Posting permissions for guests?

Does any one give guests posting permission, or do you get a lot of spam?
Its something i dont think i would want, but have been curious about. My partner was able to post on a forum as a guest, and later signed up for it, and since then i have wondered if it could be beneficial, or if its more trouble that its worth?

 

I've heard of people doing so with success, but I haven't tried it because I just know I'd have to clean up more spam.

 

I will never enable guest posting. I don't think I can stress this enough.

Doing so is asking for trouble. Allowing guests to view the content of your community is perfectly acceptable (and the fair thing to do), however, allowing them to post actual messages is not exactly "fair" to the registered members. Sure; registering will clearly provide you with additional features and/or benefits, but a large percentage of members do not register for these incentives - they do so for the actual content and discussion.

 

I am with Chris on this one, enabled for guests is something I would never do.

 

If guests are able to post, where's the incentive to join? Nope, no guest posting.

 

You might get a few posts where somebody felt the impulse to say something but couldn't be bothered registering, but ask yourself, are those really the type of posts you want on your forum?

 

We recently just put the lion's share of our most popular content into register to view status.

In the ONE forum that only unregistered people can see, they could post there. But mostly they are so freaked out that they cannot see our news anymore, they just hurry to register and so far no one has posted.

:devil:

 

I have a "guest chat" forum, where they can post anything they want, but it all goes through me. I don't deny anything unless it contains a URL, but other than that it's all allowed.

Is it used? Not so frequently, in fact, I think there's only a few threads and posts in there, but I make sure they're all legit before they're approved.

Maybe a better option for guests would be to allow them to post, but moderate all guest posts before they're put up? I dunno.

As for incentives to register, there's always additional features, pm's, new threads, etc.

 

I will never enable guest posting on my forum, simply due to how it's a gateway for the most desperate trolls and spammers to easily post content and leave as quickly as they came. Plus, do you really want a forum where anyone who's not a member can basically be impersonated at any time?

 

And considering that the registration process is generally so simple, why not take that small amount of time to register? It's worth it.

 

Thank you all for your replies. Its good to see different points of views. Its not something that i was interested in doing, just curious about. I dont think i could get my head around all the potential spam it would create.

 

I just let the guest view 2 threads maximum before they have to register.
I dont like guest postings. Too much spam.

 

I would turn that off if I was you, if anything it is destructive.

 

Well i set it to 10 threads....

 

I tried it for a short while and gave up on it.

I did not get a lot of spam, but it did not help those who are new to forums ask questions.

I found it's best to make it easy to register when I have that concern and filter spam between the registration and posts going public stages.

(posts from new members go to moderation)

-Raymond

 

Missing your "[" by the quote

 

no, i dont give guests posting permissions cause the forum will be over run with spam, and if members are really that interested in posting on the forum, it only takes a few seconds to register

 

I only have 1 forum that allows guests to post, its the Suggestions/feedback forum.

Instructions are such that ppl should use a proxy to hide their true IP address, like HidemyA$$.com

The forum have never been used, nor has it ever gotten any spam. lol

 

Don't allow it period. I just let em view the threads, but not reply. They should register if they want to reply. Hell, they should register if they want to view it, but that gets them in the mood to register.

 

I generally agree, but I also know that most completely private forums get fewer registration...in general. There are exceptions, of course.