Why isn't "The Haven" a members-only area?

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People seem to discuss a lot of really personal stuff there, particularly suicidal thoughts. Why isn't this closed off from the public?

the whole site is open to the public. The members-only section requires registration, but anyone can register for this site so it's not like it's closed to the public.

I've wondered about this myself.

But also, I was under the impression that the "members only" function also serves to keep those posts from being crawled by search engine bots, thus showing up in Google results, so that an outsider (boss, family member, nosy neighbor) searching on stuff relating to you can't stumble across those posts in search engine results, like the rest of the site?

I'm not worried about that for myself as no-one I know would really bother to do that regarding me, and anyway things I post here are stuff that people in my life know already, while others who know me don't even know about WP and wouldn't be registering just to see.

But what I was thinking was that a section that is not picked up by search engine bots at least allows a token layer of privacy against casual searches, for someone getting advice with a personal problem, say, which is still handy.

It's not much but it's something, especially if the curious third party doesn't know of WP and is searching the web generally.

I think it would be more about not showing up in google results than thinking the act of signing up preventing them from seeing the post.

On the flip side, what if someone is searching because they're going through something similar, and they realize they're not alone when they find the post in the haven.

But isn't that the point of the Member's Only section? It seems like The Haven is supposed to be a miscellaneous-topic version of the other "coping" forums. If we don't want a forum like that, it makes more sense to just move all the Haven posts to Member's Only and delete the Haven. Otherwise it will just be redundant.

But, I like having a misc-topic coping forum (that's viewable by everyone). Is there a problem with people thinking The Haven is members only when it's not? If that's the case, maybe the name makes it sound too "safe" (as in, more private than it is).

Having spent some time in the Haven when I started posting here, I was torn between talking openly about the things I really needed to talk about and protecting my identity through censoring the personally identifiable details of my life situation, which somewhat defeats the purpose of having a discussion based safe haven.

The rules for the Haven are different, I believe as an acknowledgement of the sensitive nature of the discussions; a boundary for WP members to be respectful of, it would be progressive if this boundary approach could be extended to include general internet searches too.

There is anonymity within large urban areas, however if you live in a sparsely populated region, where everyone knows everyone through community based interactions, the personal details of your struggles can make a poster identifiable, especially if you have led a life less ordinary. What should that person do? Remain quiet, because of their life situation, or avail of the Haven to seek help.

If I could discuss these things with people generally, I would do that, but I simply can't without encountering lasting implications and stigma.

Extending slightly more anonymity to the most vulnerable posts, can only be a good thing IMO.

I can see making it easy for people to find but overall I would rather The Haven was members only too. People are vulnerable when they post in The Haven, at least I am, and having to worry what one posts not be too identifiable seems like an extra burden I wish I didn't have to worry about quite as much when I post there.

Though of course it's always a risk posting anything. It seems like no one talks to each other anymore, people only seem to socialize on social media so if I want any social interaction…

I think one of the ironies of the internet is that we can share private things and personal problems that we can't or won't discuss with the people we know in real life -- sometimes even because the problem has to do with someone in real life, in those cases where someone is worried about something that affects a spouse, friend, parent, etc.

The anonymity lends itself to sharing things and being able to get emotional support from a wide base of people, with no risk as they don't know you and are neutral to the situation, unlike sharing the issue with a family member or friend.

Yet on the other hand, there's a way in which nothing on the internet can't be found one way or another; witness how employers now search for applicants' Facebooks and stuff these days, and make decisions hinging on posts about a drunken bachelor party or a political Tweet.