New Non-active Members

**Safari** · 06-06-2005, 10:29 AM

Every day there are new members signing up and many never make a post on this forum.
Just curious why they even bother to sign up, do they think they have to be a member to browse the forum I wonder.
There are currently over 3900 members and I suspect at least half that number have never made even one post.

**FoxyMX** · 06-06-2005, 10:34 AM

Probably a large number of them sign up to PM the people in the Gmail thread to ask for Gmail invites.

**techie** · 06-06-2005, 10:41 AM

Originally Posted by FoxyMX

Probably a large number of them sign up to PM the people in the Gmail thread to ask for Gmail invites.

... ah! good point. Probably.

Just having gone through the list, I found approximately 1566 'members' with only one posts. That's 40%. However, the majority of them are accounts of members who already exist and post regularly. Just as an example, I can see about 20 usernames that clearly belong to the same person. Many have signed up as 'self-protection', i.e. they were known as someone else on the previous forum, so signs up, disallowing any other evil person wanting to be them to do so.

**ninja** · 06-06-2005, 11:02 AM

A lot of lurkers who read, but sign up so they can change the prefs?

**Jen** · 06-06-2005, 04:40 PM

I'm always fascinated by the new users who sign up and then go straight to the Private Messages and Members Lists areas where they stay for some time ...

I would like to think if they are up to no good, and you guys are getting spammed via PM you would let the Mods know so that we could stop that behaviour.

**pctek** · 06-06-2005, 05:03 PM

Or some sign up to ask for help on a problem and then only come back when they get a new problem?

**bob_doe_nz** · 06-06-2005, 05:11 PM

Jen...
Didnt I talk about this thread topic to you on ChatF1 a couple of weeks ago?

seems eerily familar....

**Safari** · 06-06-2005, 05:18 PM

Just seems to be a bit strange to me.
There have been several signups today with no posts, the latest is lynne who is still showing.
Why go to the trouble of signing up if you never post or reply. I can't believe it is just so they can change the prefs.

**Jen** · 06-06-2005, 05:27 PM

Originally Posted by Safari

Why go to the trouble of signing up if you never post or reply. I can't believe it is just so they can change the prefs.

We are such a fabulous forum, wouldn't you want to sign up just to be part of it even if you aren't planning to post straight away.

Originally Posted by bob_doe_nz

Didnt I talk about this thread topic to you on ChatF1 a couple of weeks ago?

Not that I recall. Although this cold weather is slowing down my neuron synapsis pathways, so I might of just plain forgotten.

**FoxyMX** · 06-06-2005, 05:36 PM

Originally Posted by Safari

Just seems to be a bit strange to me. There have been several signups today with no posts, the latest is lynne who is still showing. Why go to the trouble of signing up if you never post or reply. I can't believe it is just so they can change the prefs.

Maybe they are all Google bots and Ask Jeeves spiders signing up as they pass through.