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The barrier to entry is a feature, not a bug. It discourages karma farming and low-quality responses that pervade a site like Reddit where a single account gran

The barrier to entry is a feature, not a bug. It discourages karma farming and low-quality responses that pervade a site like Reddit where a single account grants access to millions of communities on a whim. That being said I also find it infuriating when I click a thumbnail in a forum post and get asked to authenticate. The image is already visible so as far as I'm concerned it's nothing more than a grab for additional user signups.

dylan604 4y ago
>That being said I also find it infuriating when I click a thumbnail in a forum post and get asked to authenticate. Because the image is already visible it's nothing more than a grab for additional user signups. This is where I smash ctrl-alt-i and go get what I wanted their modals be damned!
dceddia 4y ago
> nothing more than a grab for additional user signups. I think this is a holdover from the olden days when image hosting (and bandwidth) was expensive, hotlinking images was very much a faux pas, etc. Or maybe I just wasn't aware of "the game" back then, but I truly don't remember getting the feeling that forums were trying to juice signup numbers by holding images hostage. When I see that, I think "ugh, get with the times" more than "ugh, another site trying to get my email". That said, I fully agree that it is super frustrating, and I wish they'd turn it off. It's also meta-interesting how the meaning of requiring a signup feels like it has changed. Again, could just be me, but I definitely see "signup required" these days as a grab for data (really, more of a benefit for the operator than the user), whereas in the golden days of forums, it didn't feel like there was spammy intent behind it (and it felt more like a true benefit for the user).
wvenable 4y ago
> The barrier to entry is a feature, not a bug. Are you saying the people with enough time to jump through all these hoops are the high-quality people? That doesn't jive with my experience.
- alexjplant 4y ago
  I'm saying that the people that are liable to create an octuply-nested low-effort comment referencing nothing more than a Thanos snap, Rick Astley, "yikes", "oof", etc. aren't likely to spend the three minutes required to create an account on a forum. Forums are more insular by nature and have a separate set of cultural problems, but consistently ultra-low-quality posts isn't one of them in my experience.
- vanderZwan 4y ago
  It's the cheapest way to filter out most the people without some form of commitment and interest, which is an important feature for a healthy community

dylan604 4y ago

>That being said I also find it infuriating when I click a thumbnail in a forum post and get asked to authenticate. Because the image is already visible it's nothing more than a grab for additional user signups. This is where I smash ctrl-alt-i and go get what I wanted their modals be damned!

dceddia 4y ago

> nothing more than a grab for additional user signups. I think this is a holdover from the olden days when image hosting (and bandwidth) was expensive, hotlinking images was very much a faux pas, etc. Or maybe I just wasn't aware of "the game" back then, but I truly don't remember getting the feeling that forums were trying to juice signup numbers by holding images hostage. When I see that, I think "ugh, get with the times" more than "ugh, another site trying to get my email". That said, I fully agree that it is super frustrating, and I wish they'd turn it off. It's also meta-interesting how the meaning of requiring a signup feels like it has changed. Again, could just be me, but I definitely see "signup required" these days as a grab for data (really, more of a benefit for the operator than the user), whereas in the golden days of forums, it didn't feel like there was spammy intent behind it (and it felt more like a true benefit for the user).

wvenable 4y ago

> The barrier to entry is a feature, not a bug. Are you saying the people with enough time to jump through all these hoops are the high-quality people? That doesn't jive with my experience.

alexjplant 4y ago
I'm saying that the people that are liable to create an octuply-nested low-effort comment referencing nothing more than a Thanos snap, Rick Astley, "yikes", "oof", etc. aren't likely to spend the three minutes required to create an account on a forum. Forums are more insular by nature and have a separate set of cultural problems, but consistently ultra-low-quality posts isn't one of them in my experience.
vanderZwan 4y ago
It's the cheapest way to filter out most the people without some form of commitment and interest, which is an important feature for a healthy community