GUEST VIEWING

[DataAve 0]

Can you implement a hack to disable GUEST VIEWING? I mean, I know you can, but will you? There are always Guests viewing our personal information with unlimited access to all files, including our emails. They are probably sucking the Server dry, by creating traffic and slowing down the board. It would also be nice to see them participate. If they want to “LURKâ€

[DataAve 0]

Some comments. I would like the Dealers here to feel comfortable and I don't think it is fair that the competition and Manufacturers to view without registering. At least when the LURKERS register, you can grab their IP and see who they are.

[rory 0]

I dont mind guests browsing, i dont want my info public to all, but its not that big a deal. The main thing is that emails should never be shown. i dont mind members seeing my email but its when the spammers get a hold if it.

[DataAve 0]

Is anyone home?

[MetzLyov 0]

Data, I can hear you loud and clear... I already voted and fully support your assessment. I think everything should be hidden unless someone logs in and becomes a member!

 

Levon

[DataAve 0]

Seven (7) Guests and 1 Member online now.

[rory 0]

and 2 hidden members ..

[larry 2]

I am very hesitant to do this. I thought about doing this when the forum was started but I decided not to for two reasons.

• Search engines will not sign up so the forum will never be indexed

• Advertisers will be reluntant to advertise on a private forum. It's all about visibility to them.

 

If the forum went private, then there would have to be some kind of monthly charge to sign up. That's too much of a headache for me.

 

Also, private forums do not grow at the same rate as public forums. Some people just like to browse. I can do something like restricting searching to registered members or something along those lines.

 

Regarding email, I switched off the public viewing of emails a while ago. Let me know if you can still see them.

 

Lastly, I am going to make this forum a priority next year - I mean it this time. I keep saying I am going to make changes here but I let other work, the stuff that pays the bills, take all of my time. Members have made some very good suggestions, like RSS (news feeds) and other methods of promoting this place, I just have to prioritize them try to slowly implement them.

 

I want to thank everyone who contributes here. I think everyone would agree that this forum is the best source for CCTV information on the net.

[MetzLyov 0]

Larry,

 

Thank you for your reply to a very important topic.

 

If I understand your answer correctly and you can correct me if I am wrong, are you overruling the member's consensus?

 

You being the administrator and the owner of this website allows you to decide the future of this forum, and I can give you that. What about the ideas and the suggestions that members are making for the better of this forum like what DataAve recommended? If these type of suggestions do not meet your long term goals for the forum, then please clarify what does?

 

I think your approach is incorrect, if I may stress at this point. You as an administrator are very much dependent on the members input and members who are keeping up with the content on what is really happening. Without these members that invest a lot of their own time and resources, your forum is just that, a simple forum that will not carry any weight nor produce any results. There may be few dozen active members in this forum that carry 99% of the workload and you want to overrule them all, because you own it or administer it? Think about that for a moment!

 

Lets take a look at your 2 main reasons to turn down the consensus:

 

1.“Search engines will not sign up so the forum will never be indexedâ€

[steve~ 0]

If your email and personal info are not actually publicly accessible (unless you want them to be), I don't see what the problem is.

 

I think all of Larry's points seem to be valid. No matter what you do in terms meta data and DMOZ, if this forum isn't publicly accessible, a web crawler like google would not be able to crawl this forum and index its text. So say, for example, someone is interested in learning about the reliability of the GV-900, and there is a thread on this forum about that, someone could type in "GV-900 reliability" into google and that thread might be one of the search results. That person would then learn about this forum and be able to join and contribute to the discussion.

 

I think it's also likely that advertisers would be more reluctant to advertise on a private forum. Whether or not it's public or private, this is a CCTV Surveillance forum, so the audience is going to be focused on that niche. If this forum is private, there are going to be much fewer people reading or signing up for this forum. A person is unlikely to blindly sign up for a forum without knowing what kind of content is inside, especially if it requires signing up with an email address and risking exposing oneself to spam.

 

I think if the purpose of this forum is to provide a tool for communicating knowledge about the CCTV/Surveillance industry, then obviously a public forum will work better toward this cause. I understand that the regulars in this forum have worked hard over many years to gain the experience and knowledge that you have, and maybe you don't like the idea of a less experienced person (like myself) being able to read this forum and learn what you know so easily. If you are so worried about keeping what you post private or exclusive, why are you posting on a public forum? Wouldn't it make more sense to email each other, or use a private chat room? Or have a separate private section of this forum (isn't that what the Dealers Only section is for?)?

 

Also (and probably no one here cares), this poll is pretty biased toward regular members of this forum. I mean, if the "lurkers" were able to vote, this poll might not be so one-sided.

[Thomas 0]

Also two people are not a consensus. It doesn't bother me if the forum stays public and in fact I would perfer it be open to lurkers.

[DataAve 0]

15 people. Just about the number of Members that contribute on a daily basis.

 

Yes, I want my info kept private.

83% [ 15 ]

No, who cares who collects my email.

16% [ 3 ]

[DataAve 0]

...and on that note, I bid all well.

[rory 0]

Well actually only the main page is indexed, would need to redo the script so it has static pages also, and a link to those starting from the top static page, but right now only the main page is indexed in google. So as the forum code is right now, it wouldnt matter for google whether it is private or not.

 

Also, we do have a dealer forum for most long term members, and lurkers cant get in there

[Thomas 0]

Two have posted. I trust php polls about as far as I can throw a php programer.

[MetzLyov 0]

Well actually only the main page is indexed, would need to redo the script so it has static pages also, and a link to those starting from the top static page, but right now only the main page is indexed in google. So as the forum code is right now, it wouldnt matter for google whether it is private or not.

 

Also, we do have a dealer forum for most long term members, and lurkers cant get in there

 

Rory, I concur!

[MetzLyov 0]

If your email and personal info are not actually publicly accessible (unless you want them to be), I don't see what the problem is.

 

I think all of Larry's points seem to be valid. No matter what you do in terms meta data and DMOZ, if this forum isn't publicly accessible, a web crawler like google would not be able to crawl this forum and index its text. So say, for example, someone is interested in learning about the reliability of the GV-900, and there is a thread on this forum about that, someone could type in "GV-900 reliability" into google and that thread might be one of the search results. That person would then learn about this forum and be able to join and contribute to the discussion.

 

I think it's also likely that advertisers would be more reluctant to advertise on a private forum. Whether or not it's public or private, this is a CCTV Surveillance forum, so the audience is going to be focused on that niche. If this forum is private, there are going to be much fewer people reading or signing up for this forum. A person is unlikely to blindly sign up for a forum without knowing what kind of content is inside, especially if it requires signing up with an email address and risking exposing oneself to spam.

 

I think if the purpose of this forum is to provide a tool for communicating knowledge about the CCTV/Surveillance industry, then obviously a public forum will work better toward this cause. I understand that the regulars in this forum have worked hard over many years to gain the experience and knowledge that you have, and maybe you don't like the idea of a less experienced person (like myself) being able to read this forum and learn what you know so easily. If you are so worried about keeping what you post private or exclusive, why are you posting on a public forum? Wouldn't it make more sense to email each other, or use a private chat room? Or have a separate private section of this forum (isn't that what the Dealers Only section is for?)?

 

Also (and probably no one here cares), this poll is pretty biased toward regular members of this forum. I mean, if the "lurkers" were able to vote, this poll might not be so one-sided.

 

Steve~, let me interject few of my points on your personal observations:

 

I do not think you read and understood what I stated.

 

If Larry's assessment is correct to leave the forum public would make it “search engineâ€

[qman 0]

As the moderator of this forum, I honestly prefer the forum to be more private, there is something that can be done for this, because I do see the problems, and I also are getting more and more junk e-mail from manufacturers. Maybe there can be a simple solution that can work for all. I have seen other forums that in order to view certain areas, you need to register and log in. Basically not making the entire forum private, just certain areas, let's say, leave general digital discussions open, but close pc dvr and digital recorders sections. This way, people will be more compelled to sign up.

 

In regards to the dealer section, I have full control over that section, I have contact information of all members, and I have also done my research on them.

 

Now, one more thing, DATA, what did you mean when you bid all farewell?

[fdan4817 0]

I am a little confused by the animosity toward Larry, who as far as I can tell, bears the financial responsibilty for the site. Also, other than DataAve, how many have offered to work on the maintenance of the site, finding advertisers, etc.

 

It seems there are two separate issues.

1) Who can view forum discussions.

2) Who can view member information.

 

Why can't it be set up so that the forum is still public, but the member info (except for screen name) is private. I know this is possible because it is exactly what eBay does. You can browse eBay all day long, but to view info about members or to bid, you must join.

 

Seems to me you could have the best of both worlds.

 

My final comment is this. The majority is not always right. If you are a Bible believer, this point is easily proven. But, even if not, look at issues in America such as slavery and women's rights. For many years the majority held the wrong opinions. My point is that the argument should not be based on how many people think it is right, but the validity of the arguments.

[Cooperman 0]

Crikey, every time I spend a few days away from the forum, things begin to get ... interesting

 

I've also been getting spammed a lot recently, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if it isn't as a result of being a member, but if we consider the practicalities of controlling contact information, if the present arrangement is changed, a spammer would only need to register as a member, to gain access to the same details already in the public domain.

 

Whatever our opinions as to what is the best thing for us personally, we all knew the score when we joined, and if you join a club you play by the rules.

 

Larry has provided a unique facility and our thanks are due to him for that; whatever our personal opinions, we should respect what's been achieved by admin., mods. and members so far.

 

If specific areas are set up as restricted access, that shouldn't be a problem. I'm not currently registered for access to the dealer section, and I'm certainly not going to lose any sleep over it.

 

The basis of providing a platform for the open exchange of information and ideas, is precisely what makes this forum so successful and long may it continue as such.

[MetzLyov 0]

Dan, why do you think that we have any animosity towards Larry?? If you take our comments as a form of animosity, then you will have problems with many posts in this forum, as there are always agreements and disagreements on everything.

 

We are in America my friend and everything is based on debates, discussions, agreements and disagreements and that is what is happening here and nobody is here to put Larry down...

 

Nobody has any issues with Larry, but we are all entitled to our opinions for the better of this site...

 

When was the last time that anyone was asked to help and we refused? I know that Data has done a tremendous job and assisting in many cases, but we can not help if we do not know what is going on... I can tell you that Larry has been in contact with concerns before, but he believes that he is handling the situation just fine and we have no reasons to question that...

 

Lets stick with what Data asked and not go any different ways please...

 

You suggestion is in line with what we are asking... If it is possible to have the best of both worlds then that is even better.. However, when an explanation is given as a justification why certain section can not be private, that is where out debate is... I personally will stand behind on everything that I stated, because it is based on facts and not assumptions!

 

As for your last paragraph, lets not bring politics or religion in our discussions please. Neither ever solved or will ever resolve any differenced that anyone may have!

 

Levon

[Thomas 0]

Keeping contact info private is fine. But in the course of debate I have yet to hear a justification for keeping the posts not in the dealer section private.

[qman 0]

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHh

 

Man, you guys don't get it. By that spammer registering, we can track his IP and then know who he is and ban him from coming back.

[rory 0]

im only jumping in on the spamming thing, I had my email shown for a while started getting tons of spam (email wasnt anywhere else on the web and never submitted to anything), spammers can browse the forum and grab email addresses then add them to their database.

 

Simple remedy, I took off my email, people can PM me, then I can choose whether they get my email or not .. most if not all members will always be welcome to my email, just FYI.

[Thomas 0]

Which is pointless. Tracking the IP address of a spamer is just going to lead you back to an owned box somewhere. You can ban it but between dynamic IP's and owned boxes I promise you that you will not manage ban a single spammer.

 

Two facts I'd like to point out:

 

1. E-mail addresses are not visable currently. Try sending a test mail to yourself. While I haven't digiested the headers the body doesn't give it and the site itself doesn't give it.

 

2. If the forum itself is spammed, we already have the IP address. If I go into moderator mode I can see every IP of every post.

 

So again, I'd like an answer for why forcing registration is something we need.