UBB.Developers Forums General Discussion Chit Chat How to handle non posting members?

I was wondering how others out there handle their non posting members? What I don't want is an inflated number like on some sites where it doesn't reflect the user base because some no longer post. Therefore, I sent an email to those that haven't posted in 90 days or visited our site.

Well, I got 9 emails from some that said they hated "having to post" in a time period and "there was nothing to reply to". All I can say is if you haven't visited a web site in 3 months or posted in that time, then you don't really care and just want to complain. Some users in fact have "0" posts since even signing up as a member and are complained.

How can a community or site be built if the members don't post? I wanted to terminate the accounts of my non visitors and posters because they were basically worthless anyway. Just wondering how others out there do the same thing and if you ever get user complaints from your non-posters that just take up space?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Jeff

Since I practice what I preach I do a member prune on Sk occasionally. That is why member display is off. We are at about 18k, when it gets to 20k I ftp in, sort by date. Any file not modified in over a year I move out of the members directory and rebuild the memberslist.

Normally I save them "just in case". When we moved to the new server I dumped them. Sure enough, one person wanted his back.

I installed Dave Downin's Search and destroy inactive users mod to do the same thing.. you can look for users who haven't posted in 3 months etc, and either choose to email them, or to delete them/remove their posting rights etc as usual. I found it pretty useful.

I believe a little differently than some here... and if you have been a member for quite some time, you might remember our little "difference of opinion"...

OK, here's the deal. We are developing sites for the user, and as such, they must remain the focus of our development. I see it like this, if they aren't posting, it's because I am not making the site interesting enough for them to want to post. It's that simple.

I don't advocate deleting user records because they are one of your most valuable marketing tools. Don't send them an email saying: "We noticed you haven't been around, so we are gonna cut off your acct in case you might wanna come back to post if we ever make something interesting enough to post about". Instead build in quality content, something you and your members would be interested in, then email them every 3-6 weeks or so telling them what's going on, what's the latest discussion about, what's new in your topic for a forum (audio/video equipment in your case Jeff), etc etc etc...

They thought enough about your content to sign up and give you their email address, make it count... it doesn't matter if your member count is 11 or 11,000, give them a reason to come back, remind them that you are still there and have the latest info regarding what they are interested in. It is much more difficult to get new members than to keep present ones...

basic marketing 101.

Personally, I just leave those types of members' accounts where they are, because I know most of them are still around, just my site is totally boring, and nobody cares anymore. I KNOW thats the reason (trust me on this..if you ever visited my site/board you would know what I'm talking about). Anyhow, I plan on redoing my entire site this summer, this would be what, the first time in ...four years? that I worked on it. When I DO fix my site, I will email those members saying "Hey, whats up, check out the site, its updated now, and you have a reason to come back ^_^"

Well, I'm going to disagree some here. First, I think my site has plenty to offer and we are always improving things too. Second, I know of other sites that have the same problem and offer just a forum for it's users.

It's kind of link this, if you have say 1000 members and only 100 are talking (starting new topics, asking questions, etc) and the others aren't, then those 900 others are basically not members. This could also be thought of entering a chat room and yet nobody talks. I mean, what's the point of being a member if you are never going to post, ask a question, etc. You have to cut your dead members somewhere or they are just a number and nothing more.

Another prime example is a Corvette site I work on. There, we have about 20,000 members and have about 90 percent activity from them. We cut a good 1000+ a month because of not posting or other problems. The number of posts we get are a good 1000+ a day. All my point is if no one ever posted we would never have those posts or type of activity. It's the members that make the forum and either they are active or not. They have such a high membership rate that it's easy to get good users. I think that's the key, drive the traffic and keep your good ones while weeding out your non active ones.

Like you said, it's really a matter of opinion and how you want things to work.

Best Regards,

Jeff

It very specific to how your site works. With a drop-in drop-out support site like SK, culling old members is a good thing. With more of a community site, it's not always a good idea. Where do you draw the line with who to delete? People who haven't posted in a month maybe? What if thy've gone on holiday? If you give a tight deadline, people will feel restrcited and may not want to post. If you delete someone's account, there's a good chance they wont reregister. If you send a reminder email, telling them about what's going on at your site after a month, then that's fine.

Has anyone thought about members who visit everyday but only post a few times a year? Maybe you should link member-cull to who's online?

Just a thought

I really don't agree with either of these statements... just because it's on the web doesn't mean basic marketing principles don't apply here. SK may have more of a drop in and drop out customer, but they also have other ways of contacting their customers that I am sure they don't periodically cull. Their renewal rate would most likely go through the roof if they contacted their customers periodically and let them know the benefits of renewing/upgrading.

If we have "dead" members, it's our fault that there's not a reason for them to come back in the majority of the cases. Here at ubbdev we are in pretty much trhe same boat as SK and have had lot's of members who signed up in the first month or 2 and recently returned because of version 6. They had a reason to be here. Before then, if we had developed reasons for them to be here they would have been... we are working on those things right now, but the fault doesn't lie at the foot of the member who thinks a site is boring...

I signed up a long time ago, and have spent most of my time here lurking. So why haven't I posted that much? Because I don't have to LOL I find answers to most of my questions on this site anyway Now if you would delete my account I would be mad and never come back... My point is, I signed up here because I wanted to be able to post the few times I had a question, not because I wanted to participate in the discussions every day.

On my board, we have A LOT of members who don't post. But I know they LURK - just like I do here and that's why I don't delete them.

aleina

yah i was wondering this too! does any one have a hack were you can delete members by there post count? i am sure this woulddent be hard to make.

I think this pretty much is my same feelings as another board owner sent to me:

"As long as you can view and read the forums without registering, I don't understand what the complaint is. You're taking up wasted resources on my server when your membership is there not being used, so why should I leave your account?"

and another:

"I use a general rule for deleting accounts:

7 days for non-activated accounts
60 days for non-visiting, 0 post count members
120 days for non-visiting, previous posters

I like keeping an "active" member count".

I understand some of the points here, but have differnt feelings about it. It just depends upon how you want to do it I guess is what this comes down to.

Best Regards,

Jeff

It also depends on the type of site you are.. What I really get annoyed about is people who register 10 different names, before deciding on one that they'll use.. Those I think should always be deleted..