about OT posts, and she wasn't asking for privacy -- only that certain OT posts could be made "active member only". This really isn't real privacy given that anybody with even a small motivation can become an active member within a week.

All it would do is reduce the chances that something a little more personal wouldn't be visible to the casual passerby.

To me the real question isn't as much about privacy as it is about the importance of OT posts. I have to admit I was a little worried when Angie talked to me about the frequency of OT posts increasing, but then I realized that its a sign that people are happy in this community and want to share more stuff. That's great.

So while we will continue to put fashion & style front and center, we are interested in the value that people see in OT posts and how we can support them better. I saw Michelle's post in this light.

Kim, thanks for your very thoughtful last comment. The blog will never be a full time endeavour for me because I enjoy working with my clients too much! But the two workloads are complementary so they mesh well. Hopefully I'll still be a 65 year old fashion stylist.

Michelle, thank you for starting the thread and for your thoughtfulness too. Greg brought back the thread to your original questions and I hope you feel that they were answered.

Greg, what you say makes sense. However, I wonder if there would be a tendency for people to feel that an OT section visible only to active members really is safely private? As you've pointed out, in reality it wouldn't be private at all. Would you perhaps come up with a privacy policy that members would need to read at registration that makes that point very clear?

Would this also encourage people to make more OT posts? I think it would. If you are going to make OT posts "private," would there be some way to really separate it from the other stuff, or some way for active members to block it so they wouldn't have to see it in the Recents tab? Personally, I agree with KristenKP above, I'd rather nothing was done and OT posts kept at a minimum. I don't mind the odd one, but I rarely read OT posts and I would rather there are fewer posts like this so I don't have to scroll past them to read the fashion posts.