Poor Contact Details On Websites

[Colin_T]

I want to know why so many websites, including this one, have no contact details for the general public. For example the only way you can contact someone on this site and most sites is to actually log in as a registered user and post your questions. What happens if you can't log in? You have no way of contacting anybody and you sit here swearing at the computer because you can't get help. You can click on people's names but then you get taken to a page to log in. You go round and round in circles and get more irritated and annoyed.
This site and all other sites should have a contact email at the bottom of the home page so anybody can send an email asking for help. Short of that all the moderators and administrators should have their emails available so when you click on their name, you can actually send them a normal everyday email.

 

[Lateral Line]

I want to know why so many websites

One word - SPAM.

Even with a reasonably good spam filter, and a cautious attitude to divulging my e-mail address, I still get hundreds of "Rolex Watches", "Hot share tips", "Viagara direct" etc. etc. per day. If there is an e-mail address on open display in a forum, any forum, even small ones, it just gets slaughtered.

If we allowed posting or PM'ing without registering, the forums would be full of the same stuff. As it is, we have enough people finding it worthwhile to get a human to get past the Captcha test to post spam.

It may not be ideal, but it is the spammers you have to thank for that.

 

[Colin_T]

I spose spam is a good reason but it makes it awfully difficult to contact a website about issues you are having, or for info about the website when they don't have one readily available. There must be some way around it.

 

[smithrc]

I spose spam is a good reason but it makes it awfully difficult to contact a website about issues you are having, or for info about the website when they don't have one readily available. There must be some way around it.

yep - spend 2 mins signing up....

 

[Colin_T]

not as easy said as done. The reason I wrote this was because I was trying to get some info from a couple of websites today and spent several hours pulling my hair out trying to find some way of contacting them. They just didn't have a contact email to use. The contact links just ran me around in circles and don't give any help. Eventually I contacted the advertisements on the sites. Some of them had email addys but most didn't. I wrote a pretty detailed letter explaining what had happened and why I was trying to contact the site. I got one reply for a site but don't know about the other.
It makes you wonder how much business websites lose simply because they don't have a simple readily availble contact email.

 

[rdd1952]

I understand the issues on other sites. Some are impossible to find contact info for. I'm sure it is spam related too. Here, once you register, it really is relatively simple to contact someone. Even though you may not see email addresses, a PM is always available and they would get an email notifying them that they have a message. And some do have their email addresses available. If you ever see a post that is inappropriate, you can click the "Report" button on the left at the bottom of the post and a mod will be notified.

 

[smithrc]

what are we refering to here... A forum like this... or a website for a business?

If you think about it - A forum is exactly that - a forum - the knowledge comes from its members and as such its teh members that would be able to answer questions - not a central contact...

If its a website for a business then thats different.

 

[andywg]

not as easy said as done. The reason I wrote this was because I was trying to get some info from a couple of websites today and spent several hours pulling my hair out trying to find some way of contacting them. They just didn't have a contact email to use. The contact links just ran me around in circles and don't give any help. Eventually I contacted the advertisements on the sites. Some of them had email addys but most didn't. I wrote a pretty detailed letter explaining what had happened and why I was trying to contact the site. I got one reply for a site but don't know about the other.
It makes you wonder how much business websites lose simply because they don't have a simple readily availble contact email.

Just what in the above relates to this site? You seem to be moaning in the suggestions forum for this forum that entirely unrelated websites did not have easy to locate contact details.

 

[5teady_2012]

I want to know why so many websites

One word - SPAM.

Even with a reasonably good spam filter, and a cautious attitude to divulging my e-mail address, I still get hundreds of "Rolex Watches", "Hot share tips", "Viagara direct" etc. etc. per day. If there is an e-mail address on open display in a forum, any forum, even small ones, it just gets slaughtered.

If we allowed posting or PM'ing without registering, the forums would be full of the same stuff. As it is, we have enough people finding it worthwhile to get a human to get past the Captcha test to post spam.

It may not be ideal, but it is the spammers you have to thank for that.

Easy way to sort out spam registering..


Block registrations from timezone GMT-12 that is used by almost all spambots and all it takes is altering the usercp_register.php (takes 30 seconds)

I did this on my forum and aint had one spambot register or post on any of my sections


I have a support link on my forum under read only that contains contact info and i dont get no spam emails. just disable coding in the post so the email is noit actually a link, thats the email sorted

 

[phil2m]

Why can't you signup to login, am i missing something?

 

[Mikaila31]

Imagine trying to hold a meeting on a specific topic in a big city where anyone walking by on the streets can pop in say something and leave.

Registering means that those that register are actually interested in the topic being discussed and want to take part in it. Although even with registering that isn't always the case, there was a attack on this forum not too long ago.

 

[Darkstar]

yep - spend 2 mins signing up....

That's the problem though, what if your problem is being unable to sign up? That's why many forums have a sub-forum called 'site & forum issues' or something similar which is open to guests also, so they can post their problem and get the required help (perhaps this forum already has it, I don't know)

If you think about it - A forum is exactly that - a forum - the knowledge comes from its members and as such its the members that would be able to answer questions - not a central contact...

A central point of contact can be useful. ie for potential advertisers.