Buy, Sell or Trade access via log-in only?

[Marc van Aalderen]

I agree with Eric and Bob C.

Originally Posted by Eric R.

I would say the option with smaller pics and no access to buy/sell/trade for non-members is best now that the registration is fixed.

Cheers,

[Private_collector]

Same goes for me, too!

I don't really mind non members seeing what is written, or the thumbnails. I took a good long look at WHAT was in the content before I joined. I do not want this site to be access all areas with regards to ability to post, regardless of membership or not. We will, I fear, be easy prey for the one hit wonders to post something stupid or fraudulent then disappear back into anonymity. This is the issue with many of the no-membership places on the internet. Those of us who took the time to register and remain, would very quickly get discouraged from staying in touch with each other.

Too many things have been amended in the name of progress, only to discover at later date that it was a really dumb idea. Very difficult to reverse something, more often than not! Is it really such a big ask for someone to take the few minutes to join, before they expect to be able to contribute themselves? Not a problem now that membership is now easy to do, is it? Do we expect to receive access to any associations, clubs, professional bodies, etc, without joining that group officially? Try getting the discounts from a store without joining their 'loyalty' system. Try getting a road breakdown service provider to come fix your car for free without becoming a member.

Leave things be, I say. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. In my opinion, it ain't broke!

[gordon]

Originally Posted by Marc van Aalderen

I agree with Eric and Bob C.

Cheers,

Gets my vote too.

Gordon

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Thanks for your input, will get back on this later as I have just spent most of the evening banning spammers - they sign up in far greater numbers than real enthusiasts!

Hanno

[rob love]

Make a subforum for them, and they can sell each other viagra, and get rich helping Jamican bureaucrats get their millions out of Jamica, or sending each other fake invoices.

Another option is to allow new members only upon reference of an existing member. Applicant would list who his reference is. Mod would have to PM the existing member to confirm and upon favorable response would then grant the applicant membership, at which time the applicant would head on over to the "introductions" section to tell a bit about himself and his interests. Actually, all that sounds kind of complicated. Must be all those years of military training that has made me acceptable of BS.

[Private_collector]

I think the exact scenario Hanno just wrote about, is the reason why this forum should NOT be made any easier to gain unapproved access. The spammers and scammers are a pain in the sphincter, and must be constant frustration to Hanno.

If only people used the internet for good,.....instead of evil

Remember in the good ole days, when the only ones who could cause you grief were just down the road, and you could walk there and offer em a good clip around the ear? Ah, the carefree days of youth....detention!

[Ryan]

During my recent endeavour to sell some trucks/parts around 50% of people had never heard of Mlu. I always told them to head on over and join up, they would find a wealth of info and friendly help.
To a non member the way the forum is set now is as a resource centre. Allowing near total access without any effort. You just aren't allowed in the staff room( the pics up close and who's selling what) If option two was brought in a non member would still see a resource centre but the table would have just black and white pamphlets with no pics.
That's not a problem as all we are saying is sign up, became a member of the COMMUNITY, and you'll get the benefits.
Ryan

[David Dunlop]

Option 2 and keep up with real names for joining.

Not sure you can ever solve the 'Not aware MLU exists...' issue. That's just an extension of the 'I can't find the milk!' Statement parents always hear when somebody is standing in front of the open fridge with a full 4 litre jug of the white stuff front and centre!

Hope you are not staying up late worrying about it all, Hanno.

David

[Alex van de Wetering]

Hanno,

Option 1 or 2 would work for me. And as others have mentioned....definately real names...preferably first and last.

When it comes to self-registration or registration and than manual activation by a moderator...I would say, go with what takes the least amount of time of the group of moderators.

p.s. I don't think MLU is outdated or limited....I still think it's one of the best forums around and I still think a forum is the best way to share MV or history related info with others ....................and still being able to find it later on!

Alex

[Hanno Spoelstra]

The sub forum BUY, TRADE or SELL is now reset as follows: visible for non-members so they can see the thread listing but not the threads themselves.

Compare it to being able to read the headlines of a newspaper, but not the content of each article.

I may re-set other sub forums along the same settings.

Hanno

[rob love]

Would we be able to securely list our emails in plain text on the Buy/trade/sell forum ad text, or do the google and spambots still access those listings?

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by rob love

Would we be able to securely list our emails in plain text on the Buy/trade/sell forum ad text, or do the google and spambots still access those listings?

Good question! I am not sure, so I would advise to use the PM or email function through member profiles - easy and secure.

Thanks,
Hanno

[Phil Waterman]

Originally Posted by rob love

Would we be able to securely list our emails in plain text on the Buy/trade/sell forum ad text, or do the google and spambots still access those listings?

Hi Rob and Hanno

I'm not sure of the real risk in having an email address in plain text or even as a live linked address shown on MLU . I've had an open shown/linked email at the bottom of every one of my post on MLU for years.

It was an address I created for just that purpose to publicly post and on my web site, so far after several years of use I have not seen an increase in spam e-mails.

Only two categories of e-mails have increased:

• Chinese companies wanting to sell or make stuff for me because of the .com suffix of the address.

• People wanting help on joining or contacting MLU sending me e-mails because my e-mail address was out in the open.

The one thing I would suggest is create a new e-mail just for the purpose that way if there is a problem can just close that address down.