New changes to MERB - Most sections are now MEMBERS ONLY

[Mod 8]

I have been in contact with Fred and changes will be ongoing tonight. At the moment, most of the board is back to being open to all visitors. If you log off and look at the main index, you will see that some sections are marked 'private'. When everything is complete, all the review sections will be private but the section names will be visible to everyone. I would assume that Fred and his admins are aware of how to open the board to the indexing bots as TERB and PERB must be configured this way but will pass on the reminder. Thank you for the tip, HFE.

 

[oobe]

FWIW, I personally find the new policy rather annoying.
I typically browse Merb from a private session (no history saved in the browser, etc...) as I don't want to leave incriminating evidence in the too frequent situation someone else uses my computer, and this means I can't leave the session open, or the browser autocomplete my login.
I'm glad I picked a short user name, but it probably means I won't go check quickly the new posts when I'm bored at work, which probably means I won't get tempted to indulge unplanned sessions as often.
I may have to find another forum to kill time...

 

[saltydog]

I lurked for a VERY long time before I joined. I can see your point, but I think it will be bad for "business" . Just my 2 cents.

 

[Mod 8]

Hello,

The advertiser forums will remain open to all visitors, members and guests alike. No log in is required to see who is available. Also, when you click on 'What's New' you will still see all the updated threads listed. If there is a review or topic that you are interested in reading, then you can log in to read it.

M8

 

[Techman]

FWIW, I personally find the new policy rather annoying.
I typically browse Merb from a private session (no history saved in the browser, etc...) as I don't want to leave incriminating evidence in the too frequent situation someone else uses my computer, and this means I can't leave the session open, or the browser autocomplete my login.
I'm glad I picked a short user name, but it probably means I won't go check quickly the new posts when I'm bored at work, which probably means I won't get tempted to indulge unplanned sessions as often.
I may have to find another forum to kill time...

If you're worried about other people using your system and checking your history, you should just create separate users for everyone who uses your system and protect your profile with a password. Set up a screen saver that requires a password so that when you are away from the system no one will be able to get on. And if you're using a work system, why not get yourself a USB thumbdrive and install portableapps on it? It has a portable version of Firefox and you can download portable versions of Opera or Chrome to it if you like one of those better. That way you don't have to worry about anyone else finding out what sites you were surfing because your browser will be in your pocket and no traces left on the system. You could also use it on your home system if you don't want to set up different users. You can also get a password manager for portable apps that will fill in your user and pword on the sites you visit automatically. And it's free.
www.portableapps.com

 

[duetoday]

Well i just found out that i now have to log in every time...SAD i love to lurk.I quit the other board a few years back for the same reason...Upsetting...we'll see.
If it is for LE : useless in my opinion,..or may be just a slow walk to a paying members only board?

 

[oobe]

If you're worried about other people using your system and checking your history, you should just create separate users

Thanks Techman, I'm well aware of the various ways to hide my stuff, and running Linux possibilities are countless, but most will force me to change my usage patterns.
Removing a USB key before lending my laptop to a friend passing by who just wants to check his facebook might raise suspicions, though.
I think I'll just revert to using a text-mode browser in a terminal - this way I can check merb in a middle of a crowd and everybody will think I'm working of highly technical stuff!

 

[Mod 8]

Hello,

We have a number of reasons for making the board members only which I will not go into at this time. None of them have anything to do with LE. MERB will never become a paid membership board. This board is advertiser supported and will remain so. Fred's other boards, TERB and PERB, are both member only as well as most of the other major review boards on the Internet. There is nothing preventing you from lurking on the board. If you do not wish other members to know you are on line for whatever reason, you can simply set your profile to invisible mode and other members will not see you when you are on line.

We have no overwhelming mountain of complaints regarding this change. Most members seem to be taking it in stride other than two or three members who have posted their objection in this thread. To me, this indicates a successful change to MERB policy.

Mod 8

Well i just found out that i now have to log in every time...SAD i love to lurk.I quit the other board a few years back for the same reason...Upsetting...we'll see.
If it is for LE : useless in my opinion,..or may be just a slow walk to a paying members only board?

 

[YoungBob]

Hi Mod8,

To me, this indicates a successful change to MERB policy.

Mod 8

I wouldn't go that far!

I have a few problems with those changes, but I will wait until you make those reasons known before commenting any further. Maybe those reasons outweigh my reservations.

YoungBob

 

[Mod 8]

Hello YoungBob,

If you have any concerns to add, please go ahead and do so. The main reason I requested this change is to give MERB a more solid base when it comes to protecting the copyright to our content. Now no other board can claim that our content can be considered public domain and re-post our members' comments and reviews elsewhere. No review or post that is made here on MERB can be copied and re-posted without express permission of MERB administration.

M8

 

[YoungBob]

Hello YoungBob,

If you have any concerns to add, please go ahead and do so.

M8

Hi Mod8,

Basically, I have 3 comments:

1. As hinted by “sigma69” in post ”#7”, registration will not stop an 11-year-old kid from doing just that, registering. It’s not like MERB is asking for credentials when applying for membership (and I am NOT suggesting MERB does). That said, it will stop some.

2. This one is very personal. Way back when, I found MERB purely by accident. I was googling a non-sex related topic and ended up here (in the Lounge actually). I know I would not be here today if the reviews had been hidden behind registration. I would have just kept going with my search.

“Lurkers” will (now have) become a thing of the past. Hopefully, new potential members (future reviewers, I would hope) won’t shy away from registering. I fear, though, many will not go through that extra step and discover how really, really helpful MERB is. I’ve said it before, MERB is FAN-TAS-TIC!

3. Lastly, is this your decision alone? I’m still a newbee here, but couldn’t something as important as this have been discussed as a group? Post #3 by Mod11 seems to suggest that he was not even aware of what was behind those changes. I understand I am just one user but, at the very least, a thread to talk about a major change like this would have been nice. Do you not think so?

Especially, while there is a long thread about “insults and name-calling” to get members opinions. Personally, I find that topic not as engaging as this one.

About that copyright issue. May I ask, how big of a problem is it? I understand independents and agencies won’t be able to link to reviews about them. Non-members following a link to MERB will be stopped dead in their tracks. I would think advertisers won’t like that one bit. They are going to have to “house” the reviews on their own sites. And they are going to ask permission to do so. I would think advertisers won’t like that either.

Maybe, I’m missing something?

P.S.: It may sound like I’m complaining, but I’m not. You guys (8 & 11) are doing a great job. Keep it up.

YoungBob

 

[quest]

YoungBob, you made some great points. I lurked for a while before I registered. If I stumbled onto this board now, I most likely would not have.

 

[Mod 8]

Hello YoungBob,

This should answer your worries regarding lurkers and new members. Since the board went members only on Thursday, we have, at the moment I write this, 591 new members in just over 3 days. In the past 24 hours, there have been 280 new posts on the board. The number of lurkers has remained stable, from around 400 in quiet times of the day to over 600 at busy times. Since the change went into effect, we have an average of over 140 members logged on. I have yet to see it drop under 100 and early this morning at around 12:30 AM, there were 203 members logged on.

Regarding advertisers, other than the post from Athana in this thread, I have yet to receive one complaint or comment by email or PM from any advertiser regarding the new policy. Their advertising is still available to all visitors, member or lurker. Any advertiser is free to contact me directly if they wish or post in this thread.

As for protecting our content, that was a decision that was long in coming and way past due. I will not rehash old fights to explain those reasons. No senior member should need to ask why this was done. Keeping underage surfers away was not part of the decision, it was only a possible side benefit.

Finally, to address your point number 3: This was not discussed with anyone other than Fred Zed when the request was originally made. For one, Mod 11 was not on line at the time and as he has not been on line through the weekend, there was no opportunity to enter into any further discussion on the matter. I am the senior moderator on MERB and I am usually the one to deal directly with Fred when it comes to board policy or modifications. Before me, Mod 7 used to handle such things. As in everything, seniority does have certain extra responsibilities that come along with it. That being said, we do generally discuss major changes before going ahead. In this case there was no time to discuss it as Fred made the change almost instantly after I brought it up to him. For those who know what it is like dealing with Fred, it is rare to have anything done that quickly. In fact, like Mod 11, I did not know the change had been done until I saw this thread.

If anyone has any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to post here or contact me by PM or email.

Thank you,
Mod 8

 

[Mod 11]

Like he said above!

Fred actually moved at light speed on this one. I was aware something was coming in the direction of lining up with TERB and PERB but didn't know the details. Considering his other 2 boards use this same mode of operation and considering he's the boss, it's his prerogative to do as he see fit.

We will see if there is anything needing tweaking in the next few days (it appears we even have a new version of vBulletin!) and we will advise if any changes are required buy, the most important thing to remember: It's Fred's board. Discussions and suggestions are welcomed but Fred isn't obligated to apply them.

Thanks everybody for your patience while we all adapt to these chances.

 

[HornyForEver]

It looks like MERB is going to break a new record tonight at 11:00pm. Copied from MERB's front page :

Most users ever online was 2,901, 01-08-2011 at 11:01 PM. It is 8:15pm now, I cannot wait to witness this prediction with my own eyes

 

[Mod 8]

The date code is read Month-day-year, not day-month-year.

The stats on the front page are also inaccurate in regards to current members on-line. The proper stats can be found on the Who's Online page. Currently the count stands at:
[h=1]227 members and 556 guests[/h]

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Seems to me the "Settings" button has vanished.

 

[Mod 8]

Click on Forum Actions in the menu bar. You will find the general settings options there.

 

[Mod 8]

Hello 10-4Roger,

As a whole, board traffic has increased. As I write this reply there are 210 members and 529 guests on MERB. The number of guests has remained stable and even slightly increased while the number of members logged on has increased by a large margin. Increasing the number of members logged on is to the benefit of all members. It has led to more activity on MERB in both the number of posts as well as new threads being started. As new members read the board, they will be more inclined to contribute to the community by posting their opinions, starting new topics for discussion as well as posting new reviews. I fail to understand why some members seem to think that this is a bad thing.

If I am looking for a message board on any topic, be it related to the hobby or any other interest, a board that has many members contributing to it will be much more appealing than a board with very few. A board with a large contributing membership indicates a larger variety of information, a larger quantity of topics, more current information and much more variety of opinion than a board with a handful of contributers who never change which indicates stagnation. If I am an advertiser, I want my advertising to reach as many people as possible who are interested in my product. When there is a large active membership on a board, I am certain that my advertising is reaching the correct market. If all you consider is the number of guests or lurkers, you are not certain that these people are part of your market or simply people who happen to be randomly surfing the net or curiosity seekers. A large number of guests does not indicate a good value for your advertising dollar while a large active membership does.

You may have your own opinion of this and you are free to express it if you wish.

Mod 8

 

[James Joyce]

There are currently 1242 users online. 189 members and 1053 guests


There is something I do not quite understand. Since there are "private" sections, it looks like there is more "guests". What makes out of sudden this increase of "guests", were they waiting for "private" section that they can not access? very strange. the internet is full of surprise.

10-4Roger did you miss this post by Mod 8 (Post # 42)

https://merb.cc/vbulletin/showthread.php?73979-New-changes-to-MERB-Most-sections-are-now-MEMBERS-ONLY&p=556715&highlight=#post556715