No guest viewing permissions?

[Randy]

How do you feel about forums that are completely shut off to guest viewing?

You have to register and/or login to the forum to be able to see anything?

Is it a turn off or does it make you want to join to see whats inside?

 

[Nebulous]

I have joined a forum or two that was completely closed off to guest viewing because I knew/interacted the forum owner on other forums. If I don't know the admin then I wouldn't join. Normally I would need to get a feel for the board before I make the leap.

 

[Cory]

It's a turnoff for me, to the point where I usually just exit out of the forum and never return. I have to see some content to judge if I would like to join a forum or not.

 

[Ashley]

I am not likely to join a community like this, and while I don't care about details, I do like at least getting a hint or sample of what I'm up against. I like to see how staff and members communicate with each other before deciding if the community would be a good fit for me

 

[Henrywrites]

How do you feel about forums that are completely shut off to guest viewing?

You have to register and/or login to the forum to be able to see anything?

Is it a turn off or does it make you want to join to see whats inside?

I can't blame any webmaster who has taken the decision to shut out guests from just viewing content on a forum or website without registering. It can be an effective way of limiting the amount of spies that come up on a forum. If you want to get involved, you should register and start contributing instead of being a spy.