To register or not to register - that is my question!

Okay, so I'm sure this question has been posed before, and I know that there are probably records of debates on this topic in the forum histories, but given recent discussions I thought I would open up this can of worms once again as I'd like to see what people think - in particular the people who choose not to register.

*Disclaimer - I am not advocating for one or the other. Just because I have chosen to be a registered member does not mean that I think everyone has to be in order to be a valuable contributor to the site. The purpose of this discussion is to find out what people think either way.

Alrighty, so the way I see it, registering as a member mainly allows you to more fully utilise the features of the site. Members can post a new forum topic, not just comment on existing topics. Members have the privilege of being able to vote on topics and moderate comments in order to affect what is seen on the public viewing page and they can set filters on the site to limit or increase the postings they see based on the moderations that have been made. Members get a personal profile through which they can post as much or as little information about themselves as they wish which also entitles them to a private message inbox. (And I'm sure there are many other benefits to being a member that I haven't mentioned as it's very cold in my office right now - they are replacing the heating system - so I can't think; perhaps Grant, Na or Labrug can enlighten us...) And of course all of these features come FREE. Unlike many sites, registering on the Theatre Australia website costs zilch.

On the other side of the coin, by not registering you are maintaining a much greater level of anonymity. To be honest, this is the only reason I can see for not registering. I'm not saying this is the only reason - I'm saying it's the only one that I can see. For those who choose not to register, I would greatly appreciate your feedback here - what are your reasons? And I do genuinely want to know.

Okay, so that's the situation as I see it, now I have a few more things to say on it. So in my mind, there is a big question re: anonymity. This poses two problems for me. The first being that I actually don't see the need for anonymity. Admittedly, this is probably my personal stance on this, but I feel that if I want to say something on a public forum then I need to put my name behind it. If I'm not willing to put my name behind it, then I obviously don't believe in what I'm saying or I don't want to say it strongly enough. Also, if I say something, I mean it and I'm generally pretty proud of what I have to say - I stand behind it and say it with conviction - so I want people to know that it was me who said it. However, like I said - these qualities are things that are true for me, not necessarily for other people. My second issue with anonymity in regards to registering as a user or not is that - registered users can have anonymity as well. There's nothing that says you have to put your real name onto your profile, there's nothing that says you can't have a web-based e-mail account that you set up for the purposes of your membership. In this case - are you not maintaining your anonymity?

The other thing I would like to put out there is the way many non-registered users complain about moderation and such. Now I've said this quite recently in another forum thread, but the reality is that I get frustrated at people who complain about something when they choose not to exercise their own power. Registering is FREE and affords any user the right to moderate comments and vote on forum topics. In addition, even if you haven't been a registered user, you can register at any time and go back and perform your moderations/votes.

Alright, to finish up, I would like to re-iterate that I'm not saying that everyone has to register. I do feel that the casual users are a valuable part of the on-line community and that what they have to say (in most cases) is just as important as a registered member. I would also like to acknowledge that some of the trolls that appear here are registered members - trolling is not the specific domain of casual users. So at this stage I have presented my thoughts on the topic - I would greatly appreciate some feedback both from other registered members and from those that choose not to register - I genuinely want to know what people think!

DazzaB

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." Scott Adams