Road To Canada Forums

Well, as a private site they can make the rules however they like
It's very common on many sites to limit what new members can and cannot do.
It's a troll/spam prevention technique

I'm a member of several forums (I have interests other than immigration..LOL) and it's pretty common.
One forum I belong to you can't even PM until you've made like 50 posts!

The quickest way to get information is to ASK. Not everyone's case is the same so while searching can be helpful in some cases, it's certainly not the only choice and to blindly follow what someone else has done because you think it sounds the same - that could be disastrous.

You are allowed to go through the forum to look & read as much as you want, something else that in most forums is limited by membership.

Utrobina Wrote:I'm sorry, but I really have to disagree with this rule.
I'm on the Internet blindly Searching for Sites that can help me with information pertaining to Sponsoring my Russian Wife to Canada. I'm looking for people who can perhaps help me to avoid the many pitfalls and to give experienced advice....
Finally, I find this Site and think, "wow finally some help!" But, when I stumble across a Member who is doing the same as I, or already has, I am unable to View their Previous Posts to find Threads which may contain the Topics and Answers I am looking for. On top of that I have no Search
privlidges, so I have to waste time looking through individual Threads to hopefully find something related to my issue..... or Post a question that has already been asked and answered a dozen times before!
Due to the Restrictions set up on this Site, it provides little help for the 'new guy'. Let's face it, it's the 'new guy' that needs the most help and these Restrictions aren't welcoming at all. My having to Post 10 Messages before I can Search for quick answers and advice to my questions is frustrating and time consuming.
I believe your Site is full of Great Information.... But I'll bet there are many New Members who simply move on when they are confronted with the reality of the rules. You are really missing out on a lot of potential imput and active Membership. To be honest... I sort of feel like I'm dealing with a branch of the CIC

With 100% honesty and certainty, you can freely ask any and all questions here, regardless of whether they've been asked 100 times before or not.

It will get answered for sure.

In all honesty I am grateful that there are privacy rules for this site considering we are discussing probably one of the most personal issues in our lives (sponsoring our spouses and families).

I love the privacy rules of this site, gives me confidence to share my stories and ask questions!

I'm willing to consider changing the search requirement. I can still restrict access to view member's profiles, but there's probably no harm in searching. I understand how frustrating it is to Google something, think you've found an answer then you're not able to access the information.

We've dealt with some pretty nasty trolls that were personally harassing to many members, so we're quite 'protective' of our members and community. But, as long as strangers can't access your profiles I think it will be fine.

Don't feed the trolls