Would you prefer our online community to be an open or closed forum?

There are pros and cons to both.  I like both, but prefer mixed.  So maybe you only have certain parts of the board be public and once you become a member you get access to the rest, a common thing on many boards.  From everything I've seen and read I don't think that is possible on this board software.  It would have been better if they used a more mainstream software.

So reasons to keep open.  Inclusivity.  There is another charity that I interact with and there website and community is the complete opposite to here. They are not inclusive at all.

Reasons to close it off.  Privacy.  People post on here and anyone can scrape that information and given enough data points can probably match it to an actual name and address.  Facebook and Google presumably both have that capability.  I admit to being guarded at times when posting on threads for that exact reason.  Sometimes I will make a response more generic so as not to identify someone exactly.

I don't know what the right answer is, so I won't vote.

actually I don't agree, I doubt a captcha system will keep out an AI. have you not notices even YouTube is mostly full of AI content now.

When I decided to become a member, I did so because the open forums had enabled me to get a feel for the place. If it had been a closed forum, I think it would have put me off.

However, whilst I have voted for an open forum, I do feel there is a need for the Community to include a 'members only' area.

In addition, I believe the registration process should include CAPTCHA. Currently, the software used by NAS to filter out the bots doesn't appear to be effective at spotting them.

I'm going somewhat off-topic now, but I also think that when new members have completed the registration process, they should automatically be redirected to the Community Rules page. Unless they have confirmed that they have read and understood the rules, they will be prevented from posting on the forum. This would save the Mods from having to lock or remove posts from researchers who had failed to read the Rules. It would also help to reduce the time the Mods spend removing personally identifiable information from posts.

very true but that's not what open / closed means in this context.

These are very serious and valid concerns given what we have learned during Covid - the UK’s online safety laws, digital ID’s and Ireland’s hate speech laws and whether or not these are in breach of Article 10 and indeed the Irish Consitution Bunreacht Na hEireann and proposed referenda to same coming up in Ireland, aside from what else may be coming down the tracks 

On a PHPBB3 forum you can set some boards to only be visable to logged in members.

me too. I breathe more deeply there.

actually, Rosie Mod, I'm wondering if both may not be accommodated? Public and private. Is that athing that can be managed?

I would imagine a closed forum would create a circle of trust one cannot rely on in public forums. I like the model at mastadon.social.

      In the early 90s the most successful "chat rooms" were private and less random. Most chat room were private at the beginning, and moderated as we are. moderation is vital. I really dont like that rando non members can read what I share here, as some of it is quite personal. I edit myself all the time because of it.

Yeah I guess if someone referred to a closed post then it would get confusing

out_of_step said:

New members might not be so aware

I don't think I was all that aware, when I joined. I've become increasingly more aware, I kind of wish I'd realized sooner. 

It is concerning. Especially when we are talking about diverse lived experiences of being a human. I know some people around here are more discerning than others,  especially those of us who've been here a while and watch it develop. New members might not be so aware.

I’m human 

out_of_step said:

The main thing is I'm fed up of being suspicious of every new "member" who posts here wondering if they are human or not

Absolutely, yes. I'm starting to think  quite a lot of them may not be, which is concerning. 

Article 10 of the Human Rights Act protects a right that’s fundamental to our democracy – our freedom of expression is fundamental to our democracy.

It means we’re free to hold opinions and ideas and to share them with others without the State interfering.

Liberty and other human rights groups have used Article 10 to challenge the UK Government’s mass surveillance – which scoops up all our correspondence, putting our rights to privacy, free expression and protest and our free press in jeopardy.

Article 10 also protects your right to communicate and express yourself in any medium – including through words, pictures and actions. It’s often used to defend press freedom and protect journalists’ sources.

This right covers:

• Political expression – including peaceful protests and demonstrations
• Artistic expression
• Commercial expression – particularly when it also raises matters of legitimate public debate and concern.
• The right to free expression would be meaningless if it only protected certain types of expression. So Article 10 protects both popular and unpopular expression – including speech that might shock others – subject to certain limitations.

nothing to hide here

Maybe have a "members only" area for general chat.

The main thing is I'm fed up of being suspicious of every new "member" who posts here wondering if they are human or not. Whether they have a name or generic NAS number. If it's about priorities, I think this is more important - to ensure only real humans are using this place. I don't know whether a closed forum would help this or not.

ok so hypotheticaly you post

<you closed post> my secret is A that's why I can't agrree with you.

<me open post> The way to deal with A is B

<people reading in their own heads> why are they sudenly talking about A, this forum is full of gibberish.

So your secret isn't really that safe and outside readers will get really confused.

Not really though, because only members could view/interact with a closed post. But then if it was open, anyone could. People who arent members wouldnt see any part of the closed post.

too confusing, imagine reading that thread. It's be like listening to one side of a phone call but it's a confrence call. You could make indervidual friends or sub forums open or closed though.