Content Creation Do you allow visitors to post on your forum without registering?

[zoldos]

I let guests see mine but I just don't let them post. If guests can't see anything then it makes it discourages them from joining.

Yes, for some niches.

 

[Timgab]

I myself do not like the idea. If your curious in posting on the forum, then what is stopping you from signing up. Guest posting is very nice but in terms of forum is q contrary to me.

 

[Arantor]

There is value in it if you’re not sure you’re going to stick around, or you just want to test the waters without getting fully committed.

 

[Aussie]

To post to contact support, yes, but only in one section - which is handy when people forget their passwords and the reset emails dont turn up because they used some throw away email address that doesnt work anymore..

Another option is to allow registered members to post anonymously if they want to, which I think can be a very useful feature if done correctly.

 

[Arantor]

Honestly this was a lot more common as a feature 20 years ago as a lower barrier to entry. But spam did away with that.

 

[Al]

Simply enable third party registration using google, Facebook, discord etc.. These platforms can be used on most forum platforms to speed up the log in / registration process. I think what puts people off registration most of the time is the perceived difficulty in the process. By simplifying the process you can both increase registrations and limit the requirement for guest posting.

 

[Arantor]

I think you’d be surprised how little these options get taken up in practice. People don’t always want to tie their personal identity to a site, especially not a random forum, and double so if any sense of anonymity is relevant.

 

[Aussie]

I think you’d be surprised how little these options get taken up in practice. People don’t always want to tie their personal identity to a site, especially not a random forum, and double so if any sense of anonymity is relevant.

I don't think I have ever used one ever, because of that exact reason.

 

[Al]

I’ve found Steam sign up to be very popular on a gaming board. About 15%

 

[Dismal_Bliss]

So far so good. Not a lot of guest activity in the guest-only forum. Most people register so they can particpate in the members forums. There were 3 posts in September, 1 in October, and 5 in November.

My guest only forum just got it's first guest post for December.

So it's not something that's incredibly taken advantage of, but it's serving a purpose. Sometimes someone just wants an answer to a question and then they are gone.

 

[Reverie]

Guest posting was a common thing at one point. I think it was because people kept most of their community private and unviewable, so giving guests a place to see what the community was about. As time went on we realized that wasn't always the best practice. I also saw it was mentioned in a prior post about spam - it truly ended up being a spam collection there.

I think at one point people questioned joining and they wanted to communicate with members before joining in order to decide if they'd want to join or not. Now a days people join everywhere they slightly consider, but then just disappear if not interested.

 

[Husk]

I used to! I had guest friendly forums for site-to-site advertising, requests (so a guest could chat/bounce ideas around before seeing if the role was right for them), and "ask the staff" areas for guests to be able to ask questions before registering. To be fair, this was because I didn't use chatboxes or discord, so it was only logical.

I have since stopped allowing guest posting, though.

 

[Jason]

If someone wanted some troll forum, on purpose, they might allow for guest posting, just for the creepy effect. There are some sites like that out there.

 

[Sinistra]

Unfortunately no I do not allow this especially with the forum spam bots hitting community after community I have ever started or been apart of. I feel allowing open posting on a forum could breed a really bad vibe for potential new members. Even with post moderation on for the guests. I feel this is not beneficial to the community.

 

[Cedric]

I once had that on a forum, I can't remember, but it served little to no value. Just spam.

I can see some value for role playing communities where they usually allow guest advertising, but that's a whole other discussion.

 

[Dismal_Bliss]

There were 3 posts in September, 1 in October, and 5 in November.

My guest only forum just got it's first guest post for December.

I had none in January but I did just get my first one in February.

I may keep the guest forum, or eliminate it. If I eliminate it, then I have to decide if I will let guests post anywhere else or just require registrations.

 

[zoldos]

I had none in January but I did just get my first one in February.

I may keep the guest forum, or eliminate it. If I eliminate it, then I have to decide if I will let guests post anywhere else or just require registrations.

I let guests see my new site, including movies, games, etc. But to interact, etc., you need an account.

 

[Tracy]

A simple 2 letter reply.
No.

 

[vong]

A simple 2 letter reply.
No.

Dito.

 

[wornoutwebmaster]

No. Folks must register. I've been running my community for 27 years, and I've done both, but by far, the least amount of problems has been making folks register and validate their email to post.

Once they have validated their email address, they can post, but their first few posts will be hidden until a staff member approves it. After the member posts a few times, we move them into a group that no longer needs moderator preview. This has cut down on an enormous amount of problems.

Gusts can read, they just can't post.