Hotrodders.com classified ad issues
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==Buy/sell forum== | ==Buy/sell forum== | ||
− | One solution that has been proposed is a designated buy/sell forum, where Hotrodders.com members would be free to post and discuss the buying, selling, and trading of hot rod parts and services. Threads could possibly be deleted after a set time (a week, a month, etc.). If a buy/sell post appeared in a tech forum thread, the post could be split out into a new thread in the buy/sell forum. | + | One solution that has been proposed is a designated buy/sell forum, where Hotrodders.com members would be free to post and discuss the buying, selling, and trading of hot rod parts and services. It could be structured like this: |
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+ | *Threads could possibly be deleted after a set time (a week, a month, etc.). | ||
+ | *If a buy/sell post appeared in a tech forum thread, the post could be split out into a new thread in the buy/sell forum. | ||
+ | *Posting in the forum could be limited to users with > X posts. | ||
+ | *A "nag screen" could be used when the user posted a new thread in the forum. The nag screen could encourage use of the classifieds instead of or in addition to the buy/sell forum, and promote the guidelines. | ||
===Points in favor of a buy/sell forum=== | ===Points in favor of a buy/sell forum=== | ||
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*The format of the classified ads is much more cut-and-dried than a discussion. This cuts down on using subtle conversational methods to game the guidelines. | *The format of the classified ads is much more cut-and-dried than a discussion. This cuts down on using subtle conversational methods to game the guidelines. | ||
*Any potential commercial intrusion can't be handled lightly. The potential for abuse has to be well thought-out before proceeding. | *Any potential commercial intrusion can't be handled lightly. The potential for abuse has to be well thought-out before proceeding. | ||
+ | *It could set up a precedent where members would simply post a buy/sell post anywhere on the forum, knowing that it would just be transferred by a moderator to the buy/sell forum. | ||
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+ | ===Questions/issues about a buy/sell forum=== | ||
+ | *How would we want it to be treated in Google? Should we allow spidering of the buy/sell posts? | ||
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+ | ==Other solutions== | ||
+ | It's been suggested that people don't look up toward the top of Hotrodders.com pages, where the link to the classifieds is posted. On the main forum page, we could intersperse a link to the classifieds with the links to the main forums (Engine, Interior, Garage-Tools, etc.). This feature is available in the vBulletin software that the forum uses, which suggests that it's commonly used by other forums. | ||
==External links== | ==External links== |