Pot Stirring Time

Just about every time I log on the number of "guests" viewing is always larger than the number of registered users.  Equally disturbing is the number of unrecognizable registered users that have zero posts. I always wonder who they are, how they wound up here and why they haven't taken the 2 minutes to register to say whats up. Thats the least they can do for the time they spend lurking the Report section.....that seems to be where most of them reside.  Personally I think they should be cut off from that section...or the board alltogether but I'm just a keyboard jockey with no say.  However, how "community" is it when the number of outsiders is greater than the number of participants?????? 

This is not a rant about lurkers....or the Boogeyman......checking our reports to find the bite or count the fish bodies we massacre and grill.  I know everybody doesn't dig posting commenst everytime they visit but an occasional Hi, my name is...... or a picture or a trip report would be nice (quite frankly I don't care where you fished and would prefer if you left it out alltogether but give us a glimpse into what went down). 

I think we need an intro section where people must meet and greet in order to view the rest of the board..... is this possible? 

How does everybody else feel about it? 

PS....props to the new people who actually post to say hi or jump right into the mix.  Its appreciated.

Sweet! Oh, wait, you said Pot "Stirring" Time? 

I think that members should be required to register in order to view posts. Or, at least the Hookups and Reports boards should require registration; leave the other boards open to every Tom Dick Harry.

Although, I often browse the site from my cellphone so it will indicate I'm a guest (haven't figured how to login to my acct from my phone yet). So it is possible that many of our participating members are listed as "Guests" at times because they forget to login, or use a different computer, etc.

Art,

They just want to read your reports. A celeb you have become. I support the more restrictive access.

-Brian G

I don't know about the rest of you, but I've read quite a few other kayak fishing sites where I've either not registered (i.e. I was a guest) or I've registered just to get access but have never posted.  There are a lot of kayak fishing sites out there and I don't really think I need to fully participate in each one.  Usually I'm just reading a post about kayak rigging or some new kayak fishing technique that interests me.

I think more participation would be great. Turning more lurkers into full-fledged members should be a goal of our group.  It also wouldn't be a bad idea to have a members only or members with more then X number of posts section on the board. Maybe this is where we would post our detailed fishing reports. However, we should remember that a good chunk of the money that comes in from ad revenue to run this site is coming from the those extra guest visitors. 

Brian

What do we gain with more restrictive access? A better feeling? Art, I will give you a hug if that will help, I also know where to find a real friendly sea lion 

Guest can be lurkers, people who are checking in from a machine not there own, people on wireless/cellphones that do not log in, bots indexing the site (like Google/Yahoo etc) add all those up and I am not surprised Guest outnumber users at any given moment. Google indexing will get 5-8 guest going in itself.

Also understand that these are not real reliable stats. If I come here not logged in and browse around, then loggin I will show as a guest and as a user for a period of time.

Sweet! Oh, wait, you said Pot "Stirring" Time? 

GOTmeTOO!....thought you converted over Art!
If they want to lurk, let them. The "REAL FISHERS" eventually come out and join in on the Family Madness.....do you really want a lurker, out of it's closet, into YOUR neighborhood?.......think twice!  

As I read this thread, I notice that there are me and 3 other members viewing, and zero guests!     I also notice that 46 people have read the thread, and only a handful have chimed in.  I think the important thing is that every single person who visits this site contributes in SOME way.  There are members who reply to every single thread they read, and others who can log in every day (at least every WORKDAY  ) and go weeks/months without posting - people like me who haven't had their yak wet since OCTOBER.     Those lukers may tell their friends about the site, and their friends may become active members.  And as was stated above, any increase in site traffic helps grease the financial wheels. 

Tough issue.  I'm glad you brought it up, Art. 

I just typed and deleted several ideas and notions of support one way or the other - none of them I liked or felt like I had justification for.  Tough issue...   

Let me give the view of a non-yaker (pun intended).

Many of us don't have a kayak. Since this site is dedicated to kayak fishing I feel kind of out of place posting a report from fishing in another medium. I have participated in a limited way and I know people here are nice and friendly. But there is this wall that says kayak fishing that keeps me away most of the times. It's not that I dislike it. It's just that I don't have one... yet. 

I am sure there might be other reasons that people feel out of place here or in any other forum. It is not something out of ordinary to see more lurkers than participant. 

I guess I am both ways. What I have done in the past is just post a general location of where I was fishing. Not exact spots. I used to post exact spots and the next time I went out I would have 4-5 boats working the same spot and then they get pissed off at my as a come up on my kayak and try to work my spot. I mean yes I wont be opposed to having the fishing reports off limits to non-members, but it wont bother me if it stays the same. I just keep my hot baits and certain spots to myself.  This issue has popped up on a few other fishing boards I am members to. But if the visitors are generating revenue for advertisers then I guess then it should be left the way it is. Just do what I do and don't list hot baits and spots in reports and make sure they don't show up in pictures.  I always take two pictures of big fish I catch, one with a beautiful background and then one just straight down in my lap so spots aren't revealed. I only hide my spots and baits to the lurkers and I will give any of you my useful information if it's asked for. And I am sure a few of you guys can vouch for me on that. I have screened-shotted a lot of my spots and marked certain areas with depths and good trolling lines. Etc. 

Jeff

Compa, you are part of what is right, non-yakers don't have to be non-participants. I think this is a pretty diverse group, all posts are beneficial.....well almost all of them    If you at least log on and give us some kind of input or entertainment then the board is better for it.


BTW: At the time I'm posting........40 Guests, 20 Users (1 Hidden)

I doubt they are users who weren't able to log in.  I'm just saying.....1600 members and only 10% are actually posting, if you take then please give something back. 

Here’s another point of view…
I don’t speak for the guests, but I lurk much more than I post. I have nothing of interest to say, and I like reading about those of you who are in the game. I lurked for a long time before I posted, and it was very entertaining. Incidentally, I also lurk on MMA boards from time to time.

What do you need to do to become a full-fledged member? Register on the board? Attend an event? Post a report? I’ve done all that, but I’m a really weak member because like I said, I’m uninteresting. Repetitive also, too. Am I using bandwidth?

I get out very infrequently, I use unconventional gear and I haven’t caught anything to brag about. Still, you don’t frighten me with your Kumbaya-or-else. I’m a lurker (mostly) and I’m proud!! 

Wait, maybe a cool hazing ritual…

[quote author=FisHunter link=topic=13033.msg122492#msg122492
If they want to lurk, let them. The "REAL FISHERS" eventually come out and join in on the Family Madness.....do you really want a lurker, out of it's closet, into YOUR neighborhood?.......think twice!  
[/quote]

Here’s another point of view…
I don’t speak for the guests, but I lurk much more than I post. I have nothing of interest to say, and I like reading about those of you who are in the game. I lurked for a long time before I posted, and it was very entertaining. Incidentally, I also lurk on MMA boards from time to time.

What do you need to do to become a full-fledged member? Register on the board? Attend an event? Post a report? I’ve done all that, but I’m a really weak member because like I said, I’m uninteresting. Repetitive also, too. Am I using bandwidth?

I get out very infrequently, I use unconventional gear and I haven’t caught anything to brag about. Still, you don’t frighten me with your Kumbaya-or-else. I’m a lurker (mostly) and I’m proud!! 

Wait, maybe a cool hazing ritual…

EXAMPLE #1........seeWUTiMEAN         

What do we gain with more restrictive access?

Free-flowing exchange of highly detailed information.

I am a member of another fishing website that has very restrictive policies for non-members (they can't view certain boards) and the quality+quantity of info is dramatically better than any other site on the web.


Granted, if a "lurker" wants to view the boards, all they need to do it register for an acct. Well, that problem is solved by deleting members that fail to post once every 60 days.

Hi, my name is Pete and I'm addicted to kayak fishing. 

I don't think we'd gain much by restricting access to the forums.  Not everyone has loads of free time (like me) to waste posting, while others might simply be shy, or just really bad spellers.    I do think that leaving pertinent details out of fishing reports is a fine idea; let the active members communicate GPS coordinates and the like via PM or email...that'll limit the benefits for those who are just hot-spot hunting.  I also think that NO ONE who has not posted at least once should be allowed to partake in a NCKA Man-dog feast, no exceptions.