Forcing users to register?

[Dan The Man]

Do you think it's a bad idea to force members to register? What I mean is setting the forum permissions where guests cannot read topics. Some people think it's a good idea to force users to register but this could lead to inactive members just wanted to read topics.

What are your thoughts on this?

[warj]

In my opinion it's not a good idea to force all users to register. As you said, some of them just want to read posts, and they'll have to register and make the database slower and heavier unnecessary. Oh, not to mention the ones that will just leave because they don't want to spend time registering...

[Zap]

This one's a no brainer when you understand that Google, Yahoo, MSN can't register for your forum.
Do you want to be indexed?

[Colleen]

Your best bet is this plugin: Limited Guest Viewing -- Motivate Guests to Register - vBulletin.org Forum

This way you don't fully limit guest viewing, they can view a predetermined number of threads before being prompted to register.

As for search engines:

Search Engine Bots (Spiders):

This plugin is intended to use cookies as a result few if any bots will be impacted when it comes to spidering your site [bots do not generally use cookies]. Users with IP logging enabled face more potential impact from spiders. For a full explanation of the impact on bots please read the install file. Questions about this issue should be asked after the install file will be read otherwise responses will direct you to read the file.

[Autumn]

Do you think it's a bad idea to force members to register? What I mean is setting the forum permissions where guests cannot read topics.

How would I find have found your site then? If I can't read first, I won't register. I like to get a bit of a feel of the community before I consider joining.

[Big Dan]

I think Grim was experimenting with this over the summer. I say keep the forums open to guests but keep a few for registered members only.

[allout]

How would I find have found your site then? If I can't read first, I won't register. I like to get a bit of a feel of the community before I consider joining.

I agree! There are hundreds if not thousands of forums in any niche. If I look for one, I am not wasting my time on forums that I can not see what is going on before I register. It is also a plus for existing members because viewers can see there links and advertising without registering.

[MrCat]

How will they register if they won't be able to see what kind of discussions are going on in your forum? Let them view your forum content and let them decide whether or not they would like to register

[Halobitt]

It also depends on the subject of your forum. I found and registered at a forum finding others with the same medical condition. Some of the info is of a more personal nature and people may not want that open to everyone to ogle.

The forum was tied to an small but information packed site.

[LeenkzMike]

I think there is room for both, depending on your niche, i agree with halobitt on that, if we are talking about a special interest group, or a support group, requiring membership might be a smart move, as some of the information that might be required from the members might be of a more personal nature.

On the other hand, for more "open" forums where conversations might expand a variety of topics, or where no very personal info is shared, membership should not be required, as it might deter visitors.

[Jani]

Me too don't like the idea of forcing members to join by hiding the content.

I have visited some forums who don't allow seeing the content to guests and I just left them as soon as I realized it.. because why should I register on a place where I know I will not return?

Also, if you really force the users to join, they will join but just to see the content, then you will have thousands of members but only few will be active.. what is the benefit then?

[houck]

depends on your niche... If your a gaming clan then it's a no brainer to make some areas private... but most of the time, you should allow people to see most of the general topics.

[RichCreator]

I don't like the idea of forcing members tooo!

[sharpwebhosting]

i wouldn't force people to register if you go to most forums its always 50% or more of the people online are guests just browsing let them read and if they are interested they can sign up.

[Jezmeister]

I run quite a few forums and I never force people to register for the majority of forums - it can be good to have a couple of member only boards as a 'perk' of registering but I settle for just requiring registration to post... in my experience you have better luck getting people to join if they can browse before registering

[Zash]

I disagree with this, users register on forums because they see good content. If they don't see good content, they don't register.

[grim]

I disagree with this, users register on forums because they see good content. If they don't see good content, they don't register.

Totally disagree, my one forum requires registration and gets far more registration than when it did not require it.

Many do not register as they simply lurk as guests sucking up bandwidth.

[c0ldmax]

Depends what your site is about!

If the user really needs what is on the site, then they'll signup to see.

[swastik]

I'd say, as many others, it depends.

As an example, if you have a membership website where you give private downloads, it's sensible and understandable to force users to register "before they view the content".

It'd be out of my mind if someone goes and restricts an open discussion forum just for members. In that case, I believe guests should be able to assess the content before they register.

And if you are asking about forcing users after they browse a few posts, you might well go with the Colleen said, it's truly the best bet!

[yollyp]

Who wants to be force anyway especially in this very competitive net world? Don't think users will join if force. What is this, a combat that needs immediate soldiers to force membership? :sgrin:

[Aimhigh]

I only join on forums if it interest me. No one can force me if I don't want to register. Like in seo chat i just read some of their good articles but i never join.

[grim]

I only join on forums if it interest me. No one can force me if I don't want to register. Like in seo chat i just read some of their good articles but i never join.

They can allow you not to read unless you join

[jitendraag]

Some forums including experts exchange has tried this in past. If your forum has 'questions' primarily and you get traffic from search engines on these questions. You might think about forcing people to register to read the answers.

[vectro]

I like a combination of Colleen and Zap's ideas. Keep guest viewing limited to encourage membership, but also keep some content out in the open for guests and search engines.

[tester23]

If guests cant read your content, then neither can the SEO crawlers as far as im aware...

[grim]

If guests cant read your content, then neither can the SEO crawlers as far as im aware...

There are plugins that force to register after x amounts of reads and plugins that allow spiders to read and not guests.

[nrerup]

depends on what those topics are and what you are using your forum for. If you have set up your forum for the general public, then all areas should be open. But, if your forum has a specific purpose (eg. customer portal), paid customers should be able to access special privileged locations whereas the 'lookie loos" should be teased by what is in there.

Kinda like a website. There's often a page for customers that you have to have a username and password to access.

nrerup added 1 Minutes and 55 Seconds later...

I kinda disagree here. I'd prefer to have people know what is available and the more links in a Search Engine, the higher the potential for a good organic ranking ...