[Jean Thibodeau]

I have noticed lately a couple of Forums sites that I would lurk on i.e. Enjoy reading but not registered as a member that are now impossible to read posts on without first registering.

There is even one that has a " Nah Nah Nah message " saying that if you want to " look " you now have to join: They try to make it sound inviting but it just " registers " to me as offensive and a turn off. And I wouldn't join on principle !

Also if I joined every site that I browse I wouldn't get ANY sleep.

In any case I see this as counter productive if they want the maximum numbers of people who enjoy reading their content.
I guess they want to maximize their statistics of registered members but it will turn off a lot of people like me.

Is this something new or something server companies are pushing onto their clients.

Very off topic but just wanted to check that there are no plans to do this type of stuff here: I tend to think not because I don't think the point of this site is to be an exclusive club or to limit access. ( Having to register to post is fine but just to read. )

[Nathan Robinson]

I had this site set up that way for awhile when we first launched. There is frankly just so much more that registered users can do over guests, but I figure it's the reader's choice if they want a mediocre visiting experience or not. They'll register if they want to, and won't if they don't.

So many sites have no other content besides their forum and so put a lot of weight on their forums.

I presume that most site operators make this choice so that they can not only control the delivery of the content, but also track who is reading what, and what is popular.

Frankly, I'd go back to the "closed" format, except that I enjoy the fact that the information on our forums is indexed by search engines and a ton of traffic comes from that source. We have many, many people coming to this site for information that have no interest in the hobby, per se, but only an interest of getting a specific question answered. They may not be our core audience, but I don't want to turn those people away.

[Jean Thibodeau]

Thanks Nathan for the answer.

The main difference for me is that I join if I want to actively participate but I visit numerous sites like SFI as an example to read the content but feel no need to join.

By the way, take it as a complement that this is the only site that I have joined. ( At least I mean it as a complement I don't want to sound conceited about it ...... )

Another example of a site I like to lurk on is the Spyderco site: I have been reading posts there for more than 3 to 4 years and have been tempted to join a few times. Oh, a year or so ago they changed the look of their site a bit and for some reason it made me want to go there less often even if the content hasn't changed substantially: Funny how small intangibles can make a site less appealing

Don't underestimate the usefulness of this site to those who decide not to be fully involved. I can understand wanting more membership but total volume of traffic capable of accessing the Forum content makes this site a better source of information.

From what you said having lot of traffic from search engines is like being on a major highway not on a dirt logging road in the boondocks.

[Steve Grisetti]

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[Steve Grisetti]

[Ralph Rudolph]

Just a comment to this thread as a newcomer (and registered member )

A definite asset of this site is the amount of well edited articles, which are accessible to everyone. You don't find this on other sword forums. Next, I appreciate the high level of expertise, seriousness (and even self-criticism) in the contributions. And if it gets emotional, it is always humourous or fun, never hurting.

Go on this way, folks, it's just the right mix that makes me coming back to the site on a regular basis

[Chad Arnow]