Should Board Posters Be Required To Register?

I'd rather see people have the option to post as guests. I don't see any big problem here with spam and trolls. This board isn't that busy, period, and it's easy enough to ignore the few such posts I see.

Guest posting can be a way for people to dip their toes into a forum, and I'd rather not lose those posts. I don't think, in general, the guest postings here are any less respectful or intelligent than registered users'. And I don't think we have a troll problem that's worth losing some worthwhile guest comments.

Above all, the flip side of community is cliquishness. Like other boards, this one can be kind of cliquish, and registration-required boards tend to be the most cliiquish of all. I'd rather not see this become a bullpen for likeminded pals who are comfortable with one another. From what I've read here, guest posts often come from people who are disagreeing with some of the more prolific regulars. If that's the only way they're comfortable doing that, I'd rather have them disagree as guests than not post altogether.

In fact, there are some guests who regularly post under the same handles. I don't really know why, and I know that registering would prevent them from posting multiply under different handles (or from having others pose as them). But if that's what they really prefer, I don't really care what their reasons are.

pitu wrote: I wonder if this board isn't taking off because people check it out, say something about negativity and leave. Or, alternately, vomit out their complaint and leave. I think we see alot of postings like that.

But if you required registration, if I follow your thinking, those people wouldn't post at all, right? So how would that make the board take off any more? I suppose you could make the case that the guest postings are somehow turning off lurkers, who othen never join. Maybe, but unprovable and I doubt it. I just don't see the rife negativity here. Arguments, sure. So what? This board is a freaking tea party compared to plenty of other boards I've visited.

I do, though, think that there is a cliquishness and insularity here that puts some people off, and that would be made worse by requiring registration. Look at the recent thread on double strollers. I thought there was hostility on both sides, but look how the sides broke down: mostly guests on one side, and on the other, very frequent regulars, some of their posting counts running into the thousands. (And it was a registered user who made the obnoxious comment implying that mothers of twins were being made psycho by fertility drugs.)

By the end of that thread, you had some of the guests saying they were through posting here. And I don't blame them -- there's a definite regulars-circling-the-wagons dynamic that I think must put off some new people. At least with guest posting, they gave it a shot, and some of them may decide to stick around. But I suspect that with registration, they wouldn't, and the board will just become more like-minded and clubby.

pitu wrote: I'm sure you're right about the initial guesting option - I didn't register for awhile, until a plea was put out to register. But as long as it's an easy thing I don' think it's too much to ask, and I think it builds on-line community. It also gives an non-message board PMing option of contacting people, helpful to mods in a flamewar. . .

btw, I totally agree about the advantages of registering -- obvs I did myself. I'd rather people registered, I just think we'd lose more than we gain by mandating it.

Subject: why I haven't registered

I would like to explain why I haven't registered since I have been a frequent guest poster and I am wondering if certain members want to rid the board of guests like me. I tried out this board when the first stroller debate erupted and my responses ellicted a lot of hostility, to the point where I didn't want a few core members to know who I am nor to have an address where they could email me. I thought (perhaps wrongly) that the stuff they would email me in private would be more hostile than what they would post on the boards. I eat out a fair amount, like to read about restaurants and I like a good debate and have tried to stay on topic (but of course with email, it is easy to veer off and I apologize for the few times I have been rude). Also, unlike most other neighborhood boards, this one doesn't require you to sign your name. So even if registered, it would still be basically an anonymous board--except with a place to PM. So I thought by always using the same name, I was basically signed in--everyone would know which posts were mine but certain members couldn't gang up and PM me into submission.!

Actually, registration does prevent a lot of ugliness because it requires people to own up to their words on some level, and it allows mods to ban people efficiently (so far, just the Russian Viagra dealer). Before the PH board required registration, I routinely spent my entire lunch hour dealing with various meltdowns between posters, and spam. Now I don't. The difference is crystal clear to me.

I don't have a problem with people saying, "I believe that the board should allow guest posting" because I do understand why it might be desirable. But I want to hear those same people saying "And I volunteer to be a mod." It's not an issue on this board yet, but eventually it probably will be, and when that happens I want to see people put their own free time (not mine and the other mods') where their mouth is.

I don't think EmilyM is advocating for required registration on the PS board - I think she's saying why it is necessary on super active boards. and if you look at some of the older posts on the PH board (which have been significantly cleaned up) you'll see why this was an issue. the guests weren't ignorable - they were extremely obnoxious. many of their posts had to be redacted or deleted.

Also - another thought: spoofers. People who regularly post under the same Guest handle cannot guarantee that they will be the only person posting under that anon name. What's stopping me from posting under the name Kensingtonmom (as an example)? Nothing except honesty. Requiring registration also gives users security in knowing that no one else is pretending to be him/her.