Members only/ anonymous posting

[Exowner]

Regarding the post by 'Big Col' on the 10th Nov about his disappointment of the ACOC stand at the recent NEC show. Over the past few days the post has morphed into a discussion about whether or not anonymous posts should be allowed.
   I would like to ask for input on two things, both of which I feel somewhat strongly about. I ask these things so that if any council member should FIND THE TIME to read it, it could be brought up at a future council meeting.
   1/ should the ACOC forum be open to ACOC members only?
   2/ should anonymity of those registered be allowed?
   Some thoughts...
   
   As a lot of the posts seem to be members thanking other members about the good times had, event info and people asking for technical information, I can see no reason why the forum should not be restricted to members only.
   A lot of the bickering seems to be coming from poster's who are not members, remain anonymous or both.
   Should posters posts automatically carry a sign/banner stating if the posted is a paid-up members of the club hosting the forum and/ or an anonymous poster?
   I feel somewhat aggrieved that part of my ACOC subscription is used to enable non-members to slag off things/people/events/situations.
   As for the post by 'TTM' who seems to be hiding behind 'Protection of privacy' shield, I don't see how things would change much for him/her regardless of the ACOC forum being restricted to members only!?!? My view is if you're so worried about that, don't post. After all surely your details are with the administrator?
   Any views??

[TTM]

Can you honestly not make the difference between having your full name available to the public world wide web and risk to expose yourself to individuals with dubious ends, and sharing your identity with paid up members of an established and respected group of (mostly) like-minded individuals?
   
   The latter is hopefully what a CLUB is still about these days. As a result, people are formally either in or out, but if we are to accept an intermediate shade of grey in the way this very forum works then you will have to respect the privacy of people who are entitled not having their identity exposed, without their own will, to third parties - it is as simple as that.

[GSouthee]

Anyone who is entitled to be on this forum is also entitled to air the views, whether as so called 'anonymous posters' or not. If the club members do not like the idea of no members posting then ask the council to get it changed.
   
   Personally I do not mind any posters airing their views, it creates debate.

[Exowner]

TTM, no I can't. I have been the victim of a computer scam in the past and I had done everything possible to ensure this did not happen. If you think that you are safe in this world, think again.
   If you really want to ensure that you are not, in any way 'got at' I suggest you take your computer down the garden and smash it into pieces with a sledge hammer

[nikbj68]

The issue of the forum being open to non-members has been discussed and resolved, in favour of remaining open to all, as we have had much valuable input from non-members over the life of the forum. The more welcoming approach has also encouraged non-members to join the Club.
   There are sections of the website(such as Model registers, Member database etc...) which are Members only.
   The GT40 Forum took the "real names only" approach, I personally have no issue with my name being known, but I have been using 'nikbj68' for many years on many forums and would prefer to continue to do so.
   It may be better for the real name of a forum user to be included in the sign-up procedure, so that if an anonymous poster should have to be removed from the forum for 'gross misconduct', they could be identified if trying to re-register under a different alias, but a false real name could be given, so policing is very difficult.
   I don`t think this forum template can accommodate a 'badge' for paid-up Club members, but the whole forum/photo hosting issue is under revue.
   I feel this forum strikes the right balance, clicking on the username or 'show profile' button will reveal the name of the user should they chose to make it known, and to be honest, it is mostly ACOC Members who have been doing the bulk of the whingeing from what I can see.
   Regards, Nik Bagshaw of Anglesey, North Wales.

[TTM]

AE512, sorry to hear of your misfortune. With that said, it's not because it happened to you that it will happen to everybody else.
   
   Still, if not disclosing one's identity is the only form of self-controlled privacy remaining, I will keep applying it ad nauseam.

[Exowner]

Nik, are you saying that to register for our forum one does not have to give ones real name, even if it is a false one?

[nikbj68]

First & Surname fields on the Registration page are not mandatory, no.

[MkIV Lux]

Two issues : A) public vs members only Forum  & B) anonymous vs identifiable poster
   
   A)   Public vs members only Forum
   This has been debated in length on the Forum over the past year and the Committee has concluded to keep it open mainly for the reasons Nik has mentioned in his post of 14 Nov at 15:05:05.
   
   @ Nik: you mention in your post that "it is mostly ACOC Members who have been doing the bulk of the whingeing from what I can see";
   
   Maybe you have better eyes than me or maybe you know who hides behind most of the pseudonyms the identity of which is not disclosed, but I doubt that if you do not dispose of statistical data of Forum use as described in my post of 6 July 2017 at 07:44:22 under topic http://acownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4667, reproduced here, it is difficult to make such statement:
   
   "Facts can only be established by means of the software that manages access to the website and Forum, i.e. and put the data into a simple speadsheet giving:
   A) Total # website accesses repectively Forum access and geographical origins
   B) Traffic by ACOC members:
   - ACOC member ident & corresponding Forum member ident / # website accesses / # member's area accesses (after login) / # Forum accesses / # Forum views / # Forum posts (after login)
   C) Traffic by NON ACOC members:
   - Forum member ident / # website accesses / # website views / # Forum accesses / # Forum views / # Forum posts (after login)".
   
   In order to appreciate how our current Website and Forum works in terms of structure and access, we should read again through the Topic "Photobucket Photo Hosting"
   http://acownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4667
   and in particular my post of 6 July 2017 at 16:17:39 reproduced here:
   >>
   quote:
   ________________________________________
   Originally posted by AC Ace Bristol
   
   .
   .....706 of 1137 members have made 26,891 posts in 11 Forums.
   Currently 3719 Topics..
   
   Conclusion.. .. the ACOC Forum serves it's purpose, can be / must be continually improved to meet new demands and criteria...
   
   Keith
   ________________________________________
   
   
   Hi Keith,
   
   Fully agree with you on the purpose of Action and Forum.
   
   I understand that the statistics at the bottom of the page refer to Forum Members.
   
   Forum Members are not necessarily ACOC members. And ACOC membership does not necessarily imply Forum membership.
   
   The website structure has 3 different clusters:
   1) General info including Forum view
   2) Forum posting
   3) ACOC Members Area
   
   There are 3 types of Players:
   A) ACOC members - membership grants a Username(A) and a personal PW(A)
   B) Other General Public (non-ACOC members)
   C) Forum Members - membership by registering online through website => selfdefined username(F) amd personal PW(F);
   Players C are part of A or B
   
   Cluster 1 can be accessed by A & B
   Cluster 2 can be accessed by C
   Cluster 3 can be accessed by A
   
   
   ________________________________________
   <<
   
   In relation to the photohosting issue (third party hosting vs direct hosting), the Committee has asked for alternatives software solutions to be considered for allowing direct hosting. It may well be that a new software will bring about further facilities in terms of Website and Forum traffic monitoring and linking between the different groups of Players as defined above.
   
   B)   anonymous vs identifiable poster
   -   it is my belief that in our free world an opinion expressed is attached to a name and a face; this allows the reader to appreciate the expressed opinion; personally when formulating an answer to someone, I like to know who he is because that defines the tune of the music that I want to convey;
   
   -   on the other hand I can understand TTM's point related to privacy protection in a public forum that can be read without restrictions by anyone, good or evil minded;
   
   -   if the ACOC will keep the basic Web and Forum structure as above, i.e. with a public Forum, the least that we should ensure is that:
   
   o   players should be identifiable at registration; this does not imply that their identities be disclosed, but at least they should be identifiable at registration and it will be the webmasters' job to ensure compliance to the rules of the game when access is granted also to the public part, i.e. the Forum; there are enough security software solutions available to check identities, any seasoned Internet buyer goes through such procedures each time he undertakes a transaction;
   
   o   such would allow the Forum management software to attach a tag "ACOC member" to a Forum Player if indeed he is a paid up member of the Club;
   o   Hence if he so wishes, the Forum player can still decide to appear under an anonymous "XYZ" pseudonym, but if he is a member of the ACOC,  he will have a tag attached; hereby other players will know that XYZ is not a fake and and is or is not a Club member.
   
   Constant Wagner, Luxembourg, ACOC member since 2002

[nikbj68]

quote:Originally posted by MkIV Lux...
   @ Nik: you mention in your post that "it is mostly ACOC Members who have been doing the bulk of the whingeing from what I can see"; ...[without] statistical data of Forum use...it is difficult to make such statement...

   No statistics, but some have mentioned their membership, quoted registers & commenting on ACtion(which only members should have access too) or otherwise intimated their membership. [;)]
   I`m just bored of this.[xx(]
   
   (I don`t want to post any more, as my 'post count' has hit 2131...the Chassis number of our old Cobra![:D])