And it looks like we need a 3rd choice on the Poll question (min post count = 50)
50 Posts and 90 Days seems good to me too.
I just want everyone to do well and have a good time. I want the sponsors to make money. I want the members to get good deals. I hope that all of you get to make some new friends, as I have been so lucky to do. So, the purpose of rules in the classifieds, and ALL rules in general, is to give some order to the madness. I don't want OSA to be one of those sites where newbies get attacked by "the cannibals" in general discussion as they do on some other sites. We don't have any of that here that I have noticed. Usually, the only time someone gets attacked is if they are trolling.
The whole issue of price gouging in the classifieds has been difficult for us as mods to deal with. The market determines the price and we have to balance freedom of the market with trying to protect the members. Believe me, we have deleted a lot of things most of you have not seen. It's just extremely difficult to draw a line in the sand when the beach keeps expanding underneath our feet.
The whole issue of price gouging in the classifieds has been difficult for us as mods to deal with. The market determines the price and we have to balance freedom of the market with trying to protect the members. Believe me, we have deleted a lot of things most of you have not seen. It's just extremely difficult to draw a line in the sand when the beach keeps expanding underneath our feet.
This sounds very logical to me. I know there are other sites that require membership to even see the classifieds as well.
60 days and 20 substancial posts starting NOW!
I see posters on here with thousand of post that haven't contributed much of anything and I see posters with 2 post that both were meaningfull.
I read every day. I just don't post a lot. I haven't hit (as you can see) a high enough post count to sell. I would think that 90 days as a member or 50 posts should be allowed to post sale items. To buy an item should be member only (maybe 30 days). Just my thinking.
Throw them to the wolves and let the forum sort it out (please?)
I'd say to keep it at 20-50 posts, but make the wait 6 months. If someone is interested in the site and does more reading than posting, then they won't mind the wait. To someone who just wants to jump in and start buying/selling, they can go to Arms List or Gunbroker.
I like the idea of keeping the classifieds invisible to non-members and logged-out folks (which keeps things in the classifieds as well as transactions out of view of non-members and visitors). Maybe let new members view the classifieds after 3 months, but they can't post anything in the classifieds until they hit their 6-month mark (they can still buy via PM once the classifieds are visible to them).
Hell, I'm even for a paid membership to view the classifieds. That's how it is on several other message boards work. Also, for folks who buy/sell a little too often, force them to pay for a dealer-membership (or at least limit the number of transactions someone can make before paying or upgrading).
Also, a Reputation/rating system can be put into place for members to rate other members. This lets everyone know what the other members think of someone. A member might be a little less reluctant to sell an AR for 5x the cost that they just bought from this board (and asked for help in choosing parts / putting it together - it's happened at least twice that I know of in the last month) if they know they'll get a bad rep for it.
I like the idea of keeping the classifieds invisible to non-members and logged-out folks (which keeps things in the classifieds as well as transactions out of view of non-members and visitors). Maybe let new members view the classifieds after 3 months, but they can't post anything in the classifieds until they hit their 6-month mark (they can still buy via PM once the classifieds are visible to them).
Hell, I'm even for a paid membership to view the classifieds. That's how it is on several other message boards work. Also, for folks who buy/sell a little too often, force them to pay for a dealer-membership (or at least limit the number of transactions someone can make before paying or upgrading).
Also, a Reputation/rating system can be put into place for members to rate other members. This lets everyone know what the other members think of someone. A member might be a little less reluctant to sell an AR for 5x the cost that they just bought from this board (and asked for help in choosing parts / putting it together - it's happened at least twice that I know of in the last month) if they know they'll get a bad rep for it.
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