[SarSek93]

You cannot send personal messages or start chats with other users without being upgraded or interacting with some 25 posts or so. Makes it so that people cannot engage with one another for services(arguably the entire point of this site), but okay fine- we're trying to get users to engage in the forum more, or spend money. Whatever.

Then I try to change my own bio- cannot update my bio without being upgraded. Really just wondering what the thought process is on that. I've never seen that anywhere, and it's such a weird lever to pull on. Not only does it leave a bad taste in your mouth to be limited on something so arbitrary, but being unable to communicate whatsoever, creates a situation where people simply post their telegram handle in the comments section and engage outside of the site anyhow- or just shit post to meet the minimum requirements. I'm no expert but isn't that the exact opposite way to retain site traffic and foster the community?

I actually like the site a lot, I just really don't understand this.

[Terry A. Davis]

You're 14 posts deep, and complaining about getting another 11?

It's there to stop people signing up, and leeching.

It's been a practice on forums for almost as long as they've been around.

[jcole]

You cannot send personal messages or start chats with other users without being upgraded or interacting with some 25 posts or so. Makes it so that people cannot engage with one another for services(arguably the entire point of this site), but okay fine- we're trying to get users to engage in the forum more, or spend money. Whatever.

Then I try to change my own bio- cannot update my bio without being upgraded. Really just wondering what the thought process is on that. I've never seen that anywhere, and it's such a weird lever to pull on. Not only does it leave a bad taste in your mouth to be limited on something so arbitrary, but being unable to communicate whatsoever, creates a situation where people simply post their telegram handle in the comments section and engage outside of the site anyhow- or just shit post to meet the minimum requirements. I'm no expert but isn't that the exact opposite way to retain site traffic and foster the community?

I actually like the site a lot, I just really don't understand this.

I think the point of upgrading is to incentivize people to stay on the site, and it does ward off some scammers. Not all scammers, primarily the people who spend time building up a profile just to exit scam.

[XtremeDiscount]

Only 14 posts, you're brand new! haha

[SarSek93]

You're 14 posts deep, and complaining about getting another 11?

It's there to stop people signing up, and leeching.

It's been a practice on forums for almost as long as they've been around.

This kind of just proves my point. I'm 14 posts deep, and have to worry about getting another 11, when really all I wanted to do was converse with a gentleman about proxy services. That conversation is now not going to happen on this site, because I'm not going to shitpost 11 posts and I'm also not going to surf around until I find something interesting enough or funny to comment on, because I simply don't have time at the moment. I understand the fundamental reasoning, its just the choices around enforcement that seem counterintuitive. That's all

---

Only 14 posts, you're brand new! haha

But I'm not! I've had the account for over a year and also paid for the leet subscription for a while- It's only now that I let it expire, that I'm unable to use the communication functionality or even edit my own profile. I'm really not trying to slam dunk on the site whatsoever, It's just a little cheesy that as soon as I stopped paying, I'm now handcuffed lol.

[Terry A. Davis]

This kind of just proves my point. I'm 14 posts deep, and have to worry about getting another 11, when really all I wanted to do was converse with a gentleman about proxy services. That conversation is now not going to happen on this site, because I'm not going to shitpost 11 posts and I'm also not going to surf around until I find something interesting enough or funny to comment on, because I simply don't have time at the moment. I understand the fundamental reasoning, its just the choices around enforcement that seem counterintuitive. That's all

I'm sure you'll be fine, 25 all things considered is a very low number

[SarSek93]

I'm sure you'll be fine, 25 all things considered is a very low number

am crie ebry tiem :/

[spins]

Not completely wrong here really, just that forums like this are pretty ancient, stuck in some old ways of functioning.

Could make some detailed suggestions for sure!

This is an OG place.

[DramaKing]

New restrictions have been added since I upgraded. HF has had a real scammer problem, so part of the solution is restricting communication for new members with nothing vested in the site.

[SarSek93]

Not completely wrong here really, just that forums like this are pretty ancient, stuck in some old ways of functioning.

Could make some detailed suggestions for sure!

This is an OG place.

Fair assessment

---

New restrictions have been added since I upgraded. HF has had a real scammer problem, so part of the solution is restricting communication for new members with nothing vested in the site.

I get that- I guess I should've mentioned that I'm not exactly new. Had the account for over a year and I had the leet subscription before I let it expire some months ago. I guess I was hoping that as someone who has at least formerly paid for membership, that I would at least be grandfathered in as far as being able to access communication features. Oh well

[Yanix]

Be more active and a high quality member maybe someone here on the forum might gifted you an upgrade.

[memphis]

It's easy to defend when everyone on the bandwagon is ~10k posts in the hole. PMs should be available to everyone on registration. How about an option to not receive PMs from someone with less than N posts? Also, the attitude of contribute-or-die is kind of gross, 'forum culture' be damned. But that's just a personal opinion. Some of us don't have much to say at any given moment, and I think forcing yourself to babble to get acccess to basic site features is humiliating at worst and a pointless inconvenience at best.

[Ѕystem]

You're 14 posts deep, and complaining about getting another 11?

It's there to stop people signing up, and leeching.

It's been a practice on forums for almost as long as they've been around.

Exactly this.

OP, you don't have to be here if you don't want to be. As Terry A. Davis said, just getting another eleven posts, it's not that hard.

[Tyr]

You're 14 posts deep, and complaining about getting another 11?

It's there to stop people signing up, and leeching.

It's been a practice on forums for almost as long as they've been around.

Basically this

[m1000]

So I have to agree that it sucks certain very basic features are limited to upgraded members, but at the same time I understand the level of spam forums deal with on the daily - especially a hacking forum. If you want to participate in the Marketplace you'll want to invest in a membership; it's a relatively small price to pay for what you have access too - and many don't like dealing with standard members.

Spend some time in The Lounge or socializing in a few different forums until you reach a certain post count. Maybe you'll meet someone new that you can connect with.

For what it's worth, sorry for your headache, but welcome to HF. If you wanna chat, hmm!

Regards,
m1000