When did a question become chatting?

[resinguy]

ADD asked what seems to me a perfectly legitimate question, the answer to which other people would also want to know, and yet he gets an infraction for chatting.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6990655#post6990655

Can someone show me the House Rules that specifically forbid such questions? I will often ask a question in a sale thread, when the seller has not provided information that can help a potential buyer. Is this not now permitted?

Thank you.

 

[ADD]

This is a great site and I do appreciate what the mods are up against here...

And technically, I did add minor commentary to go with my question.

But ya know, this one did bother me enough to email the mod for clarification.

What I did truly not understand is why the parenthetical (again)?

I checked to see if I was a repeat offender in this or any other recent sales thread that warranted the admonishment by the mod.
Or perhaps the mod had me confused with another poster.

Nope, just another minor complimentary comment to go with suggesting the seller move his thread to the correct sub forum... over two years ago.

Regardless, I aint' touching that thread again with a ten foot pole.

Resinguy, feel free to pm with your answers

Thanks!

 

[Esav Benyamin]

I can see why glockman99 got ADD for that one. Even the question looks like an extension of the praise for the knife, not an interest in buying it.

Nice package!

Perhaps if you do not mind, who did the handle and sheath on this one?

Interestingly, two hours after glockman99's infraction post, someone else posted chatter.

 

[resinguy]

So he was judged for the tone of his question, or the perceived intent, rather than the content??

If he had asked simply "Who did the handle and sheath work?", then he would not have gotten a ding?

 

[Esav Benyamin]

No, he might have. Any entry in a sales or trade post should relate to the sale or trade by someone interested in the purchase. If it's just curiosity, it's chatting.

 

[resinguy]

I'm sorry, I don't understand how a moderator can guess the intent of the person posting a question. There seems to be no clear guidelines for potential buyers to follow. People ask questions all the time in sales thread. Sellers frequently, unfortunately, do not give sufficient information in their sales post. So we have to ask questions before committing to a purchase. Usually the question and answer would be pertinent to all buyers, so it would not make sense to restrict those to PM or email.

 

[Ken C.]

Let's put it this way...

If you have no intention of buying the knife then don't respond to the thread. It's as simple as that.

I can see why ADD got hit. Asking about the sheath/handle without expressing an interest in buying it.

 

[resinguy]

I don't think it's simple. The answer to a question may well determine my intention to buy.

If ADD had said: "I might buy that if you can tell me who did the handle work", then he would have been OK?

How can a moderator tell if a questioner has an intent to buy?

 

[Esav Benyamin]

If it's borderline, no, we can't read minds, and don't try to. But ADD posted unambiguous praise "Nice package!" and followed that with "Perhaps if you do not mind," which pretty clearly means to me that his interest is in the aesthetics, not the sale.

Finally, I will put it this way. We have rules, mods enforce them. We are fallible, and warnings and infractions can be reversed. But we get a pretty good feel for what's going on after doing the job for a while. Members can make it easier for us to judge correctly if they make clear statements of interest.

 

[ADD]

Let's put it this way...

If you have no intention of buying the knife then don't respond to the thread. It's as simple as that.

Again you or the seller do not know that.

I can see why ADD got hit. Asking about the sheath/handle without expressing an interest in buying it.

So, if it was phrased as "If Tom Krein did the work, I will buy it?" that would satisfy the threshold?

Waay too much semantics involved.

No, imho, a question alone, in a sales thread, expresses an interest a knife.

Technically "Nice package" *insert joke* can be construed as chatting.
Certainly not excessive chatting...

It was a two worded compliment followed up by a potential buyer's question.
At least that was the intent.

 

[Supmonkeyface]

I think glockman is an all-around pain in the a$$. There I said it.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Not a real helpful comment. He's a moderator doing a hard job as best as anyone can. Time and again he gives out warnings instead of infractions. Outside of specifically moderator interactions, he's well-known as a nice guy in knife discussions. All-around pain? Not at all. And if we didn't have him and Mike G. moderating the Exchange forums, you would see a lot more reasons for dissatisfaction.

 

[ADD]

Finally, I will put it this way. We have rules, mods enforce them. We are fallible, and warnings and infractions can be reversed. But we get a pretty good feel for what's going on after doing the job for a while. Members can make it easier for us to judge correctly if they make clear statements of interest.

Esav, agreed and well put.

 

[resinguy]

Finally, I will put it this way. We have rules, mods enforce them. We are fallible, and warnings and infractions can be reversed. But we get a pretty good feel for what's going on after doing the job for a while. Members can make it easier for us to judge correctly if they make clear statements of interest.

Well, I'll certainly give you that.

 

[Supmonkeyface]

I just don't like the way he does his job. It's like most people in power, I feel he abuses it, but obviously not much.

 

[J.Mattson]

I just don't like the way he does his job. It's like most people in power, I feel he abuses it, but obviously not much.

All things considered I think moderating the exchange is towards the top on the PITA scale. If he didn’t enforce the rules in cases like these with shades of grey how is he gonna be able to enforce the more black and white cases?

If your going to talk about abuse of power back it up with lots of links. If you cant then cut him some slack.

 

[JTR357]

All things considered I think moderating the exchange is towards the top on the PITA scale. If he didn’t enforce the rules in cases like these with shades of grey how is he gonna be able to enforce the more black and white cases?

If your going to talk about abuse of power back it up with lots of links. If you cant then cut him some slack.

+1:thumbup: Glockman's good people.I wouldn't want his job.

 

[Spark]

I just don't like the way he does his job. It's like most people in power, I feel he abuses it, but obviously not much.

He's got a tough job and he does it very well. Twice you've come in here and whined without providing any examples.

The rules are in place for a reason. Every one of them came into being because of abuse by individuals in the past. Every time someone posts a no content or low content reply in a thread, it bumps it up. In the past, people have done this to promote their buddy's threads (to the point where they even said so in the post).

We're not guessing intent. The rules are clear - don't chat in threads. If someone before you asks who makes the sheath, you don't need to follow up with the same question a couple hours later.

If you don't like how he does it, either provide examples where he's out of line, or don't click on the Exchange area. It's that simple.

 

[1kimo4u]

also why not email the question? or if a gold+ member a pm? i hate chitchat!

 

[resinguy]

We're not guessing intent. The rules are clear - don't chat in threads. If someone before you asks who makes the sheath, you don't need to follow up with the same question a couple hours later.

It is still not clear to me how a legitimate question can be construed as chatting.

also why not email the question? or if a gold+ member a pm? i hate chitchat!

I post a question because the answer may well be helpful to other potential buyers. I don't think asking, for example, how thick or how long a blade is should be considered chatting.