So many guests :O

[GrammarPhreak]

Many guests on now, took this off my iPhone as you can see! Lol

[Scalise]

Many guests on now, took this off my iPhone as you can see! Lol

Nearly broke my neck trying to look at that.

[Omniscient]

Like I said this will be tried for a week. It's not something I feel is a definite permanent change. It could help...it might not though.

[★Cooldude★]

Implementing VIP membership could cause members who are seeking help to feel like they aren't as good as other members, which wouldn't be a good thing. Maintaining a familiarity helps people think they are welcome. That's why peer mentor schemes work so well.

[AceInfinity]

To state my opinion on limiting the forums from view for Guests. I think that the Emotional Section should be completely open to those users, however, possibly other sections like the coding sections, and the computer support, and graphics sections could be disabled from guests view. I know Graphics is a popular area for people, so that would gain a few member registrations from doing that i'm sure. The computer support area will get them to register if they need any help, and if they like the advice given, then they already have an account made here, and their first choice will be SF for any future problems that are computer related as well.

For the emotional support area however, some people like to keep their identity hidden from public view, so it's easier for those people to go on guest accounts and post here, whether or not they are already registered here or not. That way they don't have to make another account, (which is against the rules anyway) just in attempt to get a problem answered with advice from others here, and still keep their identity hidden.

EDIT: For limiting the view on the graphics area, I think it would have been better to do that if the graphics area was divided into tutorials and a showcase area. That way, guests could see the showcases, and if they liked what they saw, then they would have to register to see any of the tutorials. So maybe you could allow that area open for visitors (guests) but not allow them to make any Posts? If they had a signature, or website logo request, that would force them to register. But they would still be able to see the talent from other members on the forum.

[Scalise]

To state my opinion on limiting the forums from view for Guests. I think that the Emotional Section should be completely open to those users, however, possibly other sections like the coding sections, and the computer support, and graphics sections could be disabled from guests view. I know Graphics is a popular area for people, so that would gain a few member registrations from doing that i'm sure. The computer support area will get them to register if they need any help, and if they like the advice given, then they already have an account made here, and their first choice will be SF for any future problems that are computer related as well.

For the emotional support area however, some people like to keep their identity hidden from public view, so it's easier for those people to go on guest accounts and post here, whether or not they are already registered here or not. That way they don't have to make another account, (which is against the rules anyway) just in attempt to get a problem answered with advice from others here, and still keep their identity hidden.

EDIT: For limiting the view on the graphics area, I think it would have been better to do that if the graphics area was divided into tutorials and a showcase area. That way, guests could see the showcases, and if they liked what they saw, then they would have to register to see any of the tutorials. So maybe you could allow that area open for visitors (guests) but not allow them to make any Posts? If they had a signature, or website logo request, that would force them to register. But they would still be able to see the talent from other members on the forum.

Ha thank you for the elaborated version of my post. This is exactly how I feel, but I was too lazy to say it all. I agree with infin ^^

[AceInfinity]

But if they don't want to register. Come on Omni, sarcasm isn't needed.

If they don't want to register, then they aren't helping to contribute to the success of the site that they have gained the knowledge from. If they found something useful on the site, the least they can do is to help us out. It's not hard to register. And the whole point of a forum is to gain activity. You won't get that from people that aren't willing to register. We can put incentive into them doing that.

[Element]

I totally agree with you bro

[Crayo]

Maybe that's a good idea. It's not something I like to do normally but it could increase membership and activity.

The biggest issue is that MyBB has some wonky permissions for disallowing the viewing of threads to guests and then displaying some odd messages. I've had to alter HF in order to do what I wanted but it was worth it.

Let me give it a shot.

EDIT: Okay done. I'm going to see how the site does in the next week because of this.

http://yaldaram.com/showthread.php?tid=310

There's a plugin for it, just for future reference