Require more profile info?

[Jon93]

Most are barely filled out but once and a while you come upon one that is filled out..

It's all up to the person really, I personally have mine filled out so people can know more about me, I see no problem with sharing really

[Charlie F]

Well I think the forum makes people register after viewing a certain number of threads, so I bet a lot of people will be annoyed enough by that and forcing people to fill out a profile will be even more annoying, especially since all they want to do is get reading threads.

When people sign up they probably don't want to give out much information at first, and most people give very little information. The reason why most banned people have blank profiles is because:
-Some details are removed from banned user's profiles.
-Banned people get banned quickly, and most people have blank profiles when they sign up.

[Mandi]

I don't think this is fair at all. We can't FORCE people to fill out their profiles. If that's the case, then Moo needs to fill his out, he's lacking.

Really guys - if all I want you to know about me is that my online name is 34543, so be it. It's MY choice to choose what information to share or not. We don't need to be personal with every member.

[UnMarth]

I'm against it really. As for the idea that people wish not to for various reasons.

As for banned memebrs, Most lurkers//non-banned members have no info in their profile either. Majority of the members that get banned are banned on the same day the sign up. So hardly any time to settle in really and think about fillings these things in.

So if you want to lower the number of bans, it isn't going to work! If people do want to fake their identities, they are going to put your typical Deeker stuff in most likely. Which, I am sure all of you don't want.

And the 15 thread max for Guests personally sucks. I mean, fair enough you can get round it. But that is not the point. Its that most people are guest as they wish not to have an account and even have their email address and DoB entered (which are both needed). They can't post or contact anybody. So they are hurting no body. If they enter this, the asking for other info is just taking the beeswax. I think it should be replaced with those Ad screens you get except with a "please sign up, click here to skip this". Or something that keeps them happy. I think they are ignored, as many guests don't really speak on here.

[gamebaby]

well im editing mine and i will open up more so read if you wana know more.

[Dash]

You're absolutely right, because when newcomers join the forums, and post in the intro & greetings forum, some quite literally leave a greeting, and maybe some closure on what they would like to be called if we're lucky.

But I always say "could you post a little more about yourself, cos it's a great way to meet new people" - it kinda applies to the profiles too because there's those.... clicky bits!

Ya know... you click on let's say one of your hobbies and it gives you a list of everyone who has that as a hobby. I take it that's what you're gettin at?

Obviously not everyone is gonna do it, as some people are extremely self-preserved when it comes to releasing information about themselves over tinternet... mentioned much already... doesn't mean we shouldn't at least make a half-arsed attempt!?

I think now that you've brought it up, I think I'll try n be more persuasive to new members about filling in some details on their profile instead of pestering them to tell us about themselves in their intro thread... cos as it goes - threads like that just get buried under the new newcomers' threads, and never talked of again... Unless you're Kraiden.

So yeeees. Good shout, Darkfinn.

[Pramrider]

I think I filled my profile out pretty completely here, and back on TBDL. As I've mentioned before, being in the older age range I felt being as open as I could be in my profile would help members feel more comfortable about me being here. It could help show I had no bad motives, but had legit reasons for joining. *Older man joining and being very hush-hush about himself = CREEPY!* At least that's how I thought it might be perceived.

With younger members I can understand why they would want to be more selective in how much info they put in their profile, unless they only make it viewable to members they consider trusted friends.

Have to admit, I don't believe I've ever read anyone's complete profile before. What I've come to know about different member's is what I've learned from their individual posts or profile/PM messages.

~Pramrider

[Darkfinn]

I'm glad to see so many of you have chimed in on this...

Perhaps "require" was a bit strong of a word to use... how about "request" instead.

I just see so many blank profiles and two-line intro threads... even many well-known members don't have much filled out... it gets kinda depressing. People are so willing to talk and share their views and beliefs in the threads... but then you click on their username to try and get a bit more background information only to find out their sex, generalized location, and sexual preference. It's like reading the second book in a series and not knowing where any of the characters came from.

I don't wanna know your street address, real name, or how many times you masturbate every day... but a bit of back-story would be nice... to explain things better and lend some more credibility to your postings.

[Lukie]

Originally Posted by Darkfinn

I just see so many blank profiles and two-line intro threads... even many well-known members don't have much filled out... it gets kinda depressing. People are so willing to talk and share their views and beliefs in the threads... but then you click on their username to try and get a bit more background information only to find out their sex, generalized location, and sexual preference. It's like reading the second book in a series and not knowing where any of the characters came from.

I don't wanna know your street address, real name, or how many times you masturbate every day... but a bit of back-story would be nice... to explain things better and lend some more credibility to your postings.

I'd rather judge someone here based on the views and beliefs they share, not what's in their profile. That's usually a better determinant to figure out what a person is really like. This isn't in the same boat as discrimination, but it's definitely in the same harbour. This place has shown me that people shouldn't be judged based on their demographic, as some of the youngest members here are amongst the most mature, and that some of the oldest members have been the most immature. "Profile information" eventually surfaces once people get into the swing of things and reveal the information in their posts, or in the chat.

It goes without saying too that people shouldn't have to give information about themselves for "credibility". I'd ask anyone to reconsider their views if they feel age, location, gender, sexuality, interests and/or preferences are a major determining factor in how they perceive someone here. I've got my profile set to friends-only, and for a long time before that it was set to VIPs only. Most people only have my age and location from my post-bit. Not that I'm intending to sound egotistical here, but I've [hopefully] gained the respect amongst a few people here and most of them really don't know much about me aside from my views and beliefs that I give in my posts. It would appear that I didn't have to reveal my basic information to harvest that respect, so understandably, you can see why I don't think other people need to reveal that information about themselves as well.

[Maverick]

Although it's good to have a full profile in order to make friends, and so that people can get to know you, people should definitely not be forced to fill out their profile. It should be their choice to choose what they want to share with us. It would be very tyrannical, in my opinion, to force others to tell us about themselves. No way! Please don't enforce this!