Paul, Love the new forum!

I've had this idea floating around in my noggin for a little while now.

Since the Tab section on TB is just a mirror to Bass Tab Archives, why don't we just link to BTA, instead of carrying it on the server? I don't know much about computers, but I can imagine how much space that whole section takes up.

I think it would cut down on the "why isn't this tabbed?" type threads. Plus, the whole Tab vs. Notation/ ear argument is old. I like the TB format better than BTA, but I have a feeling many people register thinking they have to in order to access tabs. That's the only reason I can think of why we have 22,000 members, but only maybe 300 regular posters on the forums.


Another idea I've had, (I'll just say it here instead of creating another thread) for the hundreds and thousands of new members that never post on the forums. I've noticed many of our new members have never posted in the forums. And unless there is some other reason to register that I'm unaware of, saving those profiles that never get used seems pointless.
My suggestion, because I know many new members lurk for awhile before they post, is delete the account after a couple months if they haven't posted. I'd say contact them first, if they have registered with an e-mail address, or even make e-mail mandatory, and inform them their membership will be deleted if not used.
Bottom line is why register if you have no intention of using that membership.

ChaosGwar,

Thanks for the input. The TAB archive really isn't that big, nor does it take up much bandwidth (plain text is very effecient, and can be highly compressed). Snagging visitors from the BTA is actually the largest source of traffic that is responsible for building up TalkBass since '98 - not bad considering it's free advertising :) I know some are concerned about drawing in all the "tabbers" - maybe it's time for a separate TAB forum...

The large registered member base has a lot to do with the free gear giveaways we did in the past, in which registration was required. I remember pulling in well over 100 new members a day during giveaways. Of course only a small fraction actually posted, but that fraction was better than nothing. Currently, about 9,000 of our total member base is active (as in visits TB, not necessarily posting).

I guess I'm hesitant to delete unused member accounts, since I can't really think of a good reason. Disk space isn't an issue on the new server. Besides, it looks good from a marketing standpoint if we can boast 20,000+ members :D

If you could track whenthey last accessed their account, perhaps you could set a time limit that, for example if they're inactive for 9 months or something their account will be deleted? You could put something to that effect on the sign-up page.

Only if you really wanted to delete unused member accounts of course.

Paul,
thanks for the feedback.

I think a Tabs forum could be useful. We could even have it moderated by Chris Fitzgerald and Jazzbo! :D

But in all seriousness, if it isn't causing any problems, I guess there isn't any reason to drop it. Free advertising and bragging rights are important, too. ;)