New Rules for the Exchange forum - Feedback thread.

I like it. The new thread sorting changes in the exchange that is. I can see first what is new and then I can check for price change bumps etc.:thumbup:
 
bigmark408 said:
A couple things i think come into play are.

#1 this is a bad time to make changes because at this time of year alot of folks try to unload knives to raise extra cash for the holidays.

#2 Although many are journeyman on the P.C. and these clicks are simple, that does not apply to all.

#3 Educating all member's....Big highlighted sticky's at the top of all forums with simple instructions might help.
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I agree on all three points, but especially #2. I've been an active forum member for many years, if I have trouble figuring out how to sort threads and use the system the way I like, how the heck is a newcomer going to know how to do that stuff? It's not self-explanatory, and most members who aren't hard-core aren't going to read a forum manual. Having the default option be as NooB friendly as possible increases sales and exposure. More veteran members can do the extra steps and little tricks to make the forum work differently if they want it to. My two cents.
 
Balislinger said:
I agree on all three points, but especially #2. I've been an active forum member for many years, if I have trouble figuring out how to sort threads and use the system the way I like, how the heck is a newcomer going to know how to do that stuff? It's not self-explanatory, and most members who aren't hard-core aren't going to read a forum manual. Having the default option be as NooB friendly as possible increases sales and exposure. More veteran members can do the extra steps and little tricks to make the forum work differently if they want it to. My two cents.
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I actually wonder if the opposite would be true. Newcomers are going to arrive not knowing what to expect; it's all foreign to them. They may be familiar with the traditional forum format, but every forum has it's own little intricacies. While they may not be aware that they can use different sort order options, much as I imagine was the case with so many prior to this change, they should realize relatively quickly that threads are ordered by date created and bumping doesn't get them more attention.


The reason why I think this is confusing and/or annoying to those who have been around for years and years is that... it's what you are used to. When I traded in my Acura Vigor for a Toyota Yaris, it felt weird to have to look to the center of the dashboard to see the instrument panel. When I switched from carrying my cellphone in my pocket to on a holster, it was annoying when I needed it. Now that I'm use to these changes, I wouldn't have them any other way. At least until I need to change them again. :p
 
Reminder, if your comfy with the old default, Click on "last post", where bhyde and a few others before him mentioned (black circle in pic), and thats it. One click, less then 1 second :) I have a harder time tying just 1 shoe :)
bhyde said:
forumsort.jpg
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dericdesmond said:
Reminder, if your comfy with the old default, Click on "last post", where bhyde and a few others before him mentioned (black circle in pic), and thats it. One click, less then 1 second :) I have a harder time tying just 1 shoe :)
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Ya... but now everyone can reply or do what ever to the post and that option will be all messed up with everybody bumping the threads as much as they want.
 
Incahiker said:
Ya... but now everyone can reply or do what ever to the post and that option will be all messed up with everybody bumping the threads as much as they want.
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Very true. Cant be as bad as it was back in the day though. Have you ever seen some of the yap in old fs threads? Yikes.
 
Yeah I fully support this change. I hated how sellers would bump their own thread just to say that it was sold. Cluttered up the place.
 
I like the new format. It is very easy to "catch up" on new threads, and to be confident that you have not missed any.

The biggest surprise to me is actually how few new threads there are. It is obvious now that the bumping that had been going on was IMO excessive, to say the least.

Two weeks does seem maybe a little long to be able to bump for a legitimate price reduction. Maybe sellers who are concerned about this should encourage offers when they list at more of an "asking" price rather than a "selling" price.
 
So since there is no bump rule, that is getting out of hand should anyone be viewing from the time frame something was updated.
I also noticed that lots of people are locking down threads and starting exact same new ones. Is this the way we want to go? I thought it would be better to cut down on bandwidth and so there is less out there. Now there are more bumps then even before, and there is more space taken up, and some people are frustrated with the way things going. There are lots more threads of the same old knives that were posted before. I believe there are less views now too... Is that the direction we want to be headed?
 
Liu Kang said:
I also noticed that lots of people are locking down threads and starting exact same new ones. Is this the way we want to go? I thought it would be better to cut down on bandwidth and so there is less out there. Now there are more bumps then even before, and there is more space taken up, and some people are frustrated with the way things going. There are lots more threads of the same old knives that were posted before. I believe there are less views now too... Is that the direction we want to be headed?
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If you are seeing someone who is locking an older thread and creating a new thread to sell the very same knife... and it hasn't been two weeks since the creation of the last thread... then they are in violation of the new rules and you should flag their posts for moderation. To do this, click the
report.gif
button seen at the top-right of every post on the forums. It will alert the support staff to the problem and they will deal with it appropriately.


Regarding the bandwidth concerns, I'm sure Spark could give you some solid statistics for both before and after the change. If I had to make a prediction... even though posting has increased throughout The Exchange... bandwidth is either about the same or down from where it was before. The reason being, there is now order to the forum. There aren't three pages of new threads and bumps every single day, all vying for your attention. Still, even if for some crazy reason the Bandwidth has exploded in recent days, it hasn't been affecting performance and wasn't the reason for these changes to begin with.
 
I just saw a thread that was started on 11/17/10 and then locked and a new thread started today on 11/19/10. The people have spoken.
 
Liu Kang said:
I just saw a thread that was started on 11/17/10 and then locked and a new thread started today on 11/19/10. The people have spoken.
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That's a neat trick.
He just edited the original listing and emptied all content, then "re-listed" in a new thread (if I am looking at the same one as you, in the production for sale by individuals area). If you are sure it is the same content as was listed 2 days ago you should report the thread.

Question for the Mods;
Can you see what was originally posted when someone "withdraws" their original post?
 
FLymon said:
That's a neat trick.
He just edited the original listing and emptied all content, then "re-listed" in a new thread (if I am looking at the same one as you, in the production for sale by individuals area). If you are sure it is the same content as was listed 2 days ago you should report the thread.

Question for the Mods;
Can you see what was originally posted when someone "withdraws" their original post?
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I don't believe that was the one he was talking about, actually. I saw the one he mentioned and it was a very flagrant violation. The only things changed were the pictures and pricepoint.

This was made even more comical by the fact that his old post wasn't even hardly halfway down page one.


That said, you bring up a very good point.
That is a loophole that is definitely going to have to be looked into and there is no good way to do it.
Preventing editing of thread titles would be a good start, but that's a can of worms I don't think I would want to open... especially with the frustration of some at not being able to bump to draw attention to price drops.
 
FLymon said:
That's a neat trick.
Can you see what was originally posted when someone "withdraws" their original post?
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Yeah, they can see any edits. A copy is made and added to the history of the post every time an edit is made.
 
So we just made a problem into a bigger problem. When it was a three day violation, it was obvious to that it was violated, but now the mods get to look back into the post to before it was edited. That sounds like more work to me.
And I notice more then one violations. The point is that everyone wants their threads noticed and if they can't at least bump the thread and needs to wait 20 days, they will find other ways... Either by cheating the system by re-posting earlier or going elsewhere...
 
Liu Kang said:
So we just made a problem into a bigger problem. When it was a three day violation, it was obvious to that it was violated, but now the mods get to look back into the post to before it was edited. That sounds like more work to me.
And I notice more then one violations. The point is that everyone wants their threads noticed and if they can't at least bump the thread and needs to wait 20 days, they will find other ways... Either by cheating the system by re-posting earlier or going elsewhere...
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If someone is that desperate for thread exposure, there's not much you can do but hand them some infractions and eventually remove their privileges. This is nothing new. They could have juggled multiple threads under the old rules just as they can now, only now it's easier to spot.

There are plenty of people willing to play by the rules. Those that choose not to will be dealt with accordingly. If they continue to abuse the rules, then they can sit on the bench and watch everyone else have fun. This too is nothing new.


...now, I hesitate to even ask, but are you reporting all of these violations?
Actually, yea, ignore that. I don't see anything good that can come from going down that road. :p
 
Seems that some of the same people against the new 2 week rules have gone to bumping their own threads for the alternate view.

Don't look know but your self serving agenda is showing.:thumbdn:

I think this is the best solution to the problem of abuse in the sale forum. I also see moves by folks trying to abuse it further toward their personal agendas.

Why not stick to the intention of our wish to keep the playing field as level as possible?
.
 
Well, if I could toss in another .02 I think the new system works great. In the past we had certain members with well over a dozen threads do a 72hr bump or a crap shoot price drop and it would eat up the entire first page. Then other members and myself would have to sift through all of the same crap just to find the actual "new" posts in the for sale forum.

New system - :thumbup:

Old way - :thumbdn:
 
And now we have some of the same people pushing their threads under the alternate view.

All that does for a lot of people including myself is drive business away.

The attempt here is to keep the playing field as level as possible. Personally I would not do business with those who are attempting to abuse or disregard that intent. There are too many straight forward people who I would rather work with in the knife community to deal with those cutting corners.

Seems like some of the biggest complainers are pushing their threads under the alternate view. Don't look now but self serving agendas are quite visible to us. That will be addressed also.
 
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