Reality
Staff member
- Messages
- 29,130
- Reaction score
- 63,772
This question gets asked every so often, so I will answer it here.
First, it's very hard to gain access, especially quick access to CowboysZone. CZ was not put online to be the most popular Cowboys forum site. It was put online to provide a safe and friendly place for Cowboys fans to get together and talk about the Cowboys.
We put way more focus on keeping out the spammers, trolls, etc. than we do how many users, posts, etc. we have here. On average, less than half of new accounts are even approved. In fact, just getting your account approved can take days or weeks, so if you have made it past that point, consider yourself fortunate.
Once your account has been approved, your account will be flagged as "New Member". This designation means you have the ability to post in existing threads, but not start any new threads. The one exception is the Members Zone forum where we allow each user to create one new thread to introduce themselves. Any additional threads will be deleted in this forum.
So how do you gain full member access? There are several variables that come into play for this, and they change regularly. Unlike most forums, just posting X number of times will not have any impact on your membership status. Sites that use that system are easily exploited by people posting one liners and such as well as groups of new members getting together and carrying on off-topic conversations.
To gain full member access, you just need to participate on the site in the main forums. The upgrade process will eventually happen quite easily for users who simply join and participate on the site. For users who try to game the system, find shortcuts, etc. to full member access, it will be a long and frustrating process.
We enjoy having new members join the site as it helps keep discussions fresh and interesting, especially over time. We also like keeping this site family-friendly and free of spammers and trolls, which is why this process exists.
We hope you will see the benefit in what we do and what we provide here and focus on becoming part of the site!
/Reality
First, it's very hard to gain access, especially quick access to CowboysZone. CZ was not put online to be the most popular Cowboys forum site. It was put online to provide a safe and friendly place for Cowboys fans to get together and talk about the Cowboys.
We put way more focus on keeping out the spammers, trolls, etc. than we do how many users, posts, etc. we have here. On average, less than half of new accounts are even approved. In fact, just getting your account approved can take days or weeks, so if you have made it past that point, consider yourself fortunate.
Once your account has been approved, your account will be flagged as "New Member". This designation means you have the ability to post in existing threads, but not start any new threads. The one exception is the Members Zone forum where we allow each user to create one new thread to introduce themselves. Any additional threads will be deleted in this forum.
So how do you gain full member access? There are several variables that come into play for this, and they change regularly. Unlike most forums, just posting X number of times will not have any impact on your membership status. Sites that use that system are easily exploited by people posting one liners and such as well as groups of new members getting together and carrying on off-topic conversations.
To gain full member access, you just need to participate on the site in the main forums. The upgrade process will eventually happen quite easily for users who simply join and participate on the site. For users who try to game the system, find shortcuts, etc. to full member access, it will be a long and frustrating process.
We enjoy having new members join the site as it helps keep discussions fresh and interesting, especially over time. We also like keeping this site family-friendly and free of spammers and trolls, which is why this process exists.
We hope you will see the benefit in what we do and what we provide here and focus on becoming part of the site!
/Reality