Someone earlier mentioned something about so many members logged on and an incredible amount of guests looking in on one particular thread. The numbers were astounding.
While I understand members to be free ones like me, paid subscription and Merchant Members..... the rest of the guests are what............ ?? Anyone from lurkers to trolls to banned members or just anyone... anywhere in the world just viewing everything except pictures ?? I know, not the pricing section without signing up. So, unless you qualify as a sign maker, such as Fellers site...... you can do nothing, until you sign on the dotted line regardless of what lies you tell ??
Then, anyone... anywhere in the world can see all and participate in all ??
Well Gino, you managed to cover a lot more in your question(s) than anyone could answer in one post, so since you have the respect of more than a few members and are our top poster I'll do my best to respond with the information.
There is a link titled
Online Users on the home page followed by the number of members and then guests then a listing of every logged on member. It is this that was referred to in the post you were referencing ... not a thread which only shows a name list of members and the number of guests viewing the thread. Clicking on that link will take you to an alphabetical listing of each member currently on line followed by the various guests and where each listing is at and what they're doing. As an Admin, I also get to view their IP addresses and can click each to have a better idea where their computer is located. If you drill down in the pages past the listing of logged in members, you reach various designations such as Guest, Google Spider, etc. And, if you look at it critically, you will not find a guest or a spider that is viewing any thread or location that is a restricted forum (such as Sales, Marketing & Pricing or Designs & Layouts) or our premium forums or our merchant forums. This is because they are not accessible to anyone without permission to view them and is also why such threads do not show up on Google or other search engines.
The permissions structure of Signs 101 (who can see what and who can participate) has been evolving for the ten years I've been managing Signs 101 and continues to evolve. And, at the size we've grown to it can be pretty confusing as it might also be for any member who's been here a while but hasn't kept up with the details. So let's look at our various user groups and their permissions:
Unregistered or not logged in including search engine spiders:
Can see open forums ... got to show something or people would never register and join. Cannot use the search engine. Cannot view attached images. Cannot access restricted forums. Cannot post.
Registered members awaiting activation:
Can see open forums ... got to show something or people would never register and join. Cannot use the search engine. Cannot view attached images. Cannot access restricted forums. Cannot post.
Registered members who have activated but are awaiting approval:
Can see open forums ... got to show something or people would never register and join. Cannot use the search engine. Cannot view attached images. Cannot access restricted forums. Cannot post.
Banned members:
Can see a message that they are banned and why. Cannot see anything else.
Registered members:
Can see open forums, use the search engine, view attached images, access restricted forums and post. Cannot access premium or merchant forums and cannot post in the classified for sale ad forum or use a posting signature.
Premium members:
Can see open forums, use the search engine, view attached images, access restricted forums, post, access premium forums, can post in the classified for sale ad forum and use a posting signature.
Merchant members:
Can see open forums, use the search engine, view attached images, access restricted forums, post, access premium and merchant forums, can post in the classified for sale ad forum and use a posting signature.
To test this out, try logging out and note that you can no longer see a number of forums you previously could see including:
- Product and Supplier Referrals
- Logo Design
- Designs & Layouts
- Portfolio Board
- Business Management
- Sales, Marketing, Pricing Etc.
You also cannot see the Online Users pages nor the Member List.
So, as you can hopefully now see, it's kind of hard to participate unless you are a registered member in good standing. This then brings up the topic of registration screening and member treatment of other members. I will not divulge the tools and techniques used to screen the 100 to 200 registrations per week that we approve or disapprove. It involves a lot of reading, checking and detective work and is somewhere north of 95% effective. From there it's up to what gets posted and what members reading posts that appear to be from members who might have snuck through our screening with vague or untruthful statements. Some members (you're at the top of the list) love to form judgments about some questionable posts and take it upon themselves to call posters out and poison a thread with your suspicions. While such suspicions at times been correct, often they are not and such actions have served to drive many legitimate members away from Signs 101 with the resulting ill will and negativism such posts cause. If anyone feels a poster has joined under false pretenses or is violating any of the few rules we have here, the appropriate reaction is to click on the Report a Post button and let me deal with it.
