88 replies to this topic

[DaveL]

Membership of this Forum has always been intended to be an act of participation, of sharing knowledge and experiences, of exploring a common interest that has brought us together as a community.

The Forum is now over two years old an I've noticed quite a lot of early registrations that have never made even a single post.

I can only assume that these were registrations made out of curiosity or that interests have moved on. There are quite probably a number of registrations where passwords were forgotten and so another registration was made.

As we're not gripped by the number of registrations on the board, I propose culling the dead wood. My apologies in advance to anyone who's been a long-term watcher and non-contributor who gets chopped, but the solution is to simply re-register and participate.

I'll be doing the cull fairly soon, by the way, and hope I get it right first time..... ??? ??? ???

Addendum June 2005
The cull policy has now been in use for 18 months and appears to be working well. Membership figures are around the 2k mark and registrations are approaching 7k.

Addendum August 2009
The cull policy was changed a few months ago, and is working as intended. The cull now removes people who have not [b]logged on[b] to the forum for 12 months or more. The cull is now no longer based on whether a member has posted or not. That policy removed members who looked in, but did not contribute (post).

[Airgunner]

Cor! an Airgun Forum Vesectomy, hopt it don't hurt.

[The Green Man]

Ah! a public execution, gather round everyone!

chop, chop, chop!

[DaveL]

The first phase of the cull has been completed.

It has removed those who registered with the BBS over a year ago and have never posted. I felt that the majority of these non-participants would probably have been "passing trade" who tend to register with any BBS they may discover, take a look around and then move on.

There's been nothing done that was individually selective and if someone who still uses the BBS but has never posted has been axed - my apologies - please re-register and feel welcome to participate.

I'll probably whittle numbers down a bit more in due course because, as previously stated, numbers don't impress but participation does.

Perhaps those who haven't posted in the last year or so might be weeded?
Perhaps those who've registered more recently but haven't entered a location or posted could be removed?

Helpful comments/suggestions appreciated.

[DaveL]

I'm now looking at trimming off those who haven't posted on here since 31 Dec 2002. There are over 500 registrations in that category.

The downside is that it's likely there will be a few who like to look in, but not post. They would, regrettably, be caught in the cull. Unfortunately, the BBS tools only offer a filter based on posting and registration date and not the last login date.

To get round the problem, all that's needed is for a non-poster to add a post to the forum before 31st January or, if deleted, to simply re-register using the original username.

Apologies to the few grains of wheat who will be culled along with the chaff, but I feel that a tidy-up is warranted.

[DaveL]

Well, since the proposals have caused such an outcry , I've started removing some of the "chaff", starting with those who've registered, never posted and never put a location in their profile.

It appears that many members don't read what's in their confirmation email and many prospective members don't read what's in red on the registration page.

Ah well, horse to water, etc.

[DaveL]

If you registered 12 months or more ago and have made a post in the last 12 months you're OK.

If you registered between 7 and 12 months ago and haven't made a post by the time your registration is 12 months old, you'll be removed.

If you registered within the last 7 months and have replaced the <<Enter Location>> in your profile with a valid location, then you are OK for up to 12 months.

If you registered more than 3 months ago, haven't posted and haven't entered a location, then you will be removed.

If you registered recently, posted and ignored the reminder to enter a location then you'll be removed.

I hate the complexity of the above, but the BBS software system was updated 7 months ago and works differently, hence the need for the two systems. Also, 7 months ago, we made the entry of a valid location (just to avoid giving inappropriate advice/comment and making sales easier) a condition of membership, as it seemed to make a lot of sense and would avoid the eternal "where are you?" questions and the "Ah! But I'm in xyz land, so your advice doesn't apply" comments.

[DaveL]

I've run the cull.

Anyyone who hasn't posted for a year has been removed on the assumption that theirs is a "dead" account.

If anyone has been removed who just likes to "look in", then my sincere apologies. Please re-register and say hello.

Many thanks.

[DaveL]

Nope, no DEFRA licence required. If I need one, I'll print it myself LOL.

The first cull run at the end of January removed quite a lot of dead wood and there were very few members who'd been onlookers for a year and never posted who had to re-register.

Flushed with success, I've run the same again and have whittled out a few more presumably defunct "members" who haven't posted in over a year. I'll probably do the same again on a monthly basis.

I'm also removing new registrants who, in a period of 3 months, have neither posted nor entered a location in accordance with membership requirements.

Eventually, this will result in a more realistic member count and should also improve database efficiency.