INGO Classifieds.. What is the deal?

[Fenway]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

What will it take for people to follow the rules in the classifieds? A couple of months ago I set up a modification so that any user that clicks on the classifieds is forced to view the rules and yet we still have people who don't follow them....

We have bumping threads before 7 days, comments on ads, failure to follow the title policy "WTS WTB WTT" etc

I'm getting tired of moving, editing, and deleting 5-10 threads a day in that section (we have several other mods keeping an eye on the section as well) and I'm wondering if the community would like a change.

Do you want it to be a free for all in there? No title rules? Bump whenever you want? Comment as much as you want?

Please review these rules once again and let me know what you think and maybe what you would like to see done differently

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...ules_------_you_must_read_before_posting.html

In order to participate in the classifieds section you must have a quality post count of 10 or more. This policy is in place to help weed out scammers/spammers and gives our members a chance to get a feel for you as a board member. Do not attempt to gain access to the classifieds by posting a bunch of "one liners". That will not work. Thank you and enjoy the classifieds!

The Rules

1. Please prefix your ad with:

• WTS: (Want To Sell)
• WTB: (Want To Buy)
• WTT: (Want To Trade)
• Free:

Or a combination such as WTS/T: (WTS or WTT). Posts that are not properly prefixed will be deleted.

2. You must post an asking price for your item if it is a WTS, or if it is a WTT ad but you will consider selling it outright.

3. Do not Bump your ad more than once every week (7 Days) "bump btt etc."

In addition to the obvious this bump rule also includes posts such as "pics added, new price, responded to all PMs" etc etc etc.

Once you place an ad you may edit the original post as often as you like (update with pictures, edit your price, make a note that you responded to PMs) but DO NOT make a new post about it.

Feel free to respond to questions that other members may ask but do not make posts for the sake of getting your ad to the top with in the 7 day no bump period.

4. Close your thread once your item sells. DO NOT remove the pricing that was in place as it will help cut down on the "What would be a good starting price to sell my XXX"

5. Keep comments on ads related to the ad directly.

• Related comments being: "Can you provide more pictures, How many rounds fire, etc."
• Non-related comments along the lines of: "You're price is crazy high. What a POS, Etc."

6. Post your ad in the appropriate forum

7. No links to auctions or auction style posts unless it is an item you feel is of great interest to other INGO members and it is not your item.

Closing your thread.

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[Don]

I've already offered my services to you as a mod, the offer still stands.

 

[Pami]

As a reminder, we've asked for input on the Classifieds rules before and had mostly positive feedback from most of the members. Right now, ALL of the moderators are busy keeping the Classifieds section under control because a lot of people keep posting a lot of irrelevant posts (IE: "aw! That kitty is so cute!" or a private joke that very nearly got a few people banned).

So, for some light reading, a reminder about what we've asked before:

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...es_for_the_classifieds_your_input_needed.html
https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/comments_suggestions/4666-wts_wtb_thread_suggestion.html
https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/comments_suggestions/5294-are_you_freaking_kidding_me.html
https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo.../7241-so_is_this_going_to_be_enforced_or.html
https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...es_for_new_users_-_classifieds_pms_email.html

Personally, I think the rules are great. I, and I'm sure the rest of those who are kept busy cleaning up cluttered threads, would just like to see more people pay attention to them.

We don't have many rules here, and we try not to be too heavy-handed. All we're asking is that everyone please try and respect the few rules we do have. If you have suggestions on changes that need to be made, NOW is the time to make them.

 

[bwframe]

...or a private joke that very nearly got a few people banned).

Ooh, I wanna see a link to that one, I missed it.
Just kidding (well not really,) but I do have a suggestion. Make it so only Site Supporters* can post in the classifieds.

 

[Feign]

Ooh, I wanna see a link to that one, I missed it.
Just kidding (well not really,) but I do have a suggestion. Make it so only Site Supporters* can post in the classifieds.

I don't like that suggestion at all. I understand it completely I just don't like it. We would have 50 people that can access that section of the forum and maybe another 50 in the next year.

 

[AllenM]

I think the rules that are in place are reasonable and fair. This is a great resource for people like myself that have had little or no opportunity to purchase from other then the local gun stores aand online auctions.
I would hate to see some people that can't follow rules blow it.
I don't know much about this stuff but would it be possible to implement a form people had to fill in the blanks when posting?

A form that would require certain information in order to be posted.

Would cut down on alot of moderator time.



Coming from one who tries to get employees to follow directions

 

[Bill of Rights]

You have a good set of rules there, Mike. I don't do a whole bunch in the classifieds, but the rules make a good "weed out" which is their intention.

Don posted his repeated offer to assist as a mod. I will add my offer to do the same.

bwframe suggested that the classifieds be open only to Site Supporters, which Feign didn't like due to how few could post there. Perhaps threads would be open to post in, but only Site Supporters could start threads? Just an idea. (I want to see the joke, too! )

Finally, AllenM's suggestion of a form would also be a possible addition. There's the time to make it up, but you weigh that against how much time it takes to delete or move 5-10 threads a day...

My

Blessings,
B

 

[Dogman]

While I've only posted once in the classifieds. It didn't seen to hard to follow the rules.
With all the problems that there seems to be with some people posting in the classifieds how about a three strike rule? Screw up posting three times and thats it. Take away the ability to post in the classifieds. JMO

 

[pmpmstrb]

One way to cut down on your self imposed workload is to do away with the comment rule. I don't mind a few comments here and there in my for sale ads and I'm sure other people don't mind as well. Why can't you leave it up to the OP to decide about the commenting? The OP can either make a post in the FS thread when he thinks it is starting to get out of hand or he can send a mod a PM to take care of it. This also should extend past the Classifieds. I've had numerous posts deleted for unknown reasons. I don't post often because I don't know if where I am wanting to post is a "safe zone" or if a power tripping mod will have zapped it by morning. Before you jump to conclusions none of the posts that have been deleted were slander, derogatory, or way off topic. They pertained to the subject line and the OP.

 

[RogerB]

I think the rules that are in place are reasonable and fair. This is a great resource for people like myself that have had little or no opportunity to purchase from other then the local gun stores aand online auctions.
I would hate to see some people that can't follow rules blow it.
I don't know much about this stuff but would it be possible to implement a form people had to fill in the blanks when posting?

A form that would require certain information in order to be posted.

I agree with Allen...is it possible to create a template that would require certian fields to be filled in? If so I can see how that would make it a more uniform way for the posts to be created in accordance with the forum's rules.

I'd also hate to see the actions of a few ruin something for the many.


there's my

 

[Justus]

The rules aren't that tough to follow.
Speaking from experience, it is easy to overlook the WTS,WTT,WTB
requirement and impossible to edit without the help of a moderator.

Also, is WTB really necessary if the post is already in the
"wanted to buy" forum?

 

[bigcraig]

Nothing wrong with the current rules.

People will learn to use the ad section correctly, after all their incorrect attempts get deleted.

 

[Bubbajms]

As I was saying when the board dropped..

If it's possible, I think it would be a big relief on the mods if there were a way to set up a template for the B/S/T forums. First, make a checkbox that you HAVE to click for the category of your post. If it's sell, then click WTS. If you want to sell or trade, click both WTS and WTT. Toss in a window for price, a window for location, and make it so that without doing all of these things, the message can't be posted..

If that is possible, then the only thing you'd have to watch out for is people bumping and poor posts inside the threads. In my opinion, I don't think that mods should have to read all the threads to check for bad posts - we have a "report post" button in the event that someone posts something completely off topic or in poor taste..

vBulletin folks, is this stuff possible?

 

[Fenway]

Some of what you mention is possible. With this version of VB tags can be done but I can't come up with boxes to fill out. There is classifieds software that I have used on other VB forums but I don't think it works as well as just being able to post the info into the forum.

 

[Fenway]

For those who like to click on "new posts" it is very helpful.

Also, is WTB really necessary if the post is already in the
"wanted to buy" forum?

 

[bwframe]

As I was saying when the board dropped..

Ya, my last post on the subject disappeared also. As did the one, by the boss, saying it was never gonna happen. So, I won't repeat it, but thanks for listening.