There’s nothing I hate more than being told to sign up for something.  I don’t mind being asked, like if I want to comment on the world’s first and foremost forum for discussion of stamp collecting, but being told I have to register for something (or anything, really) just for the pleasure of looking at what others have written?  No thanks.  I’m a try before you buy type of dude, and if I sign up for a forum, it’s going to be one I know I’m going to participate in.  That’s why I’m going to lean heavily on these 3 ways to access protected websites.

I understand the reason why people do this.  They want to make people sign up for their forums so they can point to said forum and say, “Hey, we’ve got a forum with over (insert number) users signed up!”  It looks great from a marketing standpoint.

User-only forums is a great way to keep the trolls at bay, as well.  Someone causes problems?  Crush them with the banhammer.  Viola, civil forums.  It’s not as messy as blocking someone’s IP address, everyone knows who the banned party is and why they got banned, and there’s a greater ability to control sock puppet creation thanks to the whole process being a huge hassle.

When I’ve had forums, I’ve made people sign up to post, but I never made them sign up to read.  Why?  Simple:  I’d rather have a forum with a dozen active users than a thousand inactive users.  Artificially-inflated numbers don’t make me feel better about my work, unless they’re on a paycheck.

Tags: bug me not, bypassing sign-ups, spam, avoiding spam, google cache, hacks, be the bot

People do a lot of odd surveys.  A recent Ipsos Reid poll conducted in Canada at the behest of Microsoft asked a lot of questions about, what else, video games.  I suppose they’re trying to find out just where people play games so they can respond and push the Xbox 360 into the proper areas […]

Some call it being sarcastic.

Some call it being a smartass.
Either way, it’s apparently proof that we as human beings are evolving.
It seems studies in Israel and California have shown that people with damage to the right side of the brain can not distinguish sarcasm during conversation.
The scientists are saying that those who aren’t able to […]

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I know I’m feeling the pinch in my bank account every time I fill my tank and see the numbers on the pumps whirling around and around faster than Britney Spears can pop in and out of rehab.
But at least the […]

I’ve got a sweet tooth, but there’s one candy that rarely touches my sensitive palate.

I can’t abide Gummy Bears. I’m guessing even those stupid candy criminals didn’t even grab any of these during their stealing spree.
I know I must be in the minority as the sugary, sticky products keep turning up in all kinds […]

 Who doesn’t love a relaxing day on the golf course?  The sun’s shining, the grass is green and lush, there’s a nice cool breeze blowing through the trees.  Oh yeah, and there’s also discarded military explosives right off the tee box.  Wait, what?
Right off the 5th hole, Freddie McGee was operating a bulldozer with another […]

There’s just something about bubbles that regress every adult back into a kid again.
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An ingenious little design called […]

We’ve all been hedgehog-throwing mad.  I know I sure have.  It’s important, when you’re at your angriest, to step back, take some deep breaths, and slowly put down the Erinaceinae, because if you’re anything like the New Zealander who threw the last hedgehog, you’ll end up paying a hefty fine.
While $545 is a pretty steep […]