[Scotttheking]

Right now it's mostly a free for all, other then me killing some spam threads. I'm wondering if we (being me as the mod and you all as users) should write up some rules and guidelines for the forum, which would then be enforced.

If you are interested, and would be willing to help write stuff up, post it here. If you have any suggestions for rules or guidelines, post them here too.

[omarv]

I think there should not be any spam allowed on this board.

[Scotttheking]

Originally posted by omarv:
I think there should not be any spam allowed on this board.

now the fun part

Define spam

[GetSome681]

Originally posted by Scotttheking:


now the fun part

Define spam

Well, I'd say that it should be limited to people individually selling equipment through this site, and not just informing people of their listing on ebay. This would also extend to people pointing towards a business of which a sale there profits them. In terms of pointing to 3rd party retailers, I'm not sure exactly where a hot deal fits in (ie - if someone posts that buy.com or something is selling something at an extremely low price or such). There are other sites for that, so I believe this forum should stick solely to individual transactions, basing a seller or buyer's record on a 3rd party recommendation system (ie heatware.com).

[btober]

I think posting listing to an eBay auction is fine as long as it is indeed a personal listing. Sometimes, a seller will post their auction here and offer a deal to forum members on shipping or what not.

As far as spam, I don't think a line really has to be drawn. When people post here, it is usually about a good deal, whether it be personal or commercial. And I'm for deals anyway they come!

[fulmer]

I like the idea of limiting it to an individual's items. If we want a bigger inventory or 'deals', then we can click on a banner ad or check out the online stores. the board stays less cluttered and more focused this way.

[SOLIDAge]

Originally posted by btober:
I think posting listing to an eBay auction is fine as long as it is indeed a personal listing. Sometimes, a seller will post their auction here and offer a deal to forum members on shipping or what not.

agreed

[btober]

OK, here's an example of spam:

http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...hreadid=126384

The original poster listed several machines for sale, with links to their for sale pages on his/her business web site. I think it's safe to define that as spam.

However, I don't think all business listings should be spam. As long as you list all info, including price, links to pictures ONLY, and email address/contact info within the post, it should be considered legit. You shouldn't have to visit a business website in order to complete the sale.

[SupahCoolX]

There usually aren't that many posts in this forum to begin with. Then, only a fraction of those are "bad" (depending on your feelings on spam, ebay listings, etc.). I honestly don't think it would be worth the trouble. The current system works fine.

[mjrap]

Although I sell on ebay I'd prefer no ebay listings here in the classifieds at all. I say this because people come here looking for something other than the bidding wars on ebay. However I understand that they've been allowed in the past, so if they do stay, I'd recommend that anyone listing an ebay link put "FA" standing for auction or "Ebay" somewhere in the subject heading so we can understand that it's an ebay link. I really think it's deceiving when someone lists an ebay item with a FS in the subject heading when the item isn't for sale, but is for auction.

I like the rules prohibiting commercial sellers in the classifieds. Like someone mentioned earlier, if commercial sellers want to advertise on the forum they can buy an ad. As for mentioning deals, I love to hear about a deal, but I understand that it would be difficult to discern shills for commercial sellers from those private parties sincerely passing on a deal.

Anyway, that's my two cents.
Mike

[joe]

Originally posted by mjrap:
Although I sell on ebay I'd prefer no ebay listings here in the classifieds at all. I say this because people come here looking for something other than the bidding wars on ebay. However I understand that they've been allowed in the past, so if they do stay, I'd recommend that anyone listing an ebay link put "FA" standing for auction

I use eBay regularly, but I have no problem with FA in front of auction posts here. That's pretty much the standard in the newsgroups and elsewhere.

As for biz postings, that's a tough call. They tend to get royally flamed in the newsgroups. Especially when they're posting non-Mac items in a Mac group. But where to draw the line? I personally wouldn't mind if a biz posted here. But I don't want to see the forum flooded with what amounts to free advertising space either. Forums should be geared more towards the average person that doesn't have the resources of a business IMHO. So while I wouldn't mind biz posts, I agree there should be some rules so the form remains a good place for the average Mac owner to post as well........joe

[khufuu]

I voted no only because I think that most people on MacNN are pretty good on their own. Although the one button mouse thread was a complete waste however.

If this were the MacAddict forum I would have said yes in an instant.

My only real complaint is when people paste really large graphics in a 'regular' thread. The post a picture of your iBook was fine because you knew when you went into the thread what you were getting into.

[vmarks]

I think the rules you have in mind to enforce are largely unneccessary, and are going to create a lot of unrewarding work for you.

If you want to impose a rule that means people should post with standard prefixes, like WTB, FS, FA, fine, but no one seems to get those right anyway.
Adding a EBAY prefix won't get you very far either.

There aren't a lot of repeat sellers (a few, not a lot) so only a very few will catch onto the prefixes you want to introduce.

Again, this is an ineffective measure that fails to solve a problem- and the problem isn't even really troublesome.

Ebay links are fine- they allow a person to know who the buyer is, instead of trying to sell on ebay and independently list it here, and then having to decide who the real buyer is. Unless of course, you mean to tell people that they can only sell here, and not on ebay-

and only allowing individual ebay links is a nice idea, but then opens up- who is an individual, and why can't people benefit from a business that is upgrading a bunch of machines and getting rid of old stuff?

Basically, you have a lot of nice ideas that fall flat very quickly. Rather than introduce a lot of work for yourself, with a matching level of frustration, why not leave well enough alone, with the occasional thread-watching?

It makes more sense to only do what will be effective and not have unintended consequences.

[nvaughan3]

when I walk into this FS/FT forum, alot of what I see is crap. people spamming every mac forum with their ebay link. Why even allow ebay links? You aren't even selling it, you are auctioning it. I'd prefer that if something is posted here, it needs to have a firm price and it cannot be an auction or a link to an auction. These are pretty standard terms for sale/trading forums all over the net. Without these rules as a foundation, forums inevitebly just end up as a place for junior members to simply post ebay auctions (spam).

If I wanted to bid on something or deal with that hassle, I'd go straight to eBay. FS/FT forums should be a place where goods are offered to by (non dealer) members to fellow members at a decent price.

[phidauex]

I don't mind if ebay listings are posted, but I prefer if they are clearly labeled as ebay listings.

I've bought things on ebay before, but it is such a headache that I really don't like it. If I wanted ibook listings on ebay, i'd just search for 'ibook'. What I'm looking for on forum buy/sell boards isn't just a rehash of the same endless links and furious bidding wars that I get straight off the ebay site, but rather, a personal interaction resulting in a sale.

Putting something on ebay feels like taking a piece of meat, and just tossing it out into a cage of dogs. I'd rather just chat with someone, offer a mutually agreeable price, and make the transaction in a civilized way, instead of go diving into the dog cage.

Now, if you like the dog cage, because sometimes, if you are a vicious dog, you can get good deals, thats fine. But I think that many people who come to these forums to look for listings are here because we decided that the dog cage wasn't for us.

As far as commercial listings, I think part of my concern would be based on the type of deal... I know its hard to judge on the fly, but things like "Hi, my shop has one open box ibook that has been sitting around for a long time, and I need to get rid of it. 700$ to the first person who wants it." is more acceptable in my mind than, "AWESOME DEAL: All new ibooks include 128mb of ram FREE (40$ installation fee required), a FREE "how to utilize your new mac" pamphlet, and an FREE AWESOME MOUSEPAD!! ORDER NOW!!"

Get my drift? Anyway, I know rules like these are hard to enforce fairly, but I think requesting that people posting ebay links make note of it in the title, either with 'Auction' or 'Ebay' or 'FA' or whatever is a reasonable request.

"No commercial posts" would be a pretty good general rule, but once again, hard to determine when personal becomes commercial sometimes.

peace,
phidauex

[Nostrildomus]

I have to agree with several others that think FA (For Auction) should stay on the auction sites. If I want to get into a bidding war I can easily complete a search of one of those sites. I look here to purchase from a fellow Mac person without getting into a bidding war with the sellers friends. It is anoying to come here to find everyone hyping their auctions. No offense intended - just my 2� worth.

....Kenny

[seratne]

how about all items posted FS must have a price included, all posts must include an email address.

take a look at some of the other big(pc) sites with marketplaces, arstechnica and anandtech come to mind immediately.

[RMXO]

Originally posted by seratne:
how about all items posted FS must have a price included, all posts must include an email address.

take a look at some of the other big(pc) sites with marketplaces, arstechnica and anandtech come to mind immediately.

I agree. if you list your stuff here, then list a price. if you want a bidding war then go to an auction site.

www.2cpu.com has some great rules for the For Sale Forum..