There are currently 91,518 members
in 67 forums discussing 70,366 topics.
The subject statement, which is at the top of the Breastcancer.org Discussion Boards Forum Index page is a false one, no? Is that not simply the number of Member ID's there are and not a true accounting of active members? I wonder how many members there would really be if all of those with 0 posts who haven't logged in or participated in chat say in 3 or 6 months were to be removed from the list? As a member of this community, it would be nice to know the true size of it.
Since this is the place for suggestions, I'd like to formally suggest that new Member ID's not be allowed to use the Report This Post feature and that all new members are given clear and detailed instruction on how to use the Private Message feature and how to reach the Moderator.
Comments
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I 100% agree. Report this post must be an earned right and all the no posting ids should be deleted due to lack of activity.
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Yes, would be interesting. We are looking into this. There are however, many "lurkers" who may have an account and not post. Also, those who don't have an account, but read daily.
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Agreed!!
I think that is one tool that should be placed in the "fight the abuse" toolbox
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As a 'lurker' before I posted...I think I read just about everything. I joined and still lurked a bit before that 'Hi, I'm New' post on the stage iv forum. I do agree that the 'Report this Post' should be earned once a newbie understands the boards better.
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If "report this post" was an earned privilege, it would not affect any of the "lurkers" with an account or not. The "lurkers" who do not have an account would not be affected in any way by deleting the non-active accounts. I have found elsewhere on the internet that if you don't use an account it gets deactivated after a certain amount of time of non-use, so that would not really affect a lurker that takes a while to post as long as the amount of time was reasonable. Perhaps six months is reasonable.
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One big difference between here and other sites on the internet is that many of us have made friends who no longer post here because they have joined the angel thread. It is comforting to go back and see their words and pictures, especially on anniversaries, and those would be lost if accounts were deactivated after 6 months.
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I agree so much Pat, but I am not advocating for their accounts to be disabled - just accounts with no posts at all. I do look back at the kind words of the angels we have lost and miss them as well.
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that's the total number of people who have created accounts, less those whose accounts have been deleted for whatever reason.
So over 10 years, there have been 91,518 people who have created accounts and have not deleted them. If you read the boards but never bother to create an account (the only reason you'd create an account would be to post or send PMs), you won't be included in the member count.
Given the number of trolls that are supposed to reside here with multiple accounts, maybe that 91,518-member number really represents 86,532 indivdiuals! ;-)
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I do agree that the right to hit the "Report this post" button ought to be earned, just as the right to unlimited posting has to be earned. Each should require time and activity on the Boards. Perhaps the two ought to run in parallel: a new member does not gain the right to "Report this Post" until he/she has also reached the end of the 5-posts-per-day period.
I hesitated when I first saw ADK's suggestion about deleting inactive accounts. There are many reasons why a BCO account might be inactive. I would hate to lose "old-timers" who disappear for awhile and then wander back to join us again. I've also seen members who were involved on the Boards during their treatment phase, drifted away once their lives had turned right-side up, and then came back when they discovered their cancer had recurred.
But it does make sense that, if someone registers and never posts at all, their account could be deleted after a defined period of time. The trouble with that is it would be easy to circumvent. All someone would have to do is register under a different username, post some nonsense on one or two threads, and fade into the darkness. I've seen that happen. I've even seen some spammers do it, just to try to make themselves look legitimate. But, a carefully crafted "inactive account" policy would clean up the member list, and might release some server space. Whether it would solve the problem of unwarranted deletions, I don't know...
otter
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Wow, when I joined a couple years ago there were under 50,000!!
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Amazing. I just looked at the first 3 pages of the Member List ... only about a third of those names have ever actually posted anything.
Wonder why they are all registering? You don't have to register to lurk and read. Strange.
I wouldn't want to see accounts that had ever been used deactivated. But those 0 posts - haven't been seen for years names are just taking up space.
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I think my registration number is something like 998, so it has really grown around here.
I'm not sure what deleting the '0' posts registrations would do for or TO the IT dept. If it would make space for the site, well, consider it, but I sorta think it's more trouble than it's worth.
Earning the right to press the "report the post" to delete a thread is a great idea IMO. That and making the person/s who click on it known will also be a great thing.
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Iodine .. Wow!
It used to sadden me when I'd see that number and watch it grow .. who wants to see more have to join here? The number is often referred to in posts. When the light bulb went off that people were creating Member ID's simply to have enough help in deleting posts, I looked at the member list and wanted to sort it by 'Last Log In'. I couldn't do that so out of curiousity I paged through it a bit and was astounded at the number of those with O posts that last logged in on the day they created a Member ID and how long ago the last logged in date was.
I would never suggest this be done for any member who has ever posted and of course it would have to be done after an adequate period of time so that legitamate new members are not being removed! I've been with other sites who've sent an email indicating that my account was about to be deactivated and prompting me to act if I still wanted to be a member of the site.
I'm not a programmer but seeing what software is able to do, it just doesn't seem to me that it would too hard to clean up the member list.
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(whisper voice on) Maybe they like being able to say they have 90,000 members? Probably impresses potential donors, etc.
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I lurked for awhile & a lot of the time I was just reading without logging in. I usually log in now so I can use the "Active Topic" tab. NJ
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WhiteRabbit - LOL I hope you didn't whisper that too loudly!
I too was a lurker for a while before posting but not for too long. I wonder how long people lurk on average before they jump in?
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