Is there any chance there could be a members-only forum created?

   I assume it's a big ask (I have no idea what it takes to create this sort of thing) but, there are quite a few topics that I am woefully under-educated and/or just straight up incompetent with and I'd like to seek the GRM hivemind knowledge for but, I'd rather not have the contents of said topics visible to any Joe Schmoe. 


   Grassroots MentalHealthSports? Grassroots FinanceSports? GrassrootsParentingSports?

I had the jacket, back in the day...

Thank you for your input. 

(Those who have read SCCA Fasttrack reports will get the above.)

Can’t promise a members-only forum right now, but we’re always looking for ways to enhance our online experience. (I’ve said too much.)

David S. Wallens said:

Thank you for your input. 

It’s a good bit, right? 

The reality is that we’re always making tweaks to the site–GRM as well as Classic Motorsports. Many of these updates, though, don’t get noticed as it’s stuff on the backend. We do have some forum updates on the wishlist, though. 

David S. Wallens said:

we’re always looking for ways to enhance our online experience.

I gotta say, that phrase has entered the list of Corporatese along with Incentivize, Run it up the Flagpole, and At the end of the Day. 

In reply to stuart in mn :

For some reason, I had assumed “At the end of the day” was Canadian in origin. Any truth to that? 

And for someone who’s never really had a corporate job, I’m starting to pick up the lingo. :)

In reply to The_Jed :

Genuine question... member of what?  I thought you had to be a member to post at all, but then again, I've been a member here since about 2010 so I forget.

I think he means paying members, which some of us aren't for personal reasons. 

There's division everywhere else in the world today. Why not here too?

In reply to ShawnG :

Yeah... I can't imagine that "willing to financially support" has a correlative crossover with "effective knowledge sharing."  I could be wrong, but I'm wondering if we have a paid-member-only forum, will that condense the knowledgeable folks, or will it exclude randomly?

I don't like the idea. GRM is about inclusivity, and it's OK to ask stupid questions here. I don't see what's to be gained by splitting the audience.

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to The_Jed :

Genuine question... member of what?  I thought you had to be a member to post at all, but then again, I've been a member here since about 2010 so I forget.

Technically anyone can read the forum messages. You need to register to post, though. 

Perhaps Discord? I don't care for any gatekeeping, though.

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

I was thinking the original request was for a section that's not publicly viewable, or for registered users with a minimum number of posts so they aren't bots.

In reply to Kreb (Forum Supporter) :

Yes, questions that seem basic always welcome. Never know who has a new answer for us. 

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

While you may have to be a forum member to post, anybody anywhere on the internet can search for and read everything posted here. This forum has shown great capacity for helping those who are willing to share deep personal content with the entire world beyond the forum membership, but perhaps more could benefit from the same if there were a nominal amount of discretion restricting access to even reading such sensitive content to only those (GRM'ers) whose input is being sought... Probably just with a minimum post count requirement or something.

I see nothing beyond some shoulder chips indicating any intent for this requested area to be restricted to 'paid' or 'supporting' members only.

Maybe a forum feature that would allow a megadork or higher to post anonymously would accomplish that.  One of the best parts about this is the openness and I have to think that there's at least some value to the number of google search results that lead back here....

For the OP, is there a specific issue that you’re having with the forum? (Just looking for some background on the request.)

Wow... no, that's not what I meant at all. The entirety of the forum can be viewed by non-members. I'm trying to ask for advice without supplying people with ammo for personal attacks. 

Driven5 said:

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

While you may have to be a forum member to post, anybody anywhere on the internet can search for and read everything posted here. This forum has shown great capacity for helping those who are willing to share deep personal content with the entire world, but perhaps more could benefit from the same if reading it were restricted to only those (GRM'ers) whose input is being sought... Perhaps with some minimum post count requirement.

I see nothing beyond some shoulder chips indicating any intent for this requested area to be restricted to 'paid' or 'supporting' members only.

Thank you. Exactly this.

Driven5 said:

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

While you may have to be a forum member to post, anybody anywhere on the internet can search for and read everything posted here. This forum has shown great capacity for helping those who are willing to share deep personal content with the entire world beyond the forum membership, but perhaps more could benefit from the same if there were a nominal amount of discretion restricting reading sensitive content to only those (GRM'ers) whose input is being sought... Probably just with a minimum post count requirement or something.

I see nothing beyond some shoulder chips indicating any intent for this requested area to be restricted to 'paid' or 'supporting' members only.

I think this is what OP was getting at and there's absolutely nothing wrong with it.

I suspect the venn diagrams of "GRM Forum Member" and "GRM magazine subscriber" overlap heavily.

Use that to create a non-crawlable password protected subforum. "What's the 5th word in the 2nd paragraph, page 10 of the January issue?" Have the password be good for a year so it's low fuss. 

In reply to The_Jed :

I suggest a second screen name/personality.  A sock puppet.  A way to interact more anonymously yet still get the full benefit of the largess of the whole board.