<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: medium;">I agree just on a matter of principle that member profiles should be filled out</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: medium;"> as a requirement for membership</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: medium;">, at least with their REAL name, general place of origin (city,state etc.) and a verifiable email address. </span>
<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: medium;">If people are concerned about getting spam or attracting internet boogie men, there are plenty of free email services through which one could very easily obtain an email address to be used just for this forum.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: medium;"> </span>
<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: medium;">Securing a special email address is not rocket science. </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: medium;"> Many of them provide forwarding services so the emails could automatically be directed, invisibly, to the user's primary email account. That would relieve the necessity of logging onto multiple email services.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: medium;"> Perhaps in the "new member qualifications" page, a list of suggested free email services could be listed.</span>
<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: medium;">Every other on-line group I belong to or have belonged to in the past has required AT LEAST these levels of screening.
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: medium;">It also might be worth considering that members of this forum be required to put -something- in their profiles indicating their area of interest, perhaps only in a general way. That would provide another good "filtering tool" for trolls and pests.</span>
<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: medium;">I will say, our Beloved Webmasters, past and present, have been doing an excellent job of keeping the place free of evildoers. But why not "head 'em off at the pass" with stricter join-up requirements?</span>
<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: medium;">Perhaps this could be discussed at the upcoming meeting.</span>
<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: medium;"> Just my 137¢'s worth.......</span>