Coming to a TSBB near you: registration

Posted By: Phil Herring
Date: 11/9/09 4:13p.m.

Report: outside forum guidelines

The current wave of forum identity theft and anonymous posting is bad enough on any forum, but it couldn't be more wrong on this board. I have a deep respect for this community. I've never seen anything quite like it, and I'm sure you haven't either. It is truly a community in the best sense of the word. In some ways it's more like a neighborhood... but neighbors are seldom this close. But if you'll allow to extend a weak metaphor, a community like this is no place for people to be running around in masks tagging people's homes. With this and other kinds of vandalism in mind, I believe the community will be a stronger and happier place with a modest and conventional dose of civic regulation. Said plainly, I believe it is time for registration. Here's how it will work: * All forums will continue to be open for reading, by anyone at any time. * To post to a forum you'll have to create a profile. (See the Create Profile link in the nav bar.) * Creating a profile is as easy as entering your name and email address. The address must be valid. Your password is sent to you at the email address you enter. * Edit your profile, replacing the system-given password with one you can remember. * Once that's done many good things happen: o No one else can use your username o Anonymous posters are gone or at least, short-lived o Much less spam o That stupid 4-digit captcha goes away, making it faster and easier to post I've heard all the anti-registration arguments and the only one that holds any water is the extra barrier to new board users. But today, registration is expected. I can't imagine any visitor who really wanted to post would be put off by a registration requirement. I recognize that this may be painful for some and we may even lose a few people in protest. All I can say is, the long-term benefits are greater than the short-term pain. The only folks truly inconvenienced are the vandals. How and when When the Political forum re-opens it will require registration. That will be where smooth any kinks in the process. Once we have it stabilized in the Political forum it will be rolled out onto the rest of the site. Don't worry, you'll get plenty of notice. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.