What I mean is something I referred to in passing on a thread that was probably deleted.

Before registration the forum participants were the ones who enforced the rules -- there wasn't much that Fodors could do, absent deleting a thread. Granted it was a "wild west" at times, Darwinian at others, but it was OUR forum.

Now that we have registration we seem to have given up much of our responsibility for how this forum runs. A number of us, myself included, have taken to testing how far "daddy" will let us go. I have noticed a number of us undergo forum "personality shifts" as registration has sunk in.

Can we take back the forum? Or are we happy to let registration infantilize us? We can't change the registration policy -- in fact it's been good, EXCEPT for what we've let it do to us.

I'm a little confused, Sally - - what ability did "we" have to "enforce" any rules, other than to...

a) go complain to "daddy"

b) resort to sarcasm, rudeness, snideness and sniping, under the (oft-times rather thin) veil of anonymity and deceptive "names"

or

c) civilly and respectfully tell others that "we" think they have used the forum inappropriately (advertising, poor communication skills, tone/rudeness, etc)

a) and c) are still readily available - - and though harder to do (I guess), even b) is "somewhat" possible.

What is it exactly, that you miss?

And why do you think that &quot;we&quot; own it, since &quot;we&quot; don't bear any of the <i>financial</i> cost of maintaining it?

I have pushed for change on many fronts over the past five years, and some have occurred. I think registration is crucial to prevent impersonations - - yes, acknowledging that I committed this sin in classic fashion, posting, <i>once</i> as the editors from Fodors. The ability to easily cite a previously posted thread as a URL (at long last, vaguely documented in the faq's - - http://www.fodors.com/forums/faqs.cfm#Q3A - - but not terribly well) is a very significant improvement.

There are still mprovements worth campaigning for. I am somewhat on a continuing rant, of late, as to how Fodors needs to inform every new registrant about the simple utility of &quot;clicking on your own name&quot;. Likewise, I think that the editors/monitors could stay attuned to poorly worded message headers by first-time posters (this would be so easy to track - - and they know every registrant's e-mail address).

But what is it you want, exactly? &quot;We&quot; are, after all, a very loosedly defined &quot;community&quot; anyhow - - continuously infused with an influx of newcomers (the lifeblood of this forum) who barely get or care about the history, etiquette or &quot;culture&quot; of the forum.

If I were the management at Fodors, I would not have a clue as to what you want to see done differently. You want everyone here to have universal, unregistered access to the log-in name &quot;unsigned&quot;?

I would occasionally use it; perhaps you would too. It wouldn't really &quot;improve&quot; the forum.

Best wishes,

Rex

Registration has been a very good thing. The vast majority of posts or threads that have been deleted deserved to be deleted.

Your &quot;testing the system&quot; to see what you can get away with sounds like something a rebellious teenager would do. Do you want to become the censor?

Stick to travel issues and stop trying to fix something that is not broke.

There are a few jerks here, but I see far less of those posts since registration. Someone upset about one of their posts can click on their name and quickly see that the poster consistantly acts that way.

I somewhat feel sorry for those posters, people that unhappy must hate themselves most of all.

Keith

I don't understand what you're proposing or suggesting in the initial post. I don't think we have an option to undo registration or get rid of censors, and we ALWAYS have control over the content, tone and frequency of our own posts, no matter what goes on around us. So what did you mean exactly?

Do you really believe that Fodors isn't &quot;mining&quot; this site for all that it is worth?

They get your e-mail and your computer address when you register.

They can tell at a glance what the &quot;most popular&quot; destinations might be or what travel trends may be developing.

They sell advertising.

I don't think any of THAT is going to change.

You can get very useful information here which is not found in any guidebook.

True, you do have to put up with some people who think they've discovered some sort of free travel agency which will plan their entire trip for them..everything from where to propose, where to eat, where to sleep, where to walk, what to wear, etc., etc., but those are easily avoided.

It isn't perfect but it serves a purpose for both users and the company sponsor. And as far as those &quot;rules&quot; you are referring to...well, frankly that sounds suspiciously like that &quot;dress code&quot; that some people keep trying to enforce.

I've much preferred the forum since registration. I find that the topics stick more to travel and are enlightening, rather than all sorts of nonsense and nastiness that was going on before....most of which had nothing to do with travel.

I have no problem with threads that get entirely out of hand being deleted by the editors. Although I will admit to enjoying their banter on occassion.

I think it is much better after registration. My only complaint is the amount of traffic and and the threads that are not travel related. Of course, I would prefer a higher level of questions but that goes with the territory.

Actually my question wasn't about registration. Registration is FINE!

It was about what registration has done to &quot;us&quot; as a group in how we respond online. Since I seem to be the only person reflecting on this topic -- I withdraw my question

I don't understand the question. What have we let the forum do to us? What is there to take back? How has registration infantilized us?

I think things are fine and I'm even not opposed to a little light censorship. I've never seen travel related topics deleted...only those that step outside the bounds of what the vast majority would consider relevant or polite.

Sorry, Sally, but my personality has not changed a jot since registration. Danny Mangin and The Sweeney? I am more afraid of cellulite.

I will continue to be polemic, constantly reminding you Americans how daft you are.

I'm not sure how registration changed things among the users. I read for a few years, but only started interacting a few months before registration. I have noticed that it's easier for me, to form consistant impressions about certain fellow posters, where I hadn't before. Not sure I care for that but that's more my reaction. The &quot;I wrote an email to Fodors to complain&quot; thing that I've read in some threads is the main thing that I've noticed that seems new. I couldn't do that.

I do think registration changed the nature of the site. The absolute hardest thing about running a commercial website is the fact that you have to keep people coming back. A static website is a dead website. It's a yellow pages ad. You have to have dynamic content in order to have both newcomers and regulars, but dynamic content is far and away the most expensive component to a website. More than bandwidth, servers, development costs, design combined.

I personally think Fodors realized something about this forum that they hadn't before. Prior to responding the the call for registration, I looked like Fodors was just happy it had a bunch of people coming and visiting its website. They provided some basic software and everyone came and used it. Lots of anonymous junk was included, but when its some stranger with a just-made-it-up name, it seemed pretty easy for people to ignore it.

Then registration. Fodors realized that the content on this site IS dynamic. You... are providing content. Free. As long as they don't take credit for it and long as they rein in the off-color, off-putting stuff, it's a gold mine.

Did you notice all of these threads showing up on Google searches shortly thereafter? More hits, more matches = more customers and later, more contributers. Great idea on their part, I think, business-wise. I do think people are starting to take the potshots (or attitude) more personally now though. Sometimes they might come from they previously respected or it may seem to be coming from someone who has a vendetta. Where there must be a name attached to an idea, its more personal and people are bound not to take it the same way.

From &quot;the verbose&quot; guy...

Thank you Clifton for a very thoughtful, non-selfserving, non pot-shotting post.

Registration did improve the site. There are fewer aliases. Of course, those driven by inner demons beyond comprehension can still continue to go in and out of names to create and then immediately delete new names to trash people and posts.

Then there are those who never have a thing to say and just want to brag about how much money they have to spend or their kids' achievements.

While we will always have the nut cases, most posters post questions that involve travel. If the questions are inartful, folks, they will get less attention. There is a learning curve on how to use the site.

To get rid of the crazies and aliases, fodors should develop a way to block their account(s).

Quite frankly, I really don't think fodors looks at this message board much. They probably only look when someone emails and kvetches. The message boards are here because it brings people onto the site where--from fodors point of view--they will hopefully by something.

I do not understand the original post either. It is not our forum to take back. It is belongs to fodors.

I am hoping this one gets deleted, since it appears to me that what you want is the ability to be rude and hateful. That is what was here before and NO I don't miss it!

CarolA -- you're missing the point -- which is fully within your rights
I am FOR registration.
I LIKE registration.
I appreciate the relative peace &amp; quiet.
I was just making a sociological observation about something I had noticed.
I am curious at your criterion for censorship -- my raising a discussion ABOUT the board seems legitinate to me -- but as I said -- I've withdrawn the question

sfowler, after taking such a drubbing on this one, will you undergo a dramatic &quot;personality shift&quot; and re-register? Perhaps you could pick something soft and cute like BabyFace or strong like ControlFreak?

good luck, I put a RIP on my wells thread and it took on a life of its own.

Over my years in cyberland I have grown a thicker skin than that!!But why should I re-register. I've *always* posted as sfowler [s.fowler before registration -- I couldn't have the &quot;.&quot;]

I have only posted anonymously twice pre-registration. I stand by what I say -- or apologize when needed. And there is currently only one of me

I have to admit the responses have been interesting ....