[Hector]

Is it worth the risk? At DU, Dave, the main Admin came up with this idea to take old memebers accounts who are 100% inactive and make ghost versions of them so it would seem they were online.

Now, of course when you click on the memeber directory, there on the front page doing jack but still, it gives off an active look to your forum. But at the same time, it seems to make you look majorly desperate.

Any opinions on this method?

~HM-UNDERGROUND

[.:Keith:.]

No. I don't like the idea. Doesn't seem right. If they want to join, then they'll join. If don't then don't make it look like they did. They won't appreciate it.

[SteveS]

Seems pointless to me. Either you've got online members or you haven't - we're not talking about an IM here, after all

[Hector]

They won't appreciate it.

Well since they aint visiting the forum, they got nothing to get pissed off about.

But, is using there registered names to create a ghost version of them wrong? I think it's a cheap move.

~HM-UNDERGROUND

[.:Keith:.]

I think the same. Let them register on their own.

[Hector]

Originally Posted By: .:Keith:. I think the same. Let them register on their own.

Dude, you don't get it. There registered already BUT have stopped using the forum for reasons unknown.

Making a ghost of a memeber means making a copy of there user name to make it seem there online. It's not official, the names wear off after some time.

The point is that it makes it seem that there online when there not. Making the forum look really active when it's not.

~HM-UNDERGROUND

[.:Keith:.]

Well, it makes it look desperate. I wouldn't join any forum with ghost members.

[Hector]

Originally Posted By: .:Keith:. Well, it makes it look desperate. I wouldn't join any forum with ghost members.

You joined DU :silly:

Trust me though, DU is a fun place but I hate the Ghost members. It's annoying to me.

~HM-UNDERGROUND

[Zinzey16]

Originally Posted By: .:Keith:. Well, it makes it look desperate. I wouldn't join any forum with ghost members.

Wouldn't it be hard to tell who is a ghost member and who isn't before you decide to join?

[Hector]

Originally Posted By: Zinzey16 Wouldn't it be hard to tell who is a ghost member and who isn't before you decide to join?

Yes, very. You would've had to have been a member of the forum to know who's who.

~HM-UNDERGROUND

[+ Ryan]

Heh. Well, forum posting competitions like NNN make your forum look active when it's not. Half the forum posts can come from that. People do these things. Dave can be desperate about these kinds of things, so I'm not surprised.

But no, I don't think people should do it. It's phony and eventually the people that joined will find that out, one way or the other.

[Michael]

Originally Posted By: Hector Is it worth the risk? At DU, Dave, the main Admin came up with this idea to take old memebers accounts who are 100% inactive and make ghost versions of them so it would seem they were online. Now, of course when you click on the memeber directory, there on the front page doing jack but still, it gives off an active look to your forum. But at the same time, it seems to make you look majorly desperate. Any opinions on this method? ~HM-UNDERGROUND

I dont like this at all, it is barely acceptable to use fake accounts to generate a base of activity when you are just starting out, but hundreds of members in and almost a hundred thousand posts later he is using tactics like this, not very sportsmanlike.

[//Aneurysm\\]

For boards just starting out its a good idea to make several SNs off your own computer right away. Like.....5 or so. It gives your forum a feeling that it already has a decent amount of members.

[Gustave]

i think its a cheap trick... its gotten disgusting.

[+ Ryan]

Well yeah.. It may be disgusting, but who cares? Even if the member is pulled in by the false stats, it won't take long to notice the board inactivity. That's when good old common sense kicks in.