Membership Unable to see posts

[Morrigan 1,826]

So I've come across a few of these types of sites, namely ones that are more "mature" then others as they say and despite paying for the Jcink or being self hosted they keep their IC forums hidden. How do you feel about that? Would you join a site that does this?

 

For me I don't think I care either way as long as I get to see them before I app a character.

[KARA BELLA 18]

i think i would be hesitant to join a site that hid their ic forums.  i like to kind of poke around sites before i join. in the event that i happen to join a site other than my own.  although i have never actually seen that done on any sites.  i just think if you are a premium site on jcink or self hosted why would you have any reason to have to hid your ic forums?

[Elena 546]

There are people who hide their forums even if not mature. Afraid of plagiarism. Sorry, but I am afraid of an inactive site, and of a culture where everyone is suspecting another... No, I wouldn;t join.

[Lunaala 18]

I'm on a site that did this for a while because it was private and the staff were trying to keep things hidden because they'd had harassment issues in the past. But in the case of a public site, I wouldn't like this much and wouldn't want to join. I like knowing when the most recent posts were.

[Orchid 12]

I'm not too bothered by hidden IC forums, but when I'm writing an application, and I can't see other apps, then I get a little worried. I like to see what's made the cut, what is generally expected, and what kind of people i'm going to be writing with. If I can't see the level of writing through applications, I'm hesitant to even bother with an app of my own. Those are the sites that make me uneasy. I know, again, it's for that plagiarism thing, but just hide apps from folks who haven't registered. Once I register, I look around, get a feel for the site. If I can't nose into threads or the writing of others, then I am not real keen on joining a site I can't get a pre-view of.

[CovertSphinx 710]

I tried hiding the IC forums once, it was a flop because of the exact reasons everyone listed; "I want to know you're active before I join".

 

What I do now is I keep the basic everyday stuff completely open to guest reads, but may have a handful of areas that are Members Only.

[Amelia 25]

Like mentioned before, I want to get a feel for the site before I decided whether I want to join or not. Having boards hidden is something I understand, but at the same time it makes you wonder why they are hiding it. I have seen apps etc being hidden even when you are writing an app which makes me paranoid for some reason. 

My personal believe is that we are on the internet and things can be copied whether it is word for word or just the ideas. I can understand that it pisses other people off when it happens. Of course when it is word for word I get pissed off as well, with ideas I believe that anyone can come up with them as well so I personally have less problems with it. 

[Kaycakes 78]

I would only hide the mature content if I had that. Personally, I prefer to simply do what Lord Snarky does. I would join only if I had something to read beforehand -- IC content, as well as other interactions.

[Mistress Of The Obvious 73]

The reason why a lot of people won't join sites where content isn't viewable is simply because, at least for me, you don't know what you're getting. Looking at the rest of the site, rules, concept, etc. is essentially a marketing pitch. Without seeing in game content, out of game content, c-box comments, I don't know the real site. Then there is the pressure either real or imaginary to submit a character and fully join the site when I might still be on the fence or changed my mind. With so many sites out there and a lot with the same subject matter, many are just going to continue searching.

 

 

On my site, I only have age verification on the in character sections rather than globally. This is simply to prevent annoyance for someone interested having to constantly have to go through that same age verification screen for things to see the rules and the application.

 

I have seen sites that state they are temporary membership viewable only because of recent harassment. I give them more of a shot. I'm not going to judge or punish staff or members because of most likely a banned member causing problems.

[Huntress 2]

I know I like to see what I am getting into before I join. I don't need to see everything, but I want to be able to see character sheets and some in character writing to see what kind of posts I can expect to receive and see also what would be expected of me in return. 

[Tired Old Soldiers 10]

I also like to see what the members posts are like. I'm pretty particular so I want to be sure that our styles are going to mesh before I join and I'd rather be able to do that as a guest. It seems a waste of my time and an admin's if I am forced to register to see if I might like it there, so I generally will pass on forums that hide things.

 

My sites are on jcink premium and we have the age wall up so you have to put your DOB in before you can see the IC areas, but that's as far as it goes.

[gavinvenom 1]

I'll admit I used to be one of these people who used to keep stuff hidden. I had whole games stolen from me before and it left me pretty paranoid for years. I eventually just got over it I guess and I leave them open now. Having that experience having forums hidden from public view does not deter me from joining the game if I love how what I can see looks. I always have the option of not sticking around if I join and find out the games just not for me.

[Josie 198]

I would not join a forum that keeps their IC forums hidden. Which is kind of funny, since I rarely look at the posts on the forum before joining.

 

My main issue with it is that it's a massive strategic blunder to leave your IC forums hidden. To me, it'd be like getting in a car that someone will only drive backwards. Just. Why? I mean, I could get in with you, but that'd be an annoying ride.

[Robmin 10]

I'll be honest while I'm not someone who joins a lot of sites myself (I find myself flaking if I do no matter my good intentions!) I'd certainly avoid ones that hide their boards IC. While I can understand some reasons why, I just... I don't know. 

 

Now I do keep bios that are being apped hidden within the board so only the member writing and staff members can see. This is more so that if I need to give any feedback I can post it and members won't be embarassed. (I remove the feedback before acceptance however)

[Icewolf 258]

I like to see what the forum is like before I join it. Years ago, I did want to set up an original urban fantasy rp on my original proboards site (which was a general, sci-fi and fantasy site which I had for my fanlistings, Star Wars fan fic site, etc) and kept the rp part hidden. I never finished setting it up, however, because I was at uni and I needed to put all my focus on that. That decision was to make it free from plagiarism and I'd only rped via tabletop games then (DnD and Wizards of the Coast's version of Star Wars). But I don't think plagiarism is as wide spread as people think as I've never come across it. (I have tried out several sites so my character profiles can be found in a number of places, but I always try to link to the places somewhere on my tumblrs, personal site, etc, when I do that, or at least state which sites they are on.)

 

I like to see what a forum is like before I join it. I want to see if my characters will fit in, to see what the other writers expect (if there's a lot of erotica or smut, I don't want to join the site as I don't feel like I belong there.) I also need to look to see if the character profiles are interesting for me and, if it's a panfandom site, if there are people in fandoms I like there. If people are into shipping characters, I like to see what type of ships they are into as from experience, it gives me an indication if we'll get along with each other. I'm more likely to get on with a writer where shipping isn't important to them. If the site is a bit picky about applications, I like to see examples of characters that were accepted so I know how to write my application. If I submit something and it's not up to scratch (even writers who have been writing for a long time can get anxious about picky applications), then it's a waste of time for me and the admin. I like site rules to be simple and not make me jump through hoops all the time, and written so that the admin appears approachable. Sometimes, admins can write rules which talk down to potential members and they are a good indication of how the admin runs the site. Being able to read posts, profiles, etc, gives me a chance to see how well the writers can write. If you can't see any of this stuff on a board before you sign up then you can't really judge if the site is right for you. If you register, it may be the site you're looking for, but if you pass it by because you can't get a feel of it then you've missed it.

Edited December 1, 2016 by Icewolf