Why oh Why Mr Moderators??

[Sleepy]

Well im just asking the question...
Why can we not post responses in the Parts for sale threads etc??
Surely it is an advantage for both the seller and an interested buyer if you can post there??
From the sellers point of view, it means u dont have to answer the same questions over and over again, and from a buyers point of view you know how many people are actually interested in the product and 99% of the time your question would have already asked and the answer would be already there for you if posting was allowed??

No other forum does this??

James

[static1800]

It's to keep the clutter down within the threads that can ruin the sale. We are reviewing this at the moment to try and find a better solution.

[evorobin]

Could I also point out if everyone is asking you the same question you might want to edit your add to include some "important" information

Basically you're selling some wheels. Next post = that size is **** and tempe are doing fakes for 25% of the price etc....thanks for that

[SoVeReIgN]

I think its stupid.

I can understand if the posts are totally off topic ( "**** man they're nice wheels, good luck with the same" ) but when they're just asking questions then why should they be deleted?

EDIT :

[evorobin]

Mods aren't here to edit EVERY thread. My view has always been lock the thread and go direct to seller. The guy selling can update to inc details he forgot or add stuff to help the sale.

I don't want to read a thread with grouse XXXX good luck with that fella etc etc

EDIT - If someone asks a valid question I wouldn't delete it. I did delete some off topic stuff from classifieds a couple of days ago but that was it.

[Sleepy]

I think its stupid.

I can understand if the posts are totally off topic ( "**** man they're nice wheels, good luck with the sale" ) but when they're just asking questions then why should they be deleted?

EDIT :

My point exactly!

[99gti]

G'day Sleepy and I'm sure a few others who have the same question,

There are a few reasons we don't want chit chat in the For Sale section. Here are just a few reasons why:

Firstly - this isn't a trading site, it's a site for people to discuss their passion and share technical advice on VW's and is mostly funded by our members. The for sale section can be something that uses a lot of resources from our precious server space and as such we have to constantly maintain the area.

To make the site a useful tool for you guys wanting to do research, the less chat that takes place about buying and selling stuff will return you with better search results. There's noting more frustrating than when you want an answer to a problem you have, and you just find junk for sale.

2nd hand items that are for private sale can cause quite a disturbance if transactions go wrong - the site can't accept responsibility for that so we ask that correspondence takes place via PM's.

Companies also try to you this space to market their products at 0 cost. From past experience, they can cause a lot of anti-social behaviour and often they will express views that can be confusing and misleading for our members. They also do not add any value to the site and only consume more of our resources.

If there is an item for sale and you want to learn more about is specifications/pros & con's, then create a thread in the relevant section so it helps build a knowledge base.

If you PM inbox gets full this also puts the responsibility back on you the user to maintain which also helps us to maximise server space with minimal work caused for the mod's and admin team.

Moderating the for sale section is quite a large a job. If the person who's selling an item receives a PM, then I urge them to update their original post with the info. This is then a win/win situation for the seller, our members and also the site.

And finally - no one from the sites make a profit from this. To keep it all in order we do it out of love. Silly things like people constantly breaking rules has caused us to loose a lot of valuable members because it causes so much more work for those who have to maintain the site. Many senior members who also moderated the site have stepped down and or left because of the constant work that's involved and have given up out of sheer frustration.

I hope this gives you a bit more insight as to our reasons, I wish you luck with your purchases and sales. In saying the above, we are always open to feedback. This is a site run by members for our members. If you have an idea - we want to hear it.

[VW Convert]

Many senior members who also moderated the site have stepped down and or left because of the constant work that's involved and have given up out of sheer frustration.

Thanks for the explanation 99gti, it is unfair for users to create added workload for mods. I think the PM system adequately caters for the situation.

I'd also point out to those that say "no other forum does this" that the whole reason many of us are on this well moderated forum is precisely because it is different to most forums and that is to our advantage.

Cheers

George

[99gti]

I think its stupid.

I can understand if the posts are totally off topic ( "**** man they're nice wheels, good luck with the same" ) but when they're just asking questions then why should they be deleted?

EDIT :

But where do we draw the line with related questions? This is where it can become a bit grey so we ask you to do it via PM's. We get people who ask do you have this and do you have that and alot of it is just dreaming. This only renders searching the site useless!

We will normally PM the seller to either update their post with the info requested or if it's available, I'll add it myself if it's avilable to me.

[rayray086]

Thanks for the explanation 99gti. I was quite against the strict rules involved with the classifieds section of the forum but in the way you've put it, it's a good idea to keep doing what you guys are doing.

By the way, EuroCCA employs the same rule too in their classifieds. They basically lock down all the threads that are in the classifieds section as soon as they are posted. However it does move a lot slower.

P.S. Enforce users to use the template Brackie had written up! Possibly include location in it too.

[99gti]

Thanks for the explanation 99gti. I was quite against the strict rules involved with the classifieds section of the forum but in the way you've put it, it's a good idea to keep doing what you guys are doing.

By the way, EuroCCA employs the same rule too in their classifieds. They basically lock down all the threads that are in the classifieds section as soon as they are posted. However it does move a lot slower.

P.S. Enforce users to use the template Brackie had written up! Possibly include location in it too.

We have been trying to avoid locking threads because then the creator can't modify them. Often people have after thoughts or recieve PM's and they do update the posts.

The template Brackie wrote up is great and ensures posts are clear and concise with what it is they are selling. Unfortunetly people either are not reading the sticky, or they are choosing to ignore it. Brackie is one of the above mentioned people who has chosen to step down. This was a big loss for the site as he was someone of great knowledge - someone who is greatly missed by all.

[Water Boy]

Im all for keeping it no chit caht but i beleive asking questions that are relavent is fine, keep it on topic and she's all goo mate

[99gti]

Im all for keeping it no chit caht but i beleive asking questions that are relavent is fine, keep it on topic and she's all goo mate

But where do we draw the line with related questions? This is where it can become a bit grey so we ask you to do it via PM's. We get people who ask do you have this and do you have that and alot of it is just dreaming. This only renders searching the site useless!

This brings me back to our previous problem of when is "related" no longer relevant? Idealy it'd be nice to not have this area of confusion so I'm keen to hear all of your ideas.

[gpk_gti]

the creator can unlock and repost in his own thread,as far as I know.might try to get someone to try tonight.

[rayray086]

the creator can unlock and repost in his own thread,as far as I know.might try to get someone to try tonight.

I'm pretty sure too. I've closed my own thread before and have reopened it again when I had a question to a similar topic. However I'm not sure if we can reopen threads that have been closed by mods/admin.