Viewing of site by unregistered users

[#1]

Quote from: Peter

Is it desirable that the entire world can view the PlusNet community site without registering, as technical aspects of the platform are discussed and debated here (including those with security implications) is it not best secured for customer viewing only?

... tend to agree, actually - and I think ffupi said something similar at http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php?topic=976.msg8851#msg8851 .
ISTR that part of the underlying purpose of the "Community" was that it was designed to appeal to non-PN people who would be able to see how things are, here, before making any decision to join - but everything being permanently "on view to the world" means it's all a bit "open house" which isn't especially beneficial to actual customers (who may well be less inclined to contribute to the forums here).  Quite aside from the technical/security aspects mentioned in Peter's post above.
Don't know that PN would be agreeable to making the whole of "Community" off limits to outsiders - though realistically the PN website/portal should be able to furnish all "required info" that prospective customers might need - but making the forums "for customers only" would create far more of an intimate venue, for want of any better description.  Given that staff members are now so open in their blogs etc (including technical/security aspects also) that's particularly good for customers (but maybe no-one else's business, in a broader sense).
Dunno.  I'd tend to go for the "privacy" option (and PN do plenty to be open/honest about what goes on within PN, via their responses to anything PUG (the "official PlusNet (customers) UserGroup") complains about, or anything that gets highlighted in El Reg or thinkbroadband etc.) but the whole of "Community" becoming an entirely private lounge, for customers only, would get my vote
Regards,
Penny.

[#2]

I can see this from both sides of the coin.
Open - Our policy is to be open and honest, so why should we hide our issues from potential customers.  It allows them to gain a better understand as to what we as an ISP are like.
Private - We may wish to discuss areas with our customers that we may not wish the outside world to be aware of.
Personally, I'm with Open for the reasons outlined above.

[#3]

Quote from: James

I can see this from both sides of the coin. Open - Our policy is to be open and honest, so why should we hide our issues from potential customers.  It allows them to gain a better understand as to what we as an ISP are like. Private - We may wish to discuss areas with our customers that we may not wish the outside world to be aware of. Personally, I'm with Open for the reasons outlined above.

... maybe a separate "coin", from a customer's perspective:
Open - we would like our ISP to be open and answerable to us-the-customers, and we very much welcome total openness to *us* as to everything that goes on.
Private - we would like to be able to conduct discussions with PN and with our fellow customers, in relative privacy.
Is it anyone else's business what goes on here, or does the need to attract new customers via the Community Site actually override any other considerations?  I guess it's one thing putting the inner workings of an ISP on show, and quite another putting all its contributing customers on show.
Not pushing for one outcome or the other, incidentally, just a comment 😕
Regards,
Penny.

[#4]

I prefer open forums - If we are in a position where we discuss potential security problems here, they will leak to people who might want to exploit that eitherway... We shouldn't be discussing things of that sort of sensitive nature really!
I don't know that the closed forums felt any more 'intimate'?
Ian

[#5]

Quote from: Ianwild

I prefer open forums ... I don't know that the closed forums felt any more 'intimate'?

'which' closed forums?  I wasn't aware that PN had ever enabled its customers to talk to each other and to support staff, within any closed forum which was not viewable by 'the whole internet' (except maybe on Metronet which I believe I recall as having been fully passworded).
As far as I was aware, all the other PN-enabled forums could be viewed (though not posted to) by absolutely anyone who so chose.  (If that's incorrect no doubt someone here will put me straight.)
ffupi said (in the post referenced higher up):

Quote

I do not know why PlusNet has put the new forum on the general Internet - but it will come as a shock to people when they realise that. The functionality of the forum is greatly hampered by that.

I quite like the fact that 200,000 PN-group customers can visit these forums and get to know one another.  Having whatever is said here showcased to the rest of the world, however, is something of a deterrent to saying anything beyond the absolute minimum, and a lot of customers may well for that reason not say anything at all.
PN's own version of "The Truman Show" is the nearest analogy I can muster
... and this in no attempt to upset anyone, it's just the way I see things.  I'm possibly not the only customer slightly discomfited by being "put on display" in this way (of course I could choose not to participate, as we all can) but a "real" community has borders of some sort, even within an Internet context, I would have thought.
Regards,
Penny.

[#6]

Actually, I'm of the opinion that keeping everything public is the best way forward.
I can't think of any situation where something said here should be kept "private".  There are support tickets for direct customer<->plusnet  communication, and PM's for customer to customer comms on here.
It is always worth bearing in mind that anything posted here *is* available to the outside world, which may cause some people to moderate what they intend to post. IMHO, that isn't a bad thing at all.
I doubt that any PN employee would post commercially sensitive information here anyhow.
Barry

[#7]

I must admit, I'd rather there be a chance someone finds a solution to a problem on this forum by searching google. The other side of the coin is that if something bad is being discussed (oh, I don't know, some problem with email or something) that'll be searchable too. But then that will already be on the front page of the register, so I don't really worry too much about it.
I realise that came out a bit tongue in cheek, but the sentiment is there - IMO it's a good thing that people can come here and read all about it, good or bad.