YT Vendors w/private profile pages

[AprilLove]

Originally Posted by megansmomma

It just seems that I'm not a vendor and I have always been pretty much an open book. I don't have my page closed to anyone, never refused a friend request and have handed out my phone number to members that need help. So when I see someone that is selling something to the general population they should be more welcoming to a visit on their profile page from all members of the community. It just seems unwelcoming to me. If you were to go to the mall and a store had all the doors locked and the shades drawn tight wouldn't you just move on to the next one?

What could you possibly post on a Yorkie forum that is so top secret that you can't have someone look at? I like to decorate my page and enjoy when someone comes to take a look at my creations. It's not like I am posting top secret government files.

I totally understand what you are saying. I am just not sure that anyone has any sinister reason to block people from their page, and perhaps most don't even realize that many people hardly even visit their own profiles (guilty here ), to know when a visitor message has been posted.
There may be some who do it just because they never go to their page and don't want people to feel bad if they post a message and it doesn't get seen or replied to for a long time.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by AprilLove

I totally understand what you are saying. I am just not sure that anyone has any sinister reason to block people from their page, and perhaps most don't even realize that many people hardly even visit their own profiles (guilty here ), to know when a visitor message has been posted.
There may be some who do it just because they never go to their page and don't want people to feel bad if they post a message and it doesn't get seen or replied to for a long time.

I don't think anyone has anything sinister either; it just doesn't instill you with confidence. I know the first time I noticed it it was like what the heck? I have no problems with people keeping pictures and other things private, but if someone who's not your "friend" can't even post on your page, how do you get to become friends with them?

[capt_noonie]

I have changed mine to mostly "registered members". I think if someone is interested enough to want to look at my boring page, they should at least be registered with YT.

[megansmomma]

I became friends with Nancy when I first started to beautiful my profile. It was Halloween and we went back and forth looking at each others pages and helped to tweak them to perfection. There are others that I post to their pages too and never PM with. I just never noticed this prior to this past year when more and more pages became closed.

I've handed out my email and phone number to members that needed help for various reasons. So to have a page blocked is just odd.

[megansmomma]

Originally Posted by capt_noonie

I have changed mine to mostly "registered members". I think if someone is interested enough to want to look at my boring page, they should at least be registered with YT.

I didn't even know that an unregistered member could look at my profile page. That I could see a problem with if I had something that I didn't want a lurker to look at.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by megansmomma

I became friends with Nancy when I first started to beautiful my profile. It was Halloween and we went back and forth looking at each others pages and helped to tweak them to perfection. There are others that I post to their pages too and never PM with. I just never noticed this prior to this past year when more and more pages became closed.

I've handed out my email and phone number to members that needed help for various reasons. So to have a page blocked is just odd.

I totally agree with you, I've made many friends because my page is open, and easy to reach. There are still lots of people afraid to post on the forum, and posting a question on someone's profile page is so easy. By the way, that was fun doing your Halloween page, thats still one of my favorite pages. We should decorate together again sometime!

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by megansmomma

I didn't even know that an unregistered member could look at my profile page. That I could see a problem with if I had something that I didn't want a lurker to look at.

I don't think an unregistered member can look at any profiles.

[megansmomma]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

I don't think an unregistered member can look at any profiles.

I didn't think so either. You can barely make your way around when you are not a member and I *thought* things like PMs and profiles were off limits.

That profile page decorating was the birth of Profile Fanatics group.

[capt_noonie]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

I don't think an unregistered member can look at any profiles.

So what is the difference between "registered members" and "everyone"? I assumed "everyone" meant everyone everyone, registered or not.

[MaddiesMommie]

There have been a few times I have wanted to leave comments on a members page and was not able to. I wondered if it was just me. Glad I am not alone. Comfort in numbers.

[chattiesmom]

I'm not sure if unregistered members can view profile pages either, but one of the options is "Registered Members". I will changing my profile to "Registered Members".

As far as whether or not profile pages are public or private, I do believe that it should be a personal choice for ALL YT members Vendor or not. I don't know if my sales are typical, but the majority of my business takes place either in the public part of the forum, via pm's or contacting a my website. It seems like it would be easier for a newby to hit the reply button in a sales thread and type a question to a vender if they don't understand the pm function.

I respect all of the hard work that many members put into decorating their profile pages. However, I am not a fan of the "decorations" and have the "hide customization" turned on. I guess this is what makes our YT world interesting -- we are thousands of individuals each with our own personal preferences.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by capt_noonie

So what is the difference between "registered members" and "everyone"? I assumed "everyone" meant everyone everyone, registered or not.

People can come to YT and read the threads without ever signing on to become a member. I don't think you can see pictures on threads, avatars or profile pages, unless you become a registered member. You can check this out by emptying your cookies and opening Yorkietalk, and view it as a guest. Of course, you can't post anything either. Once you donate, you become a donating or contributing member, instead of just a "registered" member.

[megansmomma]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

I forgot to put the link. http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/profile.php?do=privacy

To answer your question Quicksilver, newbies haven't learned how to PM people, and the vendors list gives the vendors website and their profile page. It's really easy for a newbie to leave a message on the profile page. I know it seems so easy to PM someone, but to a newbie it's all so confusing.

I just took a look at our options that can be used to allow people access to your profile page

Everyone
Friends
Contacts
Registered Members

So this is even more bothersome since it would seems to me that only "friends and contacts" can be chosen as an option. So I guess those vendors that have chosen this option should only expect sales from their friends. Sounds like a pretty small circle for business.

[Nancy1999]

Here's the vendors list: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ore-sites.html, and you can see the second part of the link gives the vendors' profile page. For those vendors who wish to keep their profile pages set to private, I could change the link to a PM to you. Let me know on this thread: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/tes...g-test-16.html, if that's what you wish to do.

[chattiesmom]

Originally Posted by megansmomma

I just took a look at our options that can be used to allow people access to your profile page

Everyone
Friends
Contacts
Registered Members

So this is even more bothersome since it would seems to me that only "friends and contacts" can be chosen as an option. So I guess those vendors that have chosen this option should only expect sales from their friends. Sounds like a pretty small circle for business.

I haven't seen any YT Vendor who uses the profile page for sales. Shoot, I have been selling at YT since 2004 and the thought never even occurred to me. Advertising and sales should take place in the Sales Forums. Contacting vendors can take place publicly in the Sales Forums, privately via pm's or by visiting vendor's websites. I do understand that some people post on profile pages -- both praises and complaints, but the appropriate place for reviews is in the Review section.

Other than an alternative method for contacting a member, I don't see what the profile page has to do with selling. To me it would open a backdoor way for non-contrtibuting members to sell which would be grossly unfair to those of us who do contribute.