Thoughts Please - Should Profiles be Private or Public?

What do you guys think about user profiles on a forum? Should the member profiles be viewable to browsers who are not logged in, or should they require you be a logged in member to view?

I see it both ways, which is why i'm looking for opinion. On the one hand, having public profiles allows them to be indexed by search engines, BUT, is that kosher as far as the users are concerned?

Thanks in advance.

 

Let them be public - but make sure their emails cannot be seen.

 

Yeah, definitely the email address is not shown, even to logged in users viewing someones profile.

I was thinking that when a user submits profile information, they are essentially making it public, since "anyone" can just register, confirm, and view the profile in seconds if they really wanted to.

Thanks for the post.

 

i keep mine semi-private.. other registered members can read other profiles, but non-registered visitors cannot..

 

I would keep them private. That might give a potential member one more reason to join the forum.