petrie911 Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 This is actually a problem. There are informative topics here, especially in the modifications forum, that can't be linked to because people need to sign up to view them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CloudMax Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 I totally agree with this. I can't link people to stuff that I'm developing and such without having to put it on another site and link them there instead. It has a negative effect in that sense. I end up linking people to pastebins, or quick pages on my site, rather than this forum. Some people also turn away from the forum the moment they notice that they do not have access to a thread that was linked in IRCs, etc. I think it'd help the forum a lot if you weren't required to sign in. Edit: Another example is my mod I'm working on. I have no way of showing off my thread filled with information to people outside the community. So I feel kinda forced to set up a page on my site instead. A lot of people do not have this option however, as not everyone have a website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Fire Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 You will actually find that about 98% of online communities operate a similar way. This prevents server clutter from search spiders, as well as keeping content inside the one ccommunity. Check out some of the Sonic based affiliate sites, Sonic Retro for example. Look at the amount of registered users as well as total posts. You will see that not much is viewable until joining. As previously stated, it's standard practice for a majority of online communities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conker Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Standard practice or not, should it really be here? As can be seen, it's an inconvenience to a few members of this forum. I see no harm in opening up the forum to guests, but in the end, the decision comes down to you, bro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xdaniel Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 I think Sonic Retro is actually a bad example, because there's a lot that is visible when you're not logged in - including ex. [sonic and Sega General] Engineering and Reverse Engineering and [General] Technical Discussion, thus exactly the type of discussion that petrie and CloudMax mean, I guess. Allowing guests to read at least a few of The GCN's forums (News, Modifications, Q & A, Community Projects?) might be beneficial, at the very least for those who're ex. presenting their projects here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Your Local Cultist Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Standard practice or not, should it really be here? As can be seen, it's an inconvenience to a few members of this forum. I see no harm in opening up the forum to guests, but in the end, the decision comes down to you, bro. Yes! In the last few days I was looking for various info on something I was working on and to be told to create an account on almost every site is really damn annoying... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Fire Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I'll take a look at the permissions when I get home and raise the topic with the team. Also, I had thought SR had only shown the news. Cache refresh is in order lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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