And again the guests outnumber the members!

I've noticed over the last couple of days that there are usually about three times as many people checking out this site as guests as there are members.

Has anyone else noticed this difference? Is it the normal balance of users?

Cheers and happy New Year!

 

Just about every site I'm a member at is like that. Plus, I think WF is probably ranked number one when someone Googles "writing forum" or the like, so I'd say we get a lot of passers through.

 

I bet a lot of the guests are members who just aren't signed in. I'm probably a "guest" about a third of the time I'm around the forums.

 

Maybe it's because a lot of people are out of school/on vacation, and so there are more people surfing the web right now.

 

There are also quite a few autobots that enter websites in search of key criteria for search engines or potential spamming opportunities. They will show up as "guests".

 

That's actually exactly how I found this place so that makes a lot of sense.

I'm not sure how this place is set up but I believe if you are inactive for a long time the system will automatically log you out if your settings aren't set otherwise. That way you'd appear as a guest. Of course, this site might be different and I haven't tested that theory myself.

 

Darn that Optimus Prime!

I want to know why guests go onto threads like the Tavern. What possible information could be in there?

 

I don't know why other people did it, but when I visit a site before joining it I generally quickly review all parts of its forum to see what the "atmosphere" is like. I lurk not just to know what sections exist but how the memberbase interact. Gives me a good idea on how the culture is.

 

A wise personal policy.

 

lurk moar.

 

They probably want to see what we talk about, whether in our no-particular-topic conversation we appear friendly. I've done the same to a number of forums--if they seem friendly in their conversation, it can sway my decision to join that site or not.


However, when there are guests in the Tavern when members are talking, I feel like I'm being gawked at like a zoo animal in a cage. Maybe that's just me, though.