New Rules for the Exchange forum - Feedback thread.

How about requiring the OP to lock the thread after posting?That would get rid of the useless posts.
 
3.1.14. Please indicate in the original post after the item has been sold or traded. It'd be nice if you locked the thread too. (Not required, but it makes everyone's life easier)

It would eliminate a few problems if it were required. At this point, I'd be happy to start seeing evidence that anyone here had any idea there are any new rules in place. :p
 
Do these new rules on comments in f/s posts extend to the "custom knifemaker for sale" areas? I think comments there should be allowed as they can provide useful information/feedback for both makers and collectors. It would be a shame if that section had the same restrictions as the regular exchange areas.

I have not sold anything here for 4+ years but continue to pay for a membership to support the site. keep up the good work
 
Unless I'm overruled, I will continue to approve comments in knifemaker and dealer sales forums, since both will have multiple or similar items for sale now or in the near future so their posts for sales are not a matter of moving one unique item quickly.
 
the 72 hour rule- "I'll take it" is fine, but someone wanting to say "Seconds if the deal falls through" needs to wait 72 hours to post it? Also, if the buyer backs out, the seller must wait 72 hours from the "I'll take it" post to say as much, or somehow incorporate it into the OP?

Just thinking to a thread where I had some knives for sale. One being a BHK where I got something like 18 total posts, PMs, emails, and VMs asking for it, and that was before this rule and several people openly claimed dibs/backup in the thread itself. It's rare, but a headache.
 
Bumping doesn't apply to the buyers, just the seller. If the buyer backs out, yes, you can edit in to the OP that it's available still.
 
Thanks, I got a couple posts mixed up on the buyer bumping bit (alliteration!)

Hopefully the buyers who withdraw will edit their "I'll take it" posts in a timely manner to help keep things clear :)
 
Bladesmith mentioned a "dealer for sale area"...is this the same as the one used by all but different rules applying for different memberships? Thanks.
 
John L said:
Bladesmith mentioned a "dealer for sale area"...is this the same as the one used by all but different rules applying for different memberships? Thanks.
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From what I know:

1. Those that can sell are Gold, Platinum, and Dealer Memberships.

2. Those that can sell in the Individual For Sale Forum are Gold and Platinum
2a. There is an exception for dealers in the Individual for sale forum if it is one or two knives from a personal collection (typically a "used" knife, etc..)

3. Dealers have their own For Sale Forum where they can post anything they sell whether it's brand new, used, abused, knives, gear, flashlights, etc...

4. Anyone can buy and/or trade here on bladeforums.

I hope this helps, J.
 
I know it is an imperfect world but it seems the dinging so far has been selective :grumpy:, and I was just answering a question, which by what I can see so far, I'm the only one gettin dinged.

On the other hand I just noticed my PM limit is now 100 so I'll just shut up now :o .
 
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No offense to anyone.....especially the mods; but, I didn't buy a knife today!!!!!!!!! yeah..no kidding!!!!!!!! I've been so busy reading the threads on the rules and where to post, what not to post, where not to post, where what not to post, what what not where what to post, etc. etc. Really really really, I want to follow the rules....well typically not; but here on BF YES!...as I want to look, learn, buy, ask, compliment, help. Is anyone else confused...at least a bit???????
OK, I will log off...and MAYBE buy a knife tomorrow. If I see something I "need".
 
Ahh, nice, a feedback thread. I missed that the first time around.

This is a suggestion that I posted over in the 'Knifemakers FS Area / Fixed Blades' forum in the 'Sellers & Buyers - Read This' topic.

To me, it seems like the biggest source of confusion and complaints is regarding the commenting. Commenting is an especially sensitive topic in the knifemakers FS area, since many of the makers rely on those posts both for feedback and to gauge interest in a particular design.

What if there was a way to allow anyone and everyone to comment, the maker to respond immediately to questions or concerns... all the while, no bumping?

There is!

Actually, there are a couple of ways to address this.

The easiest way would be to simply change the sort order of threads in the subforum.
(Please note: these are instructions for vB 4.x, whereas BladeForums is currently using version 3.8. The process shouldn't be much, if any, different.)
-In the Admin Control Panel, navigate to 'Forums & Moderators > Forum Manager.'
-Enter the 'Edit Forum' option of the desired subforum.
-Change the 'Default Sort Field' from 'Last Post' to 'Thread Start Time.'
--Repeat for any number of subforums.

What this will do is sort that subforum's threads by the time of their creation, not the time of their last reply. Bumping would no longer exist for that subforum. As an amendment to the rules, you might need to limit how often someone may re-post any one particular knife so that no one is tempted to just make a new thread once their knife hits page three.

As a bonus, doing this would also make everyone's lives easier regarding the 'two threads in the top 25; four in the top 50' rule. No one need worry that someone might bump one of their older threads and prohibit them from posting a new knife for sale. The moderators would also have a much easier time policing this rule; as it is right now, if they see the same name on the first page three times, they have to figure out if it's a rules violation or just someone with a question about an older, unsold knife.

But... you just can't win for losing. People are just so used to having the ability to bump their threads that doing away with that will undoubtedly cause unrest similar to what you are already seeing with the new rules. :p



The other option is significantly less pain-free, so I wont bother going into much detail. Basically, have a mod/hack created for your install to make everyone happy. Forced no-bump-for-72-hours, postless bumping button, new replies don't bump threads, etc...



Now, I don't know if this is right for the whole of The Exchange, but I do think it is right move over in the knifemakers FS area. My advice? Try it out over there for a week or two... gather some feedback like you are here... see if it works well... consider the implications of doing it to the rest of the exchange...

Thank you for your time.
 
I'm trying to clean up the sale area in the Makers forum. I have several questions:

What is the best way to deal with people having the wrong membership. Should I just report it and let Esav and Spark take care of it?

Currently, I see registered users selling in the Supplies area. I see business people selling as knifemakers, even advertising their business in the thread.

Is the knifemaker/craftsman/service provider membership the same as a dealer?
 
Marcelo - I went through and dinged about 30 people last night, so it's not just you.

Bigthresher - it's really not that complicated. If you aren't selling, most of the rules don't apply to you.

Fascion - it's certainly something to consider. I hadn't thought about that to be quite honest. Since it's an option we've never used before the possibility never entered my mind. It'd certainly make things a lot easier, especially since there'd be less to monitor. On the other hand, people spamming new threads over and over would be a problem. Good suggestion, free platinum upgrade for you.
EDIT: The more I think about this, the more this may work out for the best. I'd REALLY like feedback from people over this.

Stacy - Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service provider is a separate level of membership from Dealer.
Registered users can't sell anywhere, and can't even post threads in any of the dedicated for sale forums. For example:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=789104 - this guy looked like he was a registered user, but only because he didn't have his membership display set to the proper level, he actually has a paid subscription. (I just changed his display)
 
Spark said:
EDIT: The more I think about this, the more this may work out for the best. I'd REALLY like feedback from people over this.
Click to expand...

Spark,

I don't know what will happen with this in the end, I know you are trying to make it a fair playing field for all.
But any thing you can do to keep the comments in the Makers area will help as far as sales goes - I think?

Trying to figure out how selling multiple knives in one thread will be interesting?
Listing them at different times? different days? Will this move the thread up?
Or would it stay were it was at?
Looking forward to a solution that works for all.

Thanks

Todd


.
 
Spark said:
EDIT: The more I think about this, the more this may work out for the best. I'd REALLY like feedback from people over this.
Click to expand...
As I mentioned in the makers forum, I use this on fast paced boards as a user selected option. It is great because you really don't worry one bit about who is posting what in threads where discussion is secondary to getting pertinent information from the OP - which seems to be exactly what you're looking for in the way the rules are set up for sales.

btw, have you had a look at straightrazorplace? I don't know where they got their classified/reviews/wiki section from that is integrated into the forums, but I've wondered for a while if it could work for BF.
 
bigal2me said:
Spark,

I don't know what will happen with this in the end, I know you are trying to make it a fair playing field for all.
But any thing you can do to keep the comments in the Makers area will help as far as sales goes - I think?

Trying to figure out how selling multiple knives in one thread will be interesting?
Listing them at different times? different days? Will this move the thread up?
Or would it stay were it was at?
Looking forward to a solution that works for all.
Click to expand...
If we do go to this new format, the "no-comments" "no replies within 72 hours" and other similar rules would go right out the window, since they'd no longer have the effect of bumping the threads. Post all the replies you want, it's not going to have an effect in the listings.

hardheart said:
As I mentioned in the makers forum, I use this on fast paced boards as a user selected option. It is great because you really don't worry one bit about who is posting what in threads where discussion is secondary to getting pertinent information from the OP - which seems to be exactly what you're looking for in the way the rules are set up for sales.

btw, have you had a look at straightrazorplace? I don't know where they got their classified/reviews/wiki section from that is integrated into the forums, but I've wondered for a while if it could work for BF.
Click to expand...

Not sure about their classifieds, but their wiki is just a standard MediaWiki setup with a port for vB
 
If you choose to change the order to the original post rather than the new posts, what will keep members from simply closing their thread and posting a new thread?

How would a person be able to move a thread from the depths to the important first page or second page?

Personally, controlling the bumping and restricting the excess BS from the threads is the best course.

There is no reason for many of the posts in the sale threads. Email sent? Pictures? One knife out of 6 posted has sold? Give me a break! Backup on the knife sold? There is no reason for it. PM or emails need to be used to communicate. If people don't give access to their emails, then they choose not to participate.

Price reduction bumps should be allowed. Set the price at a minumum 5% to bump the thread.
 
Maybe I'm getting wires crossed (again) but I was thinking the thread start time ordering would be for the makers. They don't do quite the same number of price drops or get as many second dibs, and not as many threads in general are started each day. But the comments in the threads are generally more valuable, as there isn't a population of tens of thousands of people who own a lot of examples of their work, as is the case with the production pieces sold on the secondary market.

Plus you can change the way the threads are ordered on your own, this is just a switch for the default display.
 
Spark said:
SECTION 3 - Rules for Sellers / Traders / Service Providers (hereafter referred to as "Sellers"):

[*] Individuals may have no more than TWO ads on Page 1 of any Sale or Trade forum, and FOUR ads within the first two pages.
Click to expand...

Meant to quote the knife maker one sorry but says the same thing.

Just wondering if this could be a problem. Lets say I have a thread listed and that it gets pushed to to page 2 so I think fine start another thread a few days later need to start another. So now I have 2 threads on page 1 then a prospective buyer posts a reply on the first thread now I have 3 threads on page 1.

Just want to make sure I get no un-necessary butt chewing.
 
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