Has any thought ever been given to do a cleanup of the members that haven't posted or visited in a certain period of time? Is there an advantage to having their name sitting there? The member list is so full of people that signed up but never posted and haven't even visited in 3-5 years. They probably aren't coming back and if they did prolly don't remember how to log in. I think it would make the member list more useful without having to wade through all the chaff to find members that might actually participate in the forum. If they haven't visited in the last couple years and haven't ever posted, then they really aren't members it would seem to me and makes the number of members exaggerated from reality. I can see not purging someone that has posted because then what do you do with their post?

I'm not wanting to exclude anyone that might be inclined to participate but only refer to those that have never participated at all and haven't chosen to visit us in years with the goal to make the member list more meaningful and realistic.

EDIT: There are over 800 "members" that registered longer than a year ago that have never posted.

i second that!!!

This requires a special admin script. I'll look into it. Thanks for the feedback.

I do not agree with that at all. There are tons of members on here that comment on everything and I do mean everything just to comment and see their names if you asked me. That is the biggest reason I was glad to see the ranking system go as most of the guys that were ranked the highest have maybe 1-2 yrs of kiting experience which is Nothing in then grand scheme of kiting. Then there are those of us that actually have kite knowledge that comment when we see something that really needs to be commented on. Then there are others that just come in and browse the site and never comment, but do see what is going on with the site. What gives you the "RIGHT" to decide who stays and who goes. I sure do not agree with this.:flaming:

Big John
JoJo1

Quote:

Originally posted by JoJo1 I do not agree with that at all. There are tons of members on here that comment on everything and I do mean everything just to comment and see their names if you asked me. That is the biggest reason I was glad to see the ranking system go as most of the guys that were ranked the highest have maybe 1-2 yrs of kiting experience which is Nothing in then grand scheme of kiting. Then there are those of us that actually have kite knowledge that comment when we see something that really needs to be commented on. Then there are others that just come in and browse the site and never comment, but do see what is going on with the site. What gives you the "RIGHT" to decide who stays and who goes. I sure do not agree with this.:flaming: Big John JoJo1

I tihnk they are talking more about the people who signed up and havent returned in a year or more.

i second that motion i think that people who havent posted need to be cleaned off the list it does get a bit irritating.

Quote:

Originally posted by JoJo1 What gives you the "RIGHT" to decide who stays and who goes. Big John JoJo1

ummm....................The ownership of the website!..........aj

Maybe they have been busy flying kites insted of posting to a kite related website.

Quote:

Originally posted by JoJo1 I do not agree with that at all. There are tons of members on here that comment on everything and I do mean everything just to comment and see their names if you asked me. That is the biggest reason I was glad to see the ranking system go as most of the guys that were ranked the highest have maybe 1-2 yrs of kiting experience which is Nothing in then grand scheme of kiting. Then there are those of us that actually have kite knowledge that comment when we see something that really needs to be commented on. Then there are others that just come in and browse the site and never comment, but do see what is going on with the site. What gives you the "RIGHT" to decide who stays and who goes. I sure do not agree with this.:flaming: Big John JoJo1

JoJo, I'm not claiming any "right". I merely asked a question. The forum administrator that so graciously allows you and I and the other 2-300 real members who frequent this forum has the right to take action on my advice or not. You seem to be disagreeing with suggestions no one actually said. If you read my initial post, and listen to the words I wrote, you will find that the "members" I am referring to have never posted and have not visited the forum in over a year. The ones that I am most talking about are members that signed up 4-5 years ago and NEVER posted and haven't been active at all since then. What is the loss in purging their names from the member list if they haven't been here in any capacity in years and never once posted? I assure you, they don't care.

Quote:

Originally posted by tedsfoils Maybe they have been busy flying kites insted of posting to a kite related website.

That's great. I hope they are having a great and safe time with their kites. However if they haven't visited this forum in years and never posted, we aren't so very important to them anyway. Why do we need to keep their name on the member list if they signed up on a whim and never came back?

I agree with Bob. If the names are stale, what purpose does it provide keeping them? If they want to come back...well they can re-register and post.

Clean em' out is my vote.

The script I will consider installing allows the admin to remove memberships that have registered but never logged in. In most cases, this was the result of spambots trying to post a link to their sites from our members page. They are not kiters and may be safely removed. The spambot problem was solved years ago and now fake registration is largely a thing of the past.

However, before I give up a Saturday installing modifications, I must consider if it broadly benefits the site. Removing fake registrations may improve the site stats and reduce some database bulk, but otherwise should not affect a member's experience on this site. The members page has search and sort features that should display member information in the manner desired.

Keep in mind that the members page is not just a list of the most active posters. It is also a historical view of all members who have ever joined. Some may not have logged in for some time, but as we are happy to have older members rejoin us, I see no reason to eliminate them. Once a member, always a member. To eliminate members just because they have not posted in x amount of time would be a huge and unnecessary undertaking.

So to clarify... if we decide to remove entries from the members list, it will only be those fake entries submitted by spambots in the earlier years.

I'm not sure it is worth one of your saturdays. I wouldn't want to purge anyone that ever posted even once. If there is a gap between those that were spammers and those that legitimately signed up but never posted and never came back then your effort surely wouldn't be worth the minimal benefit.

How often does anyone look at the member list anyway? I honestly believe that I have never looked past page 1. I don't think its worth giving up a Sat to clean it up.