Guest Posting Preferences

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 5:30 am

Herewith, a poll to see how our "members" feel about allowing "Guest" postings vs required registration . . .

Some of the thoughts I have about "Guest" postings are:
1) Many fall into the "Spam" category.
2) Many fall into the hit-and-run category, whereby a "Guest" simply attacks a member with no fear of retribution.
3) Some appear appear to be commercial plugs for CPAP.com.
4) Some contribute worthwhile information.
5) Some seem to be new folks reluctant to register.

There are probably other categories as well, but these are just the few that come to mind this morning. Of these, items 1 and 2 add no value to the forum.

Item 3 adds commercial value, of course, but having a member state it would be more effective, and the members here actively encourage new folks to get their gear from CPAP.com all the time anyway.

The folks using item 4 could just as easily do so with an alternate identity, such as "Cloaked", or "NameWitheld", or even "GuestToo". The possibilities for alternate identities seems endless. The forum admins have access to everyone's IP address anyway, so they can see who the posters are regardless of what moniker they use, registered member or guest.

Item 5 is a good argument for allowing "Guest" postings, but surely there's another way to accomplish the same thing.

Just a few ramblings for this morning. Good day all.

Regards,
Bill

RedThunder94 · Post by **RedThunder94** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 6:36 am

i think you all know where i stand with guest postings so i won't bore you with details although i agree with numbers 1 and 2 which happen all the time, 3 maybe, 4 sometimes and 5, it's not too hard to register, all the other forums i'm on require registering to post, and you know what, they still get as much traffic as they did before, but the kicker is, they get nowhere near as much spam as we do here, the funny thing is people think that if they change the posting rule that nobody will be able to visit the forum without registering, it doesn't work like that, the guests can do everything they do now except post, so draw your own conclusions. i will now await the trolling guest to flame me.

Snoozin' Bluezzz · Post by **Snoozin' Bluezzz** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 6:39 am

What I am about to posit is not necessarily reasonable, I'll freely admit it but...

I hate to surrender and admit defeat by surrendering guest posting. The forum has worked exceptionally well with guesting. Yes we get the occasionally troll, yes we get the occasional gratuitious flame but this is the most open, generous and tolerant net environment I have participated in and while I am no adolsescent MySpace net type guru I have been on the net pretty much since day one. To me our generous, tolerant, helpful environment says we have been doing something right. Sure, things can always be made "better" - look at our politicians and governmental bodies, but...

That is just my $.02.

David

BTW - Whatever the forum adminstrators are doing its been looking pretty good for about 20+ hours now.

MandoJohnny · Post by **MandoJohnny** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 7:05 am

I am on multiple other message boards on other topics. This is the only one that allows guest posting. Some don't even allow guest reading. Guest posting is just not good message board practice. Also there is no good reason not to register. IMHO.

kurtchan · Post by **kurtchan** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 7:05 am

Although I'm a relatively new member of this forum, I have received invaluable information that has helped to inform my actions in dealing with my sleep doctor, my GP and my DME as well as helping me to "stick it out" during the first miserable weeks of CPAP therapy.

Before I actually "joined" the forum, I logged on, read posts and responses and hung back a little bit to see if joining would be useful. It only took a few days to realize that, not only would it be useful, but imperative to my continued success with CPAP.

By employing a creative username and not divulging lots of personal information, members can remain anonymous if they wish, while still enjoying all the benefits of the forum with the additional advantage of acquiring some "credibility" by virtue of their member status.

With that in mind, I simply don't see what the big deal is about creating a profile and becoming a member before you're allowed to make posts. By limiting these options to registered members, it should cut down on both the spam and the paid professional endorsements.

Kurtchan

Offerocker · Post by **Offerocker** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 7:37 am

MandoJohnny wrote:....Also there is no good reason not to register. IMHO.

curtchan wrote:...I simply don't see what the big deal is about creating a profile and becoming a member before you're allowed to make posts. By limiting these options to registered members, it should cut down on both the spam and the paid professional endorsements.

I have to DITTO that; it's not all that difficult to set up a Profile, and only the email address is required, and that is not shown unless you choose that option.
Again, why not register? It's worth the 'trouble'.
One can read postings on the Forum without registering, but to post, I vote for registration.

Bonnie · Post by **Bonnie** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 8:47 am

This is on of those no win situations. I could really care less one way or another about registered or unregistered. When I read post from a guest and it is articulate, thoughtful and informational do I really care that the person wishes to be a guest? No. If I read a post from someone who newly registered and it is moronic, boring and less than factual do I really care that the poster has a name? No. If I read a post by a long standing knowledgeable member who I know to be very believable do I care that their name is there? Well, yes. Because there are certain people I look forward to their posts, but mostly it is the topic that draws my attention. I have the ability to pick and choose which posts and guest or members comments to read and which to ignore. So to join or not to join, it's a matter of choice and I think taking away any more of our rights is just wrong.

My bumper sticker say:
No, you can't have my rights, I'm still using them.

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 8:51 am

I've always been in favor of "guest" posting, and don't plan to change my mind. That's one of the things that makes this forum GREAT.
If you folks want this forum to become like TAS (and parts of ASAA), then that's what you'll get.
I believe that many/most of the problems we've been seeing can be solved by router or firewall programming.

Just my $.02 worth......after the ResMed price increases, it'll be $.75.

Den

Offerocker · Post by **Offerocker** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 9:01 am

Bonnie wrote:... and I think taking away any more of our rights is just wrong.

Bonnie, I don't know what 'rights' you feel are being 'taken away'.

The right to remain anonymous? We still have that, especially those of us who prefer to use a 'cartoon' instead of a picture of ourselves.

I am not challenging you, just don't understand what you mean; please clarify?

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 9:29 am

Pitching my two cents in with Den... before it costs more!!

I also agree with Bonnie:
"When I read post from a guest and it is articulate, thoughtful and informational do I really care that the person wishes to be a guest? No."

I think allowing guests to post is a good thing on this board. Registering may seem like a simple thing to do for those of us who are accustomed to using the internet and participating in message boards. However, I can see where a person who might not be very comfortable with "internet stuff" - perhaps all they ever do is email and look at a couple of favorite websites - might be very reluctant to "register" for ANYthing on the internet.

If they've found this message board in a desperate search for help before dropping out of treatment completely, I believe the easier it is for them to make their first post, the better.

Oops, the meter sez I went over 75 cents!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 9:30 am

NightHawkeye, the administrator of this forum has made it very clear on many occasions over the past 23 months that he wants 'Guests' to be able to post here. Did Johnny ask you to conduct this poll on his behalf? The policy of this forum is to allow guest posting. Those who don't like the policy do not have to stay here and endlessly discuss how much they dislike it. They are free to leave just as 'Guests' are free to stay.

If you prefer to frequent a message board that doesn't allow 'Guest' posting, instead of staying here and complaining, go to talkaboutsleep.com. You will be happy as a clam. They used to allow 'Guest' posting, but stopped in February. They also used to be a very busy message board, but coincidentally that stopped in February too. The place is now a ghost town by comparison.

Be careful what you wish for.

-SWS · Post by **-SWS** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 9:32 am

1) Many fall into the "Spam" category.

I think we all hate these posts. I'm so glad Johnny is allowing us to personally address this problem with our new "spammer hammer"

2) Many fall into the hit-and-run category, whereby a "Guest" simply attacks a member with no fear of retribution.

By far my least favorite type of guest posting.

3) Some appear appear to be commercial plugs for CPAP.com.

My hunch is this is probably a member who is extremely happy with cpap.com and simply does not want to appear as a shill. I have personally done business with cpap.com long enough and very carefully watched the business practices of cpap.com over years to honestly believe that Johnny will always insist his staff does everything on the up and up. When cpap.com wants to recommend a cpap.com product, they simply log on and do just that. This type of guest posting usually doesn't bother me, though.

4) Some contribute worthwhile information.

My favorite type of guest posting as well (perhaps tied with the humorous guest posts)

5) Some seem to be new folks reluctant to register.

Agreed. I think that's understandable as well. One negative aspect of both untreated and under-treated sleep disorders is the fact that there can be serious outstanding psychological, emotional, and other quality-of-life issues. And that can make people very emotionally reluctant to socially engage themselves. Even a perceived higher degree of guest anonymity can help here in my opinion.

And this is, after all, the early stage of CPAP use where we should expect more CPAP users to be experiencing significantly more problems, some of which are potentially embarrassing. Those emotional issues will clearly impact the degree of confidence with which many posters will come to a new social environment seeking advice. We shouldn't expect the logic quotient of every one of these new posters to run nearly as high as ours regarding the underlying privacy afforded by a registered screen name. many of these distraught new users are simply going to feel better having the illusion that guest lends more privacy. And even perceived privacy can be crucial when it comes to seeking help for socially embarrassing questions in my opinion.

That last category is very specifically what drives my own personal preference very strongly in favor of guest posting. It goes agains my nature to leave anybody who needs our help the slightest disadvantage regarding emotional barriers. As long as the trade off is merely one of trading off a little social and functional cohesiveness in favor of leaving the doors open to help others, I'd personally prefer to see the doors left open. However, if the social and functional cohesiveness of this board reaches a point where members are having a hard time helping others, then Johnny will personally have to make a difficult decision. And there is no doubt in my mind that he will factor in all of our opinions in this and other threads.

My strong preference and vote was in favor of allowing guest posts.

Sleepless on LI · Post by **Sleepless on LI** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 9:38 am

I am going to add my 2 and a half cents (inflation, you know). I have a dad who is approaching 80, but a very young 80 at that. He recently, in the past two years, joined the new millennium and bought a computer, after having WEB TV (don't get me started...). Although he learned a lot in these past two years, he still is very uncomfortable about paying bills online or doing anything that he fears compromises his privacy by doing it on the Internet.

I think many people don't really understand the intricasies of the WWW and are not as comfortable doing things on it that others may not think twice about doing. I agree with Bonnie and Den that there are still many guests who are legit and offer some great opinions and genuinely need help, but may not, for whatever reason, want to register. Maybe they even think they'll just be here for a week or so, LIKE I DID ORIGINALLY!!! What a joke, right? Almost 4k posts later...

I used to be very anti-guest posting until this site taught me how to just ignore or weed through the "nuissance" posts, guests or otherwise, and go for the ones that mean something to me. Hey, one man's ceiling is another man's floor. What I find interesting or "worthwhile" someone else may find a total waste of their time. And to say because you don't want to sign up doesn't mean you don't have something legitimate to offer or that you aren't sincere in needing help, that doesn't sit well with me. I don't think it would be right to turn those people away and not allow them to post.

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 9:50 am

Guest wrote:NightHawkeye, the administrator of this forum has made it very clear on many occasions over the past 23 months that he wants 'Guests' to be able to post here. Did Johnny ask you to conduct this poll on his behalf? The policy of this forum is to allow guest posting. Those who don't like the policy do not have to stay here and endlessly discuss how much they dislike it. They are free to leave just as 'Guests' are free to stay.

Please don't take offense, Guest. I believe my post is entirely within the spirit of openness with which Johnny conducts this forum. I am merely opening a worthy topic for discussion here, and believe I presented both the pros and cons about "Guest" postings.

Guest wrote:Be careful what you wish for.

Just to clarify my own personal preference - I have not voted in the poll because, frankly, I don't have a strong opinion one way or the other. At one time many months back I was in favor of registration, but fully agree with the benefits afforded by allowing "Guest" postings.

However, life is dynamic. Sometimes the benefit/detriments ratio of a particular decision changes. I believe it worthwhile to occasionally reconsider one's choices, particularly at problem times.

Regards,
Bill

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 9:57 am

[quote="Wulfman"]I've always been in favor of "guest" posting, and don't plan to change my mind. That's one of the things that makes this forum GREAT.
If you folks want this forum to become like TAS (and parts of ASAA), then that's what you'll get.
I believe that many/most of the problems we've been seeing can be solved by router or firewall programming.

Just my $.02 worth......after the ResMed price increases, it'll be $.75.

Den

Guest Posting Preferences

What is your preference regarding allowing "Guest" postings?

Guest Posting Preferences