having a log-in feature on this board/website? Before you answer - let me explain what I have in mind.

When you would come to this website - there would be a spot where you could log-in. By that - I mean you would stick in a username and a password. Doing this would ensure that no one else could post on the message board with your name. Also - if you visit the website from different computers - the 'new' messages would respond to your username and not to the computer as it pretty much does now. So - if you read messages at work and went home - those messages wouldn't have the 'new' icon at home. Your configuration settings would be saved as well. There's also the strong possibility that we could add the edit message feature as it wouldn't allow just anyone to modify posts made by you.

With that said - having a log-in feature would add a layer to this site and this message board that I've resisted since its inception. I never want to eliminate the possibility of anonymity - as there is always a place for that in my mind. And if you didn't care to log-in - you could still post and so forth...you just wouldn't get the things I mentioned above. So the log-in wouldn't compromise the anonymity feature - but it might give the impression of elitism....

I'm asking this of the group, because of two things. One is the underground that Pat won't stop name dropping (just kidding Pat). The underground as envisioned by Pat is a separate message area. It would be set-up for specific areas - like music trading - movie talk - etc. The software that this system runs on is very similar to all of the 'other' message boards you've seen on other sites - (like this one - http://www.pd9soft.com/megabbs/category-view.asp) When I saw this I instantly thought it was too complex and wouldn't fit into the lo-fi dynamics of this site. But the more I looked into it - the more I liked some of the features. Like being able to send messages to other users without going through email. The ability to edit posts. There are a couple of geeky reasons I liked it too. Seeing these brought me around to wonder if these features could be nailed onto our little board. I think most of these can. Which brings me to the second reason I'm asking this of the board. I've gone part way down the road of halfway implementing a log-in feature already (it's a test board...don't worry), and I want to know if what I'm doing will be accepted by the group.

So - what is the consensus on the log-in? And while we're at it - what is the consensus of having something like the underground? If any of these ideas need further clarification - just ask. And Pat, feel free to jump in here if you think I characterized the underground wrongly.

I guess it's posts like this that really drive the formerfan insane!

Dan