I'm sorry about that. Your article wasn't deleted. It was just moved to the PHP Tutorials section of the site: http://www.daniweb.com/tutorials/tutorial41688.html

Members registering and putting their URL in their profiles without posting isn't really a problem here. Member profiles are only accessible to guests, so profiles won't be spidered by search engines. Additionally, it would be nearly impossible to find the profile of a member who has never posted.

Those people who register but don't post for other reasons though ... huge problem around here.

if they never post at all, then I'm not sure how to help. but one feature I LOVE is "instant email notification" I personally think that should be default on all forums.

I activate it everytime I register on a new forum because I know otherwise I'd forget it even existed.

Yes, we use that as default here. However, I'm not a fan of it myself except on my favorite forums because I am a member and post on so many, I don't like my mailbox to be flooded with emails like "remember that thread you posted in on that new forum a month ago? ... someone finally replied to ya" Well, kinda.

Yes, I love that too. In fact, I wrote the mod for phpBB that switches the default to "enabled." However, oddly, it's about the least-downloaded mod I've got. I think forum admins might not understand that it really helps to make your site "sticky."

-Tony

Really? That's primarily what I like it for. It's perfect for the obscure old threads that I'll never remember to check, unless there is a reminder.

But I do have a strategy for managing the big influx of email. About a third of the time, instead of clicking the link to view the new post, I click the link underneath it to "unsubscribe." This will still show me the new posts, but I won't be bothered/emailed again. And if the new posts are good that they provoke a reply from me, well, I'll get subscribed again. So it helps to kill off uninteresting reminders, but keep alive the reminders for topics I participate in.

-Tony

If daniweb is facing this problem too, then I can be more relaxed. I have noticed that too. I do have some people come and post once and vanish. Some return and become serious members, others just let it as it is. Some join the forums to promote their sites and use the market place. But seeing you need 20 posts to be able to actualy write something there makes some turn away. In the end it's good. I don't need advertising posts, I want real content ...

When I was starting out with my forums (under 200 members) I would PM members who posted and then left for awhile. I would tell them about contents, offers, or just remind them about the forum. I'd say about 20 percent of the members came back and are now atleast weekly posters.