# A test for awhile on S & EP



## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

Just wanted to let you know. For a bit, Homesteading Questions and S&EP, possibly one more later are going to be where the threads don't show unless you are logged in.

Just something being tried by the site owners, and I suggested we would be a good one to test on.


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## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

I agree with S & EP being a good one to test on, but not Questions. That's the main section, as far as I'm concerned. I'm always logged in so it won't affect me, but I think folks will be none to happy to lose a main section of this forum unless they are logged in.


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## Wendy (May 10, 2002)

I don't understand what the big deal is to log in.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Are they looking for 'bots' or trying to boost numbers by having people have to log in to see them? When you look at how many members vs guests are on the forum at any given time, especially at night, you have to wonder who the "guests" are. Won't affect me, as I'm always logged on.


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## anahatalotus (Oct 25, 2012)

I'm constantly logged on on my tablet even if I go a month or two without posting. However there area times I just want to look something up from a real computer and totally forget my password, lol. 
I think it might encourage more long term lurkers to sign up if they can read all the threads without logging in.


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## raybait1 (Sep 30, 2006)

I'm hardly ever logged in when reading. Guess since this is one of my favorite reading places, I'll have to adapt.


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

[YOUTUBE]IKqV7DB8Iwg[/YOUTUBE]


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## Dixie Bee Acres (Jul 22, 2013)

Wendy said:


> I don't understand what the big deal is to log in.


It's not a big deal to log in, if you are a registered user. I found this site by using google, looking for info, and a couple of the Google hits were posts from here. So, i registered.
But if someone can't read sections without being logged in, Google won't show posts, and new users might not find this site.


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## Fennick (Apr 16, 2013)

Wendy said:


> I don't understand what the big deal is to log in.


It probably wouldn't be a big deal for people who are at home on their own private computers that they don't share with anyone else and they can stay logged in indefinately. 

I can see how it might be an issue for people who like to browse on HT but don't want to log in because they are on other computers away from home, maybe at someone elses house or at work on a lunch break or whatever. 

Or people like me who only log in when they see a topic that they want to respond to. I logged on just now specifically because I was going to post a question to try to find out why I couldn't read on S&EP and hence I found Angie's notification about this.

I agree with Belfreybat it makes sense to test it on S&EP (or even more so on General Chat where I think everyone SHOULD be logged in to read there) but I think it may be discouraging to some people if they have to be logged in to read on Homesteading Questions. A lot of people find the HT website only because of googling a farm related problem on internet and they find the forum and the answer by happenstance because a Q&A topic about it was posted on Homesteading Questions forum. So I think if people have to be logged in there's a high risk of losing potential new memberships due to people not finding HT forum at all during internet searches. 

But who knows, maybe that is what the forum owners want. :shrug:


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## raybait1 (Sep 30, 2006)

Dixie Bee Acres said:


> It's not a big deal to log in, if you are a registered user. I found this site by using google, looking for info, and a couple of the Google hits were posts from here. So, i registered.
> But if someone can't read sections without being logged in, Google won't show posts, and new users might not find this site.


They can give the search engines a specific login. The pages will get indexed but a searcher will be asked to log in to view. Seems painful.


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

Fennick said:


> ....it makes sense to test it on S&EP (or even more so on General Chat where I think everyone SHOULD be logged in to read there) but I think it may be discouraging to some people if they have to be logged in to read on Homesteading Questions. A lot of people find the HT website only because of googling a farm related problem on internet and they find the forum and the answer by happenstance because a Q&A topic about it was posted on Homesteading Questions forum. So I think if people have to be logged in there's a high risk of losing potential new memberships due to people not finding HT forum at all during internet searches.
> 
> But who knows, maybe that is what the forum owners want. :shrug:


I second this..


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

It appears that it is Families and S&EP. From the numbers, HQ may be fully visible. And it may not be a forever thing. And it is to get members logged in.


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## Lilith (Dec 29, 2012)

I too think that "guests" do not need to read the S&EP threads. It's a privacy thing - like me not using my real name on this forum. I adore each active member very much, and love the sharing of information, but I don't trust people who are not willing to log in and share their experiences and knowledge. It's one sided, and I believe that people should give back - not just take. Having threads to get people interested is good, having them see there is a thread about S&EP is fine, I prefer they not be able to read the details unless they are willing to contribute.


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## sidepasser (May 10, 2002)

I have a feeling that this is not going to be a good thing as many people don't want to log in just to read for a bit and then go on to other things.

Lilith if you think that you are "private" while posting on the net, I am afraid you are sadly mistaken. IP addys can be traced regardless of what "handle" you are using, nothing that is posted on the net is private. Absolutely nothing..just ask all the weirdos that get "caught" with their hand in the cookie jar.

IP addys can be traced by those who really want to find out who you are. 

Privacy is a two way street, perhaps those that don't log in do not want to be "known" at all.


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## Dixie Bee Acres (Jul 22, 2013)

Am I correct in this assumption, the more registered users who return to the site regularly, the more the advertising space is worth. With no way of easily tracking registered user activity without them being logged in, the owners are now making some portions of the site accessible only by logged in users in a way to boost revenue. Am I on the right track?

In any case, the owners are in fact the owners and it is their option to operate the site in any way they choose.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

I think it's something along those lines.


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

My grandma had an old crazy aunt that her grandparents kept in the root cellar. They'd feed her and give her water and all, the little kids would bring her berries, apples, corn pone, whatever was in season, and listen to her tell her crazy stories through the door. In the winter she lived in a room behind the chimney, in the loft, and they'd talk to her, and passed her food through the un-chinked logs. 
Few people ever saw her, only close family, and even many of them didn't even know her name. It had been lost to time. 

Just saying.


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

Grandma said she'd been a sweet and pretty little girl in her younger days, but had fell in with a rake when she was 13 or 14 and he left her broken hearted. She tore her cloths, pulled her hair, and then she stumbled upon some of her daddy's hard cider. After consuming about two quarts, while stumbling around in the barn, she stepped on a board with a nail in it, and the nail went clean through and out the top of her foot. The sight of her own blood was just too much, and she passed out. That's the way her daddy found her the next morning. Not a pretty picture. 

After that she could never trust a planed board again, and they had to keep her on dirt floors or floors made of small logs, like the room behind the chimney). Love is a many splintered thing.


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

I don't have a problem with having to be logged in to see this board - most of the message boards I've belonged to are that way. I know my IP can be traced if someone's determined to figure out who I am, and for that reason I don't talk about anything too revealing or controversial. But I like sharing what I know and learning from others here, and I don't like casual snoopers seeing my posts.


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## Wild_Bill (Aug 4, 2014)

vicker said:


> Grandma said she'd been a sweet and pretty little girl in her younger days, but had fell in with a rake when she was 13 or 14 and he left her broken hearted. She tore her cloths, pulled her hair, and then she stumbled upon some of her daddy's hard cider. After consuming about two quarts, while stumbling around in the barn, she stepped on a board with a nail in it, and the nail went clean through and out the top of her foot. The sight of her own blood was just too much, and she passed out. That's the way her daddy found her the next morning. Not a pretty picture.
> 
> After that she could never trust a planed board again, and they had to keep her on dirt floors or floors made of small logs, like the room behind the chimney). Love is a many splintered thing.



Ummm OK ! Somebody has been watching the ring again


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## Awnry Abe (Mar 21, 2012)

food for thought for the powers that be...A google search for a specific problem with a goat is what brought me to HT for the very first time. There is a good chance that less new traffic will be driven here, if old threads in "logged-in-only" forums are no longer viewable by the general public.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

It's only two forums. All the livestock, H Questions, and the rest are still viewable. A lot to show in Google searches. And past stuff will still show in the cached threads, and then they can just log in for free, and read all they want.

And I'm not sure how long it will last, but I don't think it's a permanent situation.


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## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

Not in love with it...I often read but only login to post because of shared devices:yuck:


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## Wanda (Dec 19, 2002)

Just for fun, log out and go to the blocked forums and click on a thread. When I see that you can join in for so many $'s a month with no refunds, I can figure out what they are looking for!


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

I just logged out, then selected "go to the page you were just viewing" and it brought up the page Wanda mentioned about free or paid memberships.

I went up to the HT banner at the top and clicked on it and it brought up all the different boards, including S&EP, and I was able to click on it and view the threads.


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## unregistered65598 (Oct 4, 2010)

If you scroll down in the locked threads it still shows that guests are veiwing, maybe not as many as before though.


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## unregistered65598 (Oct 4, 2010)

Mom_of_Four said:


> I just logged out, then selected "go to the page you were just viewing" and it brought up the page Wanda mentioned about free or paid memberships.
> 
> I went up to the HT banner at the top and clicked on it and it brought up all the different boards, including S&EP, and I was able to click on it and view the threads.


I just did what you did and yes I could see the threads that were listed but when you click on one to read it, it redirects you to sign up.


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## sugarspinner (May 12, 2002)

Ok Vicker, you had me there for the first line or two of the first post. Then........! Anyway, are you saying that if they hide us behind the chimney, we'll (1)finally fade away and no one will remember we were ever there or, (2) be viewed as the nut cases that some already think we are, (3) be forced to come on out and act normal, or none of the above or other? Is this passion for survival and preparedness the result of unrequited love from our country and mainstream society? 

As someone else has said, this whole forum belongs to someone else and they have the right to run it as they please. Isn't that what most of us believe - that we should be able to run what is ours as we see fit?


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

No! I was just poking fun at those fears and enjoying an inspired burst of creativity


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

There is a page to register to become a member. On the lower left is FREE. There are options to become a supporting member. It does cost money to run this place. And it's a lot more than Chuck was, with me and the rest of the mods. 

There is a trade off on most all forums, especially of any size. There are the ads you see that create the funds that caused someone to be able to run a site and make a profit, too. 

Now we can get upset that people do this, but then you can join and be here for no cost.

Right now, they just would like the members to be logged in. That makes better numbers for those ads you see at the top. Remember, that started a long time ago with Chuck making a few bucks to run this place, and later maybe a few more than was needed to keep the site going.

But the owners have more people keeping things running. And we have a site free for the visiting and carrying on.

As to this not seeing S&EP when logged out. It's something I've been thinking about for some time. I tried Current Events earlier and it didn't work out then, the whole S&EP does work out now.

This may or may not be permanent, but it's the way it is for now.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

Wanda said:


> Just for fun, log out and go to the blocked forums and click on a thread. When I see that you can join in for so many $'s a month with no refunds, I can figure out what they are looking for!


That's been there about 18 months to 2 years. And you can still do free.

And if you are a member already, just go to the upper right hand corner and log in.


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## Dixie Bee Acres (Jul 22, 2013)

It's actually kind of a paradox.
A site is formed where like minded people can discuss like minded topics.
Membership grows.
Someone takes notice.
Someone buys site and sells advertising space.
So now, like minded folks are allowed to use site for free. But topics discussed attract more like minded folks. Membership grows, advertising dollars go up.
So now, the "someone" actually makes money off of like minded folks discussing like minded topics, but doesnt charge like minded folks to discuss like minded topics.

So see, we can use this site for free, but the more topics we discuss, the more money they make off of us and our discussions. 

Pretty clever isn't it? Oh, yeah, I have owned two different forums in the past


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## raybait1 (Sep 30, 2006)

Most of the web works like this. Content attracts views which equal dollars. In a forums case its the viewers who create the content. Its an almost perfect perpetual residual income.


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## belladulcinea (Jun 21, 2006)

It's costs money to run this place, we are not being asked to fund it unless we want to. This is a great place to come. I like the idea of SE&P being private.


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## redhousekiwi (Nov 30, 2008)

AngieM2 said:


> Just wanted to let you know. For a bit, Homesteading Questions and S&EP, possibly one more later are going to be where the threads don't show unless you are logged in.
> 
> Just something being tried by the site owners, and I suggested we would be a good one to test on.


It's pretty jarring to click on a subject to see what it's about and be hit with that page instead of content. 

I tend to read logged out because when I am logged and on the page with the list of topics the forum pops up a little window with part of the first post - which I find hugely annoying. There is nowhere on the list of topics that your mouse can be without a pop-up happening.

But if the site owners want me logging in all the time so be it - where is the setting to tell the site to leave me logged in? Everytime I come to the page I have been logged out. 

Cheers, Liam


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## logbuilder (Jan 31, 2006)

belladulcinea said:


> It's costs money to run this place, we are not being asked to fund it unless we want to. This is a great place to come. I like the idea of SE&P being private.


I agree with you... at this point in time. I'd bet dollars to donuts that in the long run, access to this site will be slowly moved to a 'pay to play' forum. The new owners have tipped their cards several times already indicating their desire to make money.

I hope I am wrong.


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## Dixie Bee Acres (Jul 22, 2013)

logbuilder said:


> I agree with you... at this point in time. I'd bet dollars to donuts that in the long run, access to this site will be slowly moved to a 'pay to play' forum. The new owners have tipped their cards several times already indicating their desire to make money.
> 
> I hope I am wrong.


Actually, more than likely, what would happen in that case is, the forum, in general, would remain free, but with limited access. But certain sections and/or features would be available only to paid user subscriptions.


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## belladulcinea (Jun 21, 2006)

Most paid forums are going the way of the dinosaurs. The last one I am on has stopped charging a subscription which they did for almost 12 years. Too many other places to go and have these conversations.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

Well, I've not heard anything about changing being here free, unless you want to help out and become a supporting member.

So, guess we don't have to worry about that one. At least, not yet. They have several forums and none of them charge to be on the forums. Many forums I've seen, have a few forums like GC or P that are usually saved for just Supporting Members as giving then something extra for the money. HT already had those for free. So, they still are.


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

I've run across several sites where I have to sign in before I can read post or articles. If I'm already a member I'll sometimes sign in to read, but if I'm not already a member, then I close the page and go looking elsewhere. It makes me feel like I'm being blackmailed into joining before they'll let me take a peek.


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## unregistered65598 (Oct 4, 2010)

redhousekiwi said:


> It's pretty jarring to click on a subject to see what it's about and be hit with that page instead of content.
> 
> I tend to read logged out because when I am logged and on the page with the list of topics the forum pops up a little window with part of the first post - which I find hugely annoying. There is nowhere on the list of topics that your mouse can be without a pop-up happening.
> 
> ...


Click the box that says remember me before you hit log in.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

Thanks Merks for helping redhousekiwi with that. REMEMBER ME box is vital.


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## edcopp (Oct 9, 2004)

Wanda said:


> Just for fun, log out and go to the blocked forums and click on a thread. When I see that you can join in for so many $'s a month with no refunds, I can figure out what they are looking for!


Bingo.:thumb:


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

My poor DH won't be happy. He can't remember his log in or password, so he just reads the few times a year he stops by. Oh well, I can always log him in as me so he can read.

Anyway they can leave the "vault" open to non-logged in people? That might be a place that would being in some newbies.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

Actually its just to get the lurkers to register and be part of the forum. Nothing sinister or even about Supporting Membership.


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## redhousekiwi (Nov 30, 2008)

Merks said:


> Click the box that says remember me before you hit log in.


Thank you very much!


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## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

Would this have anything to do with me constantly being logged out? I keep having to log in when I haven't logged out. I go from one thread to another and have to log back in.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

terri9630 said:


> Would this have anything to do with me constantly being logged out? I keep having to log in when I haven't logged out. I go from one thread to another and have to log back in.



Exactly what happens if you don't check "Remember me"


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## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

AngieM2 said:


> Exactly what happens if you don't check "Remember me"


Except I do check remember me. Every time I log in.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

Clear history, cookies and cache for HT. Log out. Reboot. Type in the site address, when it come up log in. I've done that before when it happened to me, and that cured it.


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## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

AngieM2 said:


> Clear history, cookies and cache for HT. Log out. Reboot. Type in the site address, when it come up log in. I've done that before when it happened to me, and that cured it.


I'll give that a try. Thanks.


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## Old_Grey_Mare (Feb 18, 2006)

I am always logged in on the main computer but in the winter I usually surf with my ipad which I can do by the wood stove. I don't like to be logged in on the ipad because it always says I have visited the forum when I haven't. It is like it visits it without my knowledge or just any time I surf.


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## 606JAE (Dec 20, 2010)

I usually on log in when I want to post. I do not like this at all.


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## pookford (Jan 11, 2014)

I'm logged in 100% of the time simply because I really like the little preview box that comes up when you hover over a thread title and I only see that when I'm logged in. If Angie hadn't announced the change, I probably wouldn't have noticed.


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