Improvement Time Part Two---Update in post #160

[AustinBR]

If I may use another website as an example, take a look at the S&W Forum. That site has national exposure with quite a bit more traffic than you have here. Their classified section is pretty straight forward, you need a pic, description, etc and are allowed to bump once every 24 hrs. People can comment and the seller can reply to comments as they arise. No outside discussion is allowed, no comments either negative or positive. No "great gun" no "your prices are too high" etc. If someone makes such a comment a moderator will remove the comment and give the party an infraction. Too many infractions and you get a "time out"

Since you already have a mod or two that are pretty gung ho about passing out infractions then moderation should be quite simple. You allow comments yet keep everyone in check. A pretty simple solution if you ask me.

We don't have any mods that are gung ho about passing out infractions. You have no infractions. Your sources are incorrect.

As for your idea...so you are proposing that comments ONLY be allowed for asking questions? Nothing else? No discussion on prices, etc? I don't see how that is a benefit over PMs besides the seller getting less PMs. Oh, and the seller then has to check his thread often to see is people have questions. PMs email you a notification and pop up on the board. Also, I would hope that sellers are making descriptive enough ads that they don't get tons of PMs with questions.

 

[AustinBR]

The past problems with comments in the classifieds now seem so trivial compared with the current problems caused by not allowing comments in the classifieds. If we promise to never complain about the classifieds again will you please bring them back?

Please compile and post a list of the current problems causes by not allowing comments. People having to PM questions is already being discussed, so feel free to skip that one.

 

[S&W4ME]

We don't have any mods that are gung ho about passing out infractions. You have no infractions. Your sources are incorrect.

.

Commenting here would take this thread into a direction that is complete unproductive so let's just leave this be

As for your idea...so you are proposing that comments ONLY be allowed for asking questions? Nothing else? No discussion on prices, etc? I don't see how that is a benefit over PMs besides the seller getting less PMs. Oh, and the seller then has to check his thread often to see is people have questions. PMs email you a notification and pop up on the board. Also, I would hope that sellers are making descriptive enough ads that they don't get tons of PMs with questions.

I propose comments that will lead to the benefit of the seller and potential buyers. Price discussion, ok. Legit questions about items, ok. Comments such as "great gun, great price, is that a real gun" not ok. It goes down to common sense.

It's obvious that you do not wish to have comments in the classified section or you wouldn't continue to "what if" this to death. It's really not a complicated issue at all. And again I point to the opinions of those that have posted here, it seems most if not all are in favor for allowing comments. Your call.

 

[Booseman]

It seems that no matter what and or how people ask for comments back in the classifieds it is not going to happen. They have a comeback for every single reason that anyone gives.

But here goes!!!!!

As far as people getting carried away with comments why not make them pending MOD approval. If a MOD thinks it is a legit comment or question then they can approve it and let it be posted. I could care less about a thread getting bumped over someone else's or even mine. If it is an interesting item then maybe it deserves it. It can also help for the people that post their adds very early in the morning or late at night. Those adds usually never get seen by the regular crowd.

JMHO

 

[Mojo Rider]

Please compile and post a list of the current problems causes by not allowing comments. People having to PM questions is already being discussed, so feel free to skip that one.

1. The majority of the members of Bayoushooter.com are upset at the current decision to disallow comments in the classifieds and would like them reinstated.

...end of list. It seems that the powers that be have forgotten that without members there would be no Bayoushooter.com and no advertising checks coming in from Brownells etc....

 

[Quickdraw22]

How will that benefit the forum?

So I can call out the people selling a Hi-Point "Tactical Carbine" for $750. It makes me feel good

 

[RamblerReb]

I favor allowing comments in the Classified section. I dislike the PMs unless it's for exchanging information to complete a sale that the parties might not want public, like phone numbers. If comments must be moderated, so be it.

 

[JR1572]

Keep the comments out of the marketplace.

Some people on this board posted some of the dumbest crap I've ever read in my life in some of my ads.

I was also sick of watching my ads fall off of the page because some people felt the need to post "nice gun" in everyone else's ads. If you have the uncontrollable urge and feel the need to raise your post count please post "welcome aboard" in all the new threads started in the "new member introduction" like many others have been doing recently.

JR1572

 

[AustinBR]

Commenting here would take this thread into a direction that is complete unproductive so let's just leave this be



I propose comments that will lead to the benefit of the seller and potential buyers. Price discussion, ok. Legit questions about items, ok. Comments such as "great gun, great price, is that a real gun" not ok. It goes down to common sense.

It's obvious that you do not wish to have comments in the classified section or you wouldn't continue to "what if" this to death. It's really not a complicated issue at all. And again I point to the opinions of those that have posted here, it seems most if not all are in favor for allowing comments. Your call.

PM me on the first issue. It needs to be discussed if you think there is a problem.

Very true. I think it is a bad idea.

It seems that no matter what and or how people ask for comments back in the classifieds it is not going to happen. They have a comeback for every single reason that anyone gives.

But here goes!!!!!

As far as people getting carried away with comments why not make them pending MOD approval. If a MOD thinks it is a legit comment or question then they can approve it and let it be posted. I could care less about a thread getting bumped over someone else's or even mine. If it is an interesting item then maybe it deserves it. It can also help for the people that post their adds very early in the morning or late at night. Those adds usually never get seen by the regular crowd.

JMHO

Good idea. Approving comments would be tedious though as most would probably conform to the rules.

1. The majority of the members of Bayoushooter.com are upset at the current decision to disallow comments in the classifieds and would like them reinstated.

...end of list. It seems that the powers that be have forgotten that without members there would be no Bayoushooter.com and no advertising checks coming in from Brownells etc....

Good point.

How about a compromise. Would ANY of y'all like my idea from above about having a for sale forum where you can post items for sale and allow people to comment? This would give the sellers the decision whether they wanted comments or not.

 

[S&W4ME]

How about a compromise. Would ANY of y'all like my idea from above about having a for sale forum where you can post items for sale and allow people to comment? This would give the sellers the decision whether they wanted comments or not.

So have a classified section then another section with rules that are not as strict? I believe that was done before it was called the bearpit.

I think splitting the classifieds is a bad idea. Either allow them or don't

 

[Mojo Rider]

Good point.

How about a compromise. Would ANY of y'all like my idea from above about having a for sale forum where you can post items for sale and allow people to comment? This would give the sellers the decision whether they wanted comments or not.

Excellent idea. Didn't know you could do that, problem solved.

 

[LNSvince]

Is it a financial reason we do not have comments in the classified section ?

Because it appears that more are "FOR" comments in the classified.
but the more we scream "Comments back in the classified Section" the Savier you get knocking the ideas down.

therefore there must be a financial reason ?


I remember the day when comments in the classified section allowed us to weed out the "Unwanted"

 

[Mojo Rider]

How about a compromise. Would ANY of y'all like my idea from above about having a for sale forum where you can post items for sale and allow people to comment? This would give the sellers the decision whether they wanted comments or not.

A seller not allowing comments would also send a message to the derps not to PM the seller with stupid questions.

 

[LNSvince]

[1]

How about a compromise. Would ANY of y'all like my idea from above about having a for sale forum where you can post items for sale and allow people to comment? This would give the sellers the decision whether they wanted comments or not.

OR how about

[2] "ONLY" PAID MEMBERS can post comments in the classified section.

This takes care of the financial, [ and will definitely add paid members] and shut out the pass through posters !


There ya go ! 2 Awesome ideas that should allow Posting in classifieds with a bandaid in place


If a Paid member turns out to be an assmunch by hogging up the classified comments [ as in the past ], then Don't renew his Paid membership so he can NOT fudge up the classifieds
he becomes a regular pass through with limited access !

 

[scooterj]

I also liked the comments in the classified ads. I use the"NEW POSTS" button each time I log on and scroll through all new posts. If this is done, post bumping really doesn't make much difference. And I still see all the sponsor ads too.
Maybe make the "NEW POSTS" button easier to see?

 

[AustinBR]

So have a classified section then another section with rules that are not as strict? I believe that was done before it was called the bearpit.

I think splitting the classifieds is a bad idea. Either allow them or don't

The bearpit was a place for ads that didn't conform to the normal rules. Pretty much for those who were too lazy to post pictures, or whatever. The marketplace is much better with good looking ads that conform to a set structure.

I think the main reason people want to allow comments back is because of all the fun that was had dogging and degrading people's threads. Some posts turned into a circus and were fun to read and participate in. All in all, none of the comments helped sell items or contributed to the forum in a positive way. That's why comments were disallowed. If a seller's ad is descriptive and has all the proper information, the only discussion should be the price and where to meet, and that should stay in PM. Comments that would be used for questions only are silly. If someone has a question that wasn't answered in the description of the item being sold, it means that the seller did not do a good enough job when posting the thread.

If we allow comments in the marketplace again and crack down and say they can only be used for questions. No saying "nice gun". No comments other than questions if you are interested in buying the gun. The circus will not be back like it was before. Most people will use PMs if they have questions anyway. I don't see much changing from the way it is now, except maybe people will ask questions via comments occasionally. If someone were to post a question on a thread, we would not allow the OP to respond to it as it would get in the way of the bump rule, which is to ensure the marketplace is fair to all.

We have discussed this issue in great depth before, both publicly and in the internal mod forum. Pretty much it comes down to people wanting to be able to comment on threads because it was fun in the past. If we were to allow it again, it would not be fun for anyone. It would be to help people sell their items quicker and more efficiently. Previously, the marketplace was fun and people were commenting left and right on posts, commenting on how unrealistic peoples' prices were, and etc. All in all, that type of discussion did not help the seller at all. Often it made the person look bad and they would leave the forum all together. It was not a happy, fair, selling experience. That is not what we want. The marketplace is what drives the initial traffic to this site. People come here to buy or sell things and THEN they decide to participate in the rest of the forum. We have plenty of statistics that prove this.

So, if you guys ABSOLUTELY want people to be able to ask questions about an item in the marketplace, I could be convinced. I just don't see that being the urge. It is super easy to PM people. Most people don't have problems with PMs. Hell, a majority of the people who use the marketplace probably don't care at all about comments. If questions need to be asked, it means the seller didn't do a good enough job initially...so if they get lots of PMs, it is their fault.

 

[Suburbazine]

I have an idea.

Since just about everyone wants to have comments in the Classifieds and the opposing group is using "post bumping" as the excuse...

Would it be terribly difficult to write the code so that only the OP has the ability to have a thread bump recognized and dated by vBulletin? This way OP posts, 11tybillion noobs comment under him...but the thread DOES NOT rise to the top of the forum until the OP makes another post.

 

[AustinBR]

[1]

OR how about

[2] "ONLY" PAID MEMBERS can post comments in the classified section.

This takes care of the financial, [ and will definitely add paid members] and shut out the pass through posters !


There ya go ! 2 Awesome ideas that should allow Posting in classifieds with a bandaid in place


If a Paid member turns out to be an assmunch by hogging up the classified comments [ as in the past ], then Don't renew his Paid membership so he can NOT fudge up the classifieds
he becomes a regular pass through with limited access !

It is not and has never been a financial issue. But I do like your idea of only allowing paid members to post comments...that definitely weeds out a lot of the "derps." JR will be happy that I used his word :P

I also liked the comments in the classified ads. I use the"NEW POSTS" button each time I log on and scroll through all new posts. If this is done, post bumping really doesn't make much difference. And I still see all the sponsor ads too.
Maybe make the "NEW POSTS" button easier to see?

I will do that now. I like your idea

 

[kcinnick]

[1]

OR how about

[2] "ONLY" PAID MEMBERS can post comments in the classified section.

This takes care of the financial, [ and will definitely add paid members] and shut out the pass through posters !


There ya go ! 2 Awesome ideas that should allow Posting in classifieds with a bandaid in place


If a Paid member turns out to be an assmunch by hogging up the classified comments [ as in the past ], then Don't renew his Paid membership so he can NOT fudge up the classifieds
he becomes a regular pass through with limited access !

Great Idea!

It seemed it was a vocal few that got the comments thrown out in the first place, at least that is how it looked at to me from the outside. I am trying to frequent the board more often, I want to support it, and I want to support Jeremy. I learned a lot here, a more open classifieds sounds like it would make a lot of members happy. And we are all in agree, even those for and against comments in the classifieds that posts like "Nice gun and great price" should be eliminated. I would post more guns for sale, but it is more productive on Facebook where people can ask questions. I might not sell them the gun I have posted, but might end up selling them a gun through their questions. 90% of selling is listening to what the customer wants and asking the right questions.

 

[AustinBR]

I have an idea.

Since just about everyone wants to have comments in the Classifieds and the opposing group is using "post bumping" as the excuse...

Would it be terribly difficult to write the code so that only the OP has the ability to have a thread bump recognized and dated by vBulletin? This way OP posts, 11tybillion noobs comment under him...but the thread DOES NOT rise to the top of the forum until the OP makes another post.

Yes. It would be difficult. Post bumping isn't the only excuse. The main reason against it is that there is no real practical reason for it. The only thing people would want to reply to the ads for is with questions. Questions can be PM'd. If sellers post good ads, there shouldn't be questions. If people want to arrange a sale, they need to do that in private, not in public.