Why not just go ahead and make the board read-only??
I'd vote for that.
Having this board private was a good thing back when it was just a discussion board, and then still when it was a few members who wanted to talk as if in a big IM conversation. But now that there's so many more people, it's not (at least to me) a private place where you can post personal information and not worry about strangers seeing it.
I don't personally have much problem with doing that anyway, but many posters here
are strangers to me, and so b77 is never going to be that small private friends only place. Ever.
Not that that's a bad thing, of course not! I love getting to know new people, but I cannot see how this place can be truly confidential if you're posting with strangers. Just because someone I know on here knows another poster doesn't mean they're not a stranger.
Having B77 private - but then still allowing new members to post - seems unbelievably cliquey to me, and I really do think it's causing far more harm than good. (This is aside to the fact that I think it's stupid anyway, and that I really hate the idea that I'm actively part of place that picks and chooses its members, and has the right to say no to someone it don't deem "fit" to be a part of [it?].)
Many people not on B77 still have the idea that this is a bitchy place out to get TORC and it's members (or whatever other ideas might be floating around) - and having a letter written by the members of this board "verifying" that those rumours are untrue is going to make no difference.
For all they know, we could be sitting around chatting about how the admins on TORC are all bastards, and that Jon's wife is an ugly slag (just an example!), but we would still be able to say "No one on TORC is being talked about behind their backs, and this is just a safe friendly place for friends to talk to each other".
As I realised even clearer last weekend, there are DEFINITELY people who do not believe these statements that we are handing out claiming that nothing bitchy is going on here, and that is never going to change unless "outsiders" can see what's going on here.
If we had B77 as read only, everyone would still only be posting with these select few, but there wouldn't be any way for people not invited to come in and flame. Sure, your info such as addresses etc wouldn't be completely private - but that's what's email/IM/PM is for - right? If we were a read-only board, there wouldn't
be any gossip about what we really are, because everyone would be able to see for themselves.
Sure, it could be an awful idea with hideous consequences that could make people not on this board dislike us, spread rumours, flame us, it could lose us friends... But wait! That's already happened!
No harm in trying something out, eh?
(Apologies if this is posted in the totally wrong place, but bugger me if I know where to post anymore [Plus I've completely forgotten what thread I'm even posting in
]. I've been away too long... anyone can feel free to move this along if needed
. Just wanted to say my piece.)
EDIT: Also, if the place was read only then whoever has been cut'n'pasting bits of this board to others would have nothing to go on anymore, because whoever wanted to read it would be able to read EVERYTHING and not just select little comments that have been carefully chosen to make us look bad.