How about a Forum for Members only?

[JaBek1]

I don't like the modern habit of over-sharing and keep my private business (personal, financial etc) off the forums, but that's not the point. What we're talking about here is having some information that you would be perfectly happy to share with "a complete stranger you've never met, who may be a business competitor, but who just happens to have bought membership of eBid", but you do NOT wish to share with "a complete stranger you've never met, who may be a business competitor, but who does not happen of have bought membership of eBid YET". Apparently there are things you're happy to tell the first lot, but not the second? I can't imagine there being any difference for me. You want levels of transparency. Some of us aren't keen on that idea. This entire idea was originally mooted as a way to somehow protect ebid from image damage. I think it would do more harm than good in that area. I don't feel massively strongly about, and I'm not prepared to die on the barricades, but I do feel that hiving off a "members only" area would be a mistake: unproductive, complicated and unnecessary. Even if I quite liked it, there are about a million things I'd rather they did first.

Actually, I'm not concerned with sharing information with possible competitors since I'm not going to share with anyone anything that I do not wish to share. And while I admit that I'm not personally acquainted with most of the members of eBid, we do share at least one thing in common. We are all members of eBid.

Non-members, on the other hand, don't share that common interest and while they may be considering joining, they haven't yet made that commitment. Naturally, if & when they do they would be welcome to share every aspect of the forums and their input more than welcome. However, I don't see, until they do, why they would need access to all portions on the forums. Frankly, it is my opinion, the Member's Support Forum is the section that non-members don't need access to, with the possible exception to the area covering registration.

Since registration as a buyer is free, there is no reason, in my opinion, that they would be out anything by joining the site before being given full access to all portions of the forums. If they browse the site, window shop the stores to see what's being offered and they read some of the forum threads to get a feel for the site & the sellers and decide that they like what they see, then they can register as a buyer and they'll have the added benefit of access to the member support forums. That seems like a perfectly logically approach to me.

If we were talking about a legislative branch of a government, I would be all for "conducting business in the sunshine." However, this isn't Congress or Parliament and we're not elected officials deciding how to spend tax money. And actually, I wouldn't support any move to force any government to give total access to their discussions to non-citizens of their country either.

[adruml]

For another view on this check post #18 on the Britian Poised for the Biggest Strike thread here in the forums.

[TonyBridger]

For another view on this check post #18 on the Britian Poised for the Biggest Strike thread here in the forums.

Don't understand the point you are trying to make

Is upsetting customers in a private forum, which as a buyer member they will still see, much different to rubbishing them in a public forum

[adruml]

Don't understand the point you are trying to make

Is upsetting customers in a private forum, which as a buyer member they will still see, much different to rubbishing them in a public forum

Just another view/opinion that is all.

[adruml]

Lots of negatives in the forums the past couple of days.