Pruning the Membership List

[DreamingEagle]

Jackson,

First of all, I never dreamed how much work or expense is involved in running a web site until I started the Juarez Tour Guide in January. We are not webmasters, we are webslaves, so you deserve a real round of applause for making the forum available to us.

I say get rid of the ones who don't post, as you suggest. All of those guidelines sound reasonable to me.

[Warpig2000]

Jackson,

I hate to just add a DITTO to the log here but as I see it, participation in this forum which is run on your private server is a priviledge and not a right. I think meaningful participation in the forum is not too high of a price to ask. Ultimately you have to make the call- but you have all the right ideas. Prune the dead wood and be done with it.

If anyone wants to complain in a flaming manner afterwords, well, that is exactly what your READ THE HATE MAIL section is for.

[HandsomeMan]

you must prune the list for the reasons you described. the less space the deadbeats take up, the more there is for active members, meaning your operation runs more efficiently and effectively. typically, if a member has been inactive for a year (i think you can even get away with 6 months) they should lose their privileges of membership. rather than post a message on the site, i would send an email to every inactive member telling them that they lose their privileges if they don't visit the site and at least post a test message as you say. give them 30 days to do it, then adios. then every 6 months, a year, or whatever timeframe you choose, run the exercise again.

i considered sending a broadcast email, but that option is tor****ed by the fact that approximately 50% of the wsg members email address are inactive/closed/etc.

[Trent2461]

Hey Jackson,

I think you are taking the correct approach to keeping the membership list manageable.

All the steps you've listed appear to be well thought out and logical.

You can't please everybody, but you are looking to please the majority of your active members and this is always a sound business practice.

This is an excellent forum. Keep up the great work.

All the best!

Trent

[StarFleet]

Jackson:

Your site is one of the best online for information of its type. You have been consistent in policy since I first came aboard.

Reviewing your ideas for the new server, I agree with you. Getting control of members is a priority you cannot ignore, giving the reasons you sighted.

I hope that you discourage the practice of pinging posters for info via e-mail. If it's too graphic for this forum, what the hell!!

Anyway, thanks for keeping the regulars in the loop.

This is Starfleet Command,

Out.

[B69]

Hey Jackson,

Don´t know when I will see you again. Till then, go ahead with your plan. It sounds more than fair to me.

And yes Patricia will be known in the annals (!) for the chocolate.

Thanks for everything you do for all of us.

By the way, what happened with the Clarin event pictures??

Take care.

[Connect 28]

Jackson,

You are doing a fantastic job. Your suggestions sound reasonable. I would like comment the point badass has made. For each country/city depending on how active the board is there can be a database with key locations/clubs, hotels may some more classification that whenever one has an update can post it and new members can easily see where the happening places are and won't bother the senior members with the same question again and again.

connect_28

[Vchip]

Hi Jackson,

First of all thanks for maintaining such a cool and useful web site. I feel that if your proposal to cull the mongering herd of those who've lost interest will make your life easier, then do it! I see no real problems from where I sit and I think that your proposed time frame of one year of inactivity is very reasonable and also suggest that the deletion process be automated giving you more time to have fun.

[Bad Santa]

Jackson,

You'are a class act! You don't charge us $$$ (I think?) to use your board, and still have the courtesy to ask as about our opinion.

I think that pruning should be an ongoing policy. New/old members should be aware that if their account is not active for certain # of days, it will be pruned. By making it a policy, you would avoid justifying your decision each time you need to prune account names.

I'm all for it 100%.

Thank you for asking my opinion.

SC

[CanContrib]

(IMHO of course)

J: 1. For all the prospective members who have never confirmed their email address: These "members" will be culled immediately.

J: 2. For all "Inactive" members, defined as users who have been members for more than one year, and who have never made a single post: I am planning to post a notice on the front page of theforum advising them that they have 30 days to post at least a test message in the Site Administration section to preserve their membership, after which I would delete the remaining Inactive members.

J: 3. For the 687 members who have completely used this forum by using their membership solely for the purpose of posting one message requesting back-channeled info along with their email address: I will save this discussion for another date.

Why wait? Do it now. If you want to give 30 days notice that's more than fair, more than they'd get anywhere else. Just do it so you can get on with your stated more important tasks (not to mention your life).

Anyone who's for real will understand that they need to rejoin, and understand that cross-web identity consistancy is a much less likely goal than would be, say, eternal world peace and no-strings uninhibited sexual freedom everywhere.

[FlapJacK]

Clean House = Good plan!

[HeadGames]

It's your forum, you pay for it, and you manage it. No one can complain about being dropped when they have never posted a message or only posted one and then moved on. I think you can be as aggressive as you want in pruning membership.

Maybe certain forums that are real active could use moderators.

[Bysshe]

I think this is a great plan.

In general, the glut of users that contribute nothing except blocking a good user name from being used is a problem that plagues message boards of all stripes. I think you've got a fine way to handle it.

Bysshe

[Beachmonger]

Jackson,

This is my first post, but please don't purge me from the roll call. I may have the courage to actually post an experience one of these days.

I think your site is fabulous and the posters provide invaluable advice. But being somewhat shy, and definitely not a writer, I have been a user of info and not a provider. So I guess I'm one of the guilty ones.

In any event, keep up the good work. I've just updated my email info in hopes of obtaining some mercy, Sir Webmaster!

By posting this message, you have ensured that you will not be purged.

Thanks

[luvinfun]

It all sounds good to me.