Can only paying members view the forums please

[butterfly_wings]

Hi

Just a quick comment, I think the site would be better is only paying members could access and view the forums, I know some members have experienced people from outside LHCF stealing their photographs and passing them off as their own, also it would protect peoples foki’s as it would be harder to access the links.

Just a though, all the best J

 

[brownelovely]

That's not a bad idea...I get a lot of valuable information from this forum so it would be fair for the paid members in the long run.

 

[dlewis]

I agree. I was just thinking to ask Bev if the Health forum could be private.

 

[JustKiya]

I disagree.

I think that this website is a very valuable source of information - information that should be as widely available as possible. Limiting it to just paid members - esp. the Hair Board - seems to me, to be against what LHCF is all about.

I would agree about making all of the other forums private/paid members only - like Off-Topic is.

Anytime you put anything on the internet, it is liable to be used for reasons that were not originally intended by the owner. Period, bottom line. If you are that concerned about your privacy/pictures, lock them down, or don't post them, at all. That's a choice many ladies have made. Others have opted to present their pictures, and they also run the risk that those pictures might be 'stolen'. It's a part of the internet.

 

[butterfly_wings]

I think all of the forums should be private, I don't really think it is fair for not paying members to get tips from our comments as paying members, I don't mind sharing but I think they should contribute too!

 

[areneeh]

Hello Ladies. I am a paying member of LHCF, but just to add to the discussion, I would not have joined if I was not able to view the forums. Just a thought!

 

[LaidBak]

If you do that then no one new would ever come across the site and join--like I did. And wouldn't the site lose advertising revenue?

 

[Sasha08]

I agree also. I have a friend that is a member on this board and she told me different things about the site. It wasn't until I begin "lurking" that I made the decision to sign up. I do think pics should be made private only for paying members but other valuable tips I really appreciated being able to see ahead of time.

 

[LaidBak]

I agree also. I have a friend that is a member on this board and she told me different things about the site. It wasn't until I begin "lurking" that I made the decision to sign up. I do think pics should be made private only for paying members but other valuable tips I really appreciated being able to see ahead of time.

That would be the perfect solution. If its possible. But then again, just because a person pays the $6.50 it doesn't mean they won't steal a photo.

 

[butterfly_wings]

Also what about this discount codes for the Pibbs etc that are meant for members but are open to everyone?

 

[LadieCrn]

The hair and makeup forum should remain open to the public but all others should be available only to paying members. I also agree that I would not have joined had I not been able to lurk first. However the only forum I lurked was the hair forum.

 

[757diva]

I lurked for about 3 months before I signed up but I only lurked the hair section. The pictures on the site should just be limited to paying members or have an automatic picture blocker for non paying members.

 

[clever]

I agree.most of the forums I joined give you a certain amount of posts you can view before you have to join.Some of them block pictures until you join.

 

[lilmsjanet]

i agree with you 100 %

 

[BrooklynSouth]

PAID ONLY. The archived posts were what brought me here. The archived without photos area should continue to be a free for all area.

 

[KEWLKAT103]

Hello Ladies. I am a paying member of LHCF, but just to add to the discussion, I would not have joined if I was not able to view the forums. Just a thought!

ITA.
I would not have joined if I hadn't had a preview of what I was paying for first.

 

[takincareofme]

I don't agree with the paid only suggestion. In fact it reminds me of the many times I have been reluctant to ask many women their haircare principles since many like to keep them secret. Even my own stylists, and I paid them too.

A teenager should't be able to know how to care for her hair on her own simply because she doesn't have a credit card??? I just think if more ppl were willing to share info there would be more ppl with beautiful hair not just the hair "elite." I think of lhcf as a research library.

 

[trenise]

I like it the way it is. Before I joined, there were things I wanted to see, but did not get access to. That kept things somewhat private until I fully joined the LHCF sisterhood. Also, knowing about the hair forum and the help I could get there is what brought me on in.

 

[Allandra]

ITA.
I would not have joined if I hadn't had a preview of what I was paying for first.

This is why we get new members here. Everyone likes a glimpse of what they're gonna get.

 

[HAIRapy]

I think the only forum that should be public to non-paying people is the hair forum because that's the title of the site. As for the rest of the forums, I don't think they should be open to the public. I think the public should get general teasers to let them know what other forums are available for paying members, but not full access ro read them. I also don't think the member's blogs should be open to public view.

 

[ebonylocs]

New membership of LHCF would drop significantly if that were the case. I can't see people paying (even if it's just $6.50) and not knowing what they are going to get.

I think certain limitations are appropriate, e.g.
-Only hair forums visible to non-paying public (no blogs, OT forums, etc),
-after having viewed a certain number of posts / threads (say 50), not able to view anymore without paying
-only able to view certain number of pictures (don't think pictures should be blocked completely because I think they are very important in conveying what the site is about and what people achieve on it.)

 

[Blessed_Angel]

The hair and makeup forum should remain open to the public but all others should be available only to paying members. I also agree that I would not have joined had I not been able to lurk first. However the only forum I lurked was the hair forum.

I agree...I only lurked the hair forum before I joined as well.

 

[Hotmommak]

I agree that the hair forum should remain public, or at least partially public. I lured the hair forum for a couple of hours...or maybe a day! I totally fell in love! Now, had I come across this site, and been unable to see ANYTHING, I definitely would have eased on down the internet superhighway (and missed out on all of this valuable information, and all these great ladies)!

 

[Lovelylocs]

Why not give them a "teaser" of the hair forum too. They can get a three month trial membership. After that, they can pay. Otherwise, I may as well end my subscription after this year since I mostly view the hairboard these days if at all. LSA has more pics than the entertainment section here. The other boards you can get elsewhere.

 

[Kacie]

Maybe there should be an "INTRO" forum that has some of the important stickies such as the Newbie Guide. That way the non-payers can have the basic hair care info for free and have an incentive to pay for more.

ETA: I agree with others that the Health Forum should be private also. Other than that, I don't see any real problems with the way that things are now. In fact, I think it's a tad bit selfish to desire padlocks once you have found the info. (Not directed at OP)

 

[sleepflower]

I like it the way it is. I would turn have turned around and left if I had to pay $6.50 to see the hair info. I found this site looking for reviews for a product, and I can find that free elsewhere. It was not until I saw the sheer amount of information here that I decided to sign up, and not until I got too curious about what I was missing that I decided to pay. I am willing to bet that a lot of people come here now under the same pretenses. Just because we know all that is available here is not good enough. You can count on a lot less interaction and new information by making everything paid only, not to mention that it will cut into the open feel of the community.

Limiting how many posts one can see for free would be frustrating, too. For example, looking up "deep conditioner" would bring up way more than 50 posts, and from my experience, one has to keep searching and keep searching to find really great information about deep conditioners--not to mention reading through all the conversations having nothing really to do with the topic at hand. I would assume this place has very little information if I had 50 posts a day to choose from.

As for the stolen pics and coupons and all that, well. Sorry. It is the Internet. Anything you say and anything you upload runs the risk of being stolen and used by someone else. If not by coming here, then by using search engines and archive sites. It is not up to the admins of this site--or any site, for that matter--to 'protect' us from that. It is up to you to decide whether you want to take that chance. You can watermark your pics and put them on a private server where you can better control access to them. Whatever methods are put in place will not do much, in the long run. How do you know people stealing pics are not paying members, first of all? How do you know paying members are not telling their friends and family about 'members only' discount codes, or putting them on blogs none of us know about?

 

[topsyturvy86]

I think the only forum that should be public to non-paying people is the hair forum because that's the title of the site. As for the rest of the forums, I don't think they should be open to the public. I think the public should get general teasers to let them know what other forums are available for paying members, but not full access ro read them. I also don't think the member's blogs should be open to public view.

I keep hearing this but when I sign out and try to view the blogs, I can't. I can see that they're there on the right side but when I click, I can't read them. Maybe it's because i'm not in the states, I don't know. But from my experience, they're not public.

 

[Sunrise]

I keep hearing this but when I sign out and try to view the blogs, I can't. I can see that they're there on the right side but when I click, I can't read them. Maybe it's because i'm not in the states, I don't know. But from my experience, they're not public.

When you create a blog, you can choose who can read it: everyone (public) or, friends.

Just befriend a person if you want to read their blog. It up to them who to give access.

 

[BlondeByDesire]

I agree too ...

 

[topsyturvy86]

When you create a blog, you can choose who can read it: everyone (public) or, friends.

Just befriend a person if you want to read their blog. It up to them who to give access.

No, I meant when I sign out/not logged in, I can't read them but when i'm logged in, I can.