[Mattox]

Hi guys,

I've been slowly building my own simple forum solution in ASP.NET / C#. I'm not looking to compete with major forum software or anything like that, but I've created something that is simple and quite useable.

Currently I have no 'user registration' so people can just post eaily. The forum software seems to be safe from spammers becasue instead of using capatcha i use a general knowedge question.

The reason I've gone with a non registering method is because when I was backpacking I found it frustrating to have to sign up for forums and validate etc. Usually I would have a limited amount of net time hence just wanting to get my message up quick with no hassle.

Obviously this doesnt work for all forums.

Anyway I'm wondering how crucial is having a user system? And what kind of feature should I user system have, keeping in mind I want everything to be as simple as possible.

Cheers!

The link in my sig is running the latest version of the software.

[Ryan]

If you are going to create forum software for others to use, a user registration/profile system is not only crucial, but I would say that it is required. Whether or not you personally think that users should have to register to post in a forum is one thing, but releasing forum software without the option to register is another.

Registration is something that people expect out of forum software, and I just don't think that many people would use software if they couldn't require or even offer registration to their visitors.

[jumpenjuhosaphat]

I agree with Ryan.....Using a system that allows(not necessarily forces) users to log in gives users the ability to have a unique identity on your forum. If everyone just posts without signing in, then you never really know who is going to use your name and say something incredibly stupid....

Now, with that being said, I have forced registration disabled, and allow users to post without the need to log in...I don't have any problems with spam, but I do have problems with users doing things that irritate almost all forum moderators...Double posting, posting the same subject as another topic(that happens a lot), and what seems like a complete lack of inhibition. I am considering going back to forced registration, although the busy season is over in my niche, so I might wait til things pick back up again.

I think that if you have a user system, that you should include the ability to send and receive PM's firstly. Also, a reputation system, post counting, member groups, permissions, etc should be taken into consideration.