What do you think of forums that are hidden, where you cannot see it at all unless you register?
I honestly don’t join those forums, not unless I already know the person. I’ve joined too many “sight unseen” forums only to discover it’s not even active & I wasted my time.
A few boards being hidden is one thing but I don’t care for the forum as a whole.
What about you? Do you join hidden forums? Have you yourself had a forum that only registered users could view?
I don't like joining them because there could be questionable topics that would make me uncomfortable. I want to see most of the site upfront and know that there are forums that are hidden and then given the choice whether I want to also join those or not.
We have a couple hidden forums on Christianity Haven but they aren't used very often except by a few.
I agree with why they might do it, if it was a porn website or something then yes. However, I would not join them. I seen websites that are open with part of the forums closed off to VIP groups and staff members, that's fine also
I think having half of the forum closed off to guests is a bit off putting. I’d like to see most of the board before joining. It’s okay for a forum to have a few hidden sub forums such as staff areas and vip member areas.
I wouldn't ever have a forum like that myself unless it was a complete pay-gate, as in I required a fee to use the forum. I think some forums can get away with that but they usually have to be pretty active.
As for a member joining one that's closed to guests, I've never really run into it, to be honest. I guess everything I've looked for the join was always open for all to see.
I sometimes do it but never as an enticement to join.
A couple of my corporate forums have off-topic sections only available to members who meet certain criteria. Unregistered viewers would never know they existed.
If the forum is accessible only to the registered members, I will never join that forum unless I am paid for joining the forum. I think forums should be accessible for free.
One thing I have never been a fan of is forums that are completely locked behind a registration wall and I can not see anything but a register or login page. I tend to steer away from forums like this if I can not see what the forum has to offer because I have registered on too many of them that have been inactive or just not what I thought they were. I don't mind forums where they push you to register to see what is in a thread if I am honest as I can still see how active the forum is and whether I would be interested in the forum from seeing inside the forums and the threads posted.
