i'm the same cathie !
also i think sometimes you may not really be looking for an event as such and seeing others discussing them might inspire others to attend an event that they would not have otherwise considered.
actively having to search a group might mean others that dont understand all the functions of the site may miss out too. at least if its in a forum, it comes to notice when you hit the "whats new" button.
training events may be of benefit to the provider, but they are also benefiting our industry , and that is something we are all for.

hth's explain it a bit more.

this is the third time of writing, the previous two have been lost when submitting due to the ********** wireless

That does explain it better and it's making more sense to me now. Sometimes decisions without the context can seem bizarre, but when you get the background it makes more sense. I'm very much a 'whyer' in that I need to know why to process something.

I'd never thought of using the geek as a method of advertising on the internet. Maybe I'm not as astute as I'd like to think

Has the idea of closing the forum to registered users only been explored and if so what was the thinking and conclusion ? I can see pros and cons and am not sure where the balance point is. Closing access would satisfy the advertising thing, allow the rules to be relaxed and make moderation what it should be - a privilege and a pleasure. I'm sure that sounds attractive

Mike

Although this is slightly going off the topic but I will try and answer your questions re the access to unregistered users. Unregistered users can read the posts on the forums as far as I know but they cannot see certain things, like blogs, profiles and signatures (I didnt know this).

I am unsure as to your meaning behind your last statement about closing access satisfying the advertising thing - are you saying that giving information solely to geeks will not be construed as advertising?

If I can get the thread back on track as to the thought processes behind the Events Group.

We have so many complaints from members about posts mentioning events as being advertising, we will reply along the lines of one is free and the other is not - but there are varying degrees of free in some views. I think that was done to death yesterday.

The Events group was introduced as an Information giver and not a discussion giver - list the event and if people want to ask you a question then they can PM you as their question is for one person.

This was my thought process, rightly or wrongly and it was a trial which we may decide doesnt work. But please lets give it a fair try rather than condemning it before it gets started.

Well put Fiona

I was just reacting to Sandi's post. She said the rational of using groups was that they are not seen by unregistered users. the closed forum gives the same outcome.

I'm not condemning things, just exploring options that may be better. It's good to hear this is a trial. what time limit have you decided on for the review to see whether it is successful or not and what will your success criteria be ?

Regards

Mike