That's sort of what I was thinking, Ro. And maybe if we only do that in the begining.
Have you ever been in line at midnight to get a copy of Lord of the Rings or something? Those are the die-hards who've been itching to get into the video store for months. You go in for a casual rental weeks later and it's a much more laid back process. If we had a release date, so to speak, for board77 to open, then I imagine we'll get all the freaks in here right away. :mrgreen: lol
So even though by opening the boards we are eliminating the invitation process, we can still have an idea of who is on the boards because we are seeing usernames we recognize. If the (I had to call it screening process, but you know what I mean) is working fine, then we can simply switch to an absolute free-for-all fiesta that any passer-by can join in on.
I have trouble imagine non-TORCers having any interest in this site, but I know we can welcome them with open arms. I remember the drive-bys that The Grey Havens would get, and it was pretty funny how everybody would jump on the wee ones, but I know that wouldn't happen here.
And if we made an "unadvertised" switch to
completely open boards, then no one would be waiting at our doors about to explode from holding in things they've been waiting to spew at us for months.
I like the idea of having a "who were you on TORC" thread. The new people who register here won't all have malicious intent when they sign up - perhaps they really just don't like their TORC names and want to try something else! I mean, we can still do that here (Nin wasn't Nin when she first arrived and Eruname had some numbers in her name),
but I think we could ask them to let us know who they are at TORC for reference sake. It'll keep things straight.
*E*