(re: Another Suggestion (requirements for browsing this site)) I was wondering if it was possible to have guests browse this site rather than forcing them to register. However, I believe that you should still require them to register in order to post.
Posted by: skcll on 10/17/2003
Good question!
I require registration because I am trying to build an email list. The fact is that on most message board systems the ratio of “lurkers” to “posters” is at least 20 to 1. In other words, if I didn’t demand registration to read, I would receive 20 times fewer people registering.
Why is registration important to me?
The answer is that, sooner or later, Roberta or I will do something interesting and want to tell people about it. I’m trying to build a huge email list. Currently, this site has just over 2,000 registered users – which isn’t a bad start. This count will grow radically once I fix a few things, the biggest of which is that I need to write a bit of code to allow this site to be indexed by the search engines. For now, I’m not in a hurry to dramatically grow the number of visitors. The code behind this site is still “shaky” – it’s better to solve the code and design issues before opening it to the public.
And now, here’s something REALLY interesting:
Roberta has made the decision to start writing a book. It’s a fictional novel – but, beyond that I can’t say more. She would kill me if I gave away what it is about. She won’t seriously start writing until December, so I’m guessing it won’t be published for at least a year or more.
-Ken W