Two Things I Would Like To Suggest.

[Colonel Dibble]

I have had a little discussion with MBOU about these:
 
1. Being able to edit posts.
 
I understand why this could be a problem however, I think it is for the best as some people make threads with tank progression and it would be easy for them to edit their first post to re add a picture into it etc.
But the main reason I think it is better is for sales threads.
 
The amount of times I have recieved enquiries about some items that I am selling that I have already stated are sold, but people only read the first post and then PM me, it's rather frustrating. It would be a lot tidier and would stop a lot less spam.
 
2.Feedback Threads.
 
I can also see the issues with this, however, any issues could be squashed easily. Basically you could have a feedback folder. In the folder contains individual threads for each person. for Example
 
I have made a few deals on here, one recently with Collie96. He or She could simply create a thread named: Colonel Dibble and leave feedback there. And I would do the same. next time I make a transaction I will link the nect person to the thread, they leave me feedback and so on. All transactions have to be made in threads, so any false or bias feedback could be soon dealt with, by proving you made a transaction.
 
What do you guys think. I think it's a necessity in my opinion to have both of these. But let me know.

 

[RCA]

My thoughts on these:
 
When I designed a Community Forum years ago, we allowed editing of a post until someone posted below it, then it was locked.  This was to ensure that the corresponding discussion correlated with the original post.  In respect to someones journal on their tank progression, I believe it is part of their journey to document with pictures as the journal progresses, so I personally would not want this feature to edit the original or it could get messy.  Unfortunately what we need to realise is that if someone cannot read a thread that something has change and respond accordingly they are likely to also get into all sorts of bother being able to go back and edit a post constantly.
 
I can understand the logic with the sales thread, but is this not more about education than altering the way the forum works?  I guess we also need to balance how often people are posting sales vs the time it would take to amend the forum to manage this problem?
A few options that may assist with sales:
1. The posts could work backwards with the newest information first?  This could become frustrating if there is a lot of posts following the original sales post.
2. Once sold the thread becomes locked?  The disadvantage of this is that if it is something that is likely to be sold again in the future e.g. plants, a member cannot express their interest for future stock.  Not my preferred option.
3. The mods put in large red text in BOLD that the item is *** Sold *** at the top in the original post, and/or strike-through of the text.   The challenge with this is that it is more work for the mods, however, I am sure it would not be too large a job for someone?  It would be the responsibility of the member selling the item to contact the mod(s) responsible for the sales to PM them once the item was sold.  I believe this could work quite well if the moderators are up for it, or a new mod to look after sales is appointed?
 
In respect to Feedback Threads
I guess this is along the lines of e-bay etc?  Feedback could be linked to the sale item or to the person's profile, or both.  What I tend to do when I send a PM for sales is include the URL to the particular item I am paying for, it would be good if this was automatic i.e. a button within the sales thread possibly?  The reason for this is I often get an PM called "Plants" or "Equipment" plus Paypal details, yet I like to link to what it is I am actually paying for.
 
I believe it would be a neat feature to have feedback on the seller and the buyer linked into their profiles but wonder how much code will be needed to produce such a feature?
 
Building on the feedback theme, it would be beneficial if the feedback thread was extended to people being able to put a short comment on a persons profile if they had found someone helpful with a particular situation or event.  This would assist members as they would be able to see by date, newest first, what knowledge a particular member has based on feedback from others?  It could also be along the lines of the five stars that Amazon et al use.  Of course the member who owns the profile would be able to manage these comments.  Thoughts?
 
Just on another matter, would it be possible to fix the "About Me" link in the profiles, which currently returns an error (as below)?
Error: Could not load template 'tabAboutMe' from group 'profile'[/size]
 
Happy to hear what you think Colonel Dibble and others ...

 

[Lunar Jetman]

In my opinion some feedback system could work and could be a good idea. However I don't agree with post editing as this could lead to all sorts of problems.

Maybe the solution is RCA's third option but this would need the mods to decide if they're happy to take on a bit more work.

 

[MBOU]

Just to clarify, I did point out the flaws in the ideas and explained why we have such short editing time frame. We would love to take the limitations off the sales section completely but unfortunately its all or nothing. We dont however have a hugely busy sales section to warrant messing about with it too much, likewise for adding functions. People are rarely likely to sell more than one or two things really, nothing serious..
 
I missunderstood the idea of Feedback initially until i read this thread, personally.. the idea of it terrifies me. Would be very easy to become a slanging match (just as it is on ebay!) because if someone isnt happy and says so... but didnt bring it up with the seller first?... well....
 
It would be a nightmare to moderate because it would all come down to moderators personal judgement of what is or isnt acceptable because there couldnt be a set rule

 

[Chad]

What she said^^^
 
The site has a built in ranking system. I can see if it can be turned on just for one forum and then that sale can be ranked up or down by members which would serve as an indication of how good the seller is. I'm not sure I care for this though for the reasons mentioned by MBOU. We really practice caveat emptor here and it's up to the perspective buyer to ask the right questions and take due caution. The rule to require all transactions to be made in public is the best help the forum itself can provide.

 

[Lunar Jetman]

I'd say then the mods aren't happy for the justifiable reasons above re feedback.

And I still don't agree with post editing either!

 

[RCA]

[deleted]...We dont however have a hugely busy sales section to warrant messing about with it too much, likewise for adding functions. People are rarely likely to sell more than one or two things really, nothing serious...[deleted]

Yup, I believe you always have to balance the time to code vs the amount it would be used and agree there is not a lot (at present) of activity in the Sales to warrant any major coding, hence an alternative of option three - what do the mods think of this option?  Or, again is there not enough use-age to warrant this?
 
I agree with the comments ala feedback and as per Lunar Jetman, I do not agree with editing posts for the reasons already outlined, sorry Colonel Dibble.
 
Can the following be fixed at all?
 

Just on another matter, would it be possible to fix the "About Me" link in the profiles, which currently returns an error (as below)?
Error: Could not load template 'tabAboutMe' from group 'profile'[/size]

 

[Chad]

Not so far. I've beat my head against that one. The template is actually missing. It's not just that the call to the template is wrong...that template is gone. One can actually edit the information contained in the About Me area from their profile editor but the template to view it is missing. The odd thing is it's not in any skin set at all. It's like it never existed. I removed the call to it and reset the templates but it didn't go away like it should...it remained but just called it elsewhere...so...eventually yes but in the short term no...it's going to require a lot more research. I searched the IP.Board forum for it and no one even seems to miss it yet a google search showed that several other forums have the same issue.

 

[RCA]

How weird, yes I was aware of editing it in the main section, would it be advisable to remove the link then?  I guess some of the "older" members, may have an issue with that as it seems to work for some.
 
For those wanting to know how to enter your data in this section:
 
it is in EDIT MY PROFILE then click on the button Edit about Me

 

[Supraman]

Would it be possible to make it so one could only edit posts in the for sale section? That way he could do this himself without needing someone to do it for him? Coming from two huge car forums ( supraforums.com, dsmtuners.com) I can say that being able to edit even in just that one section would help out a lot and would tidy that section up a bit. I typically will read through the add and judge by what is listed for sale and if I don't see a SOLD beside it I will inquire about the item.

I agree that one should not be able to edit every single post he makes, but in the for sale section I do believe it makes sence and can see the OP's frustration as I've been there many times

 

[RCA]

The risk with this is that the item for sale could then be changed causing confusion for all concerned.  I have been confused when I have seen the mods do this with one of their own posts i.e. they have the power!  Therefore, personally I would not enable editing for this and all the reasons previously posted.  I do not think it would be too large a job for the Mods to do, if they so chose, equally if the seller put SOLD at the bottom post in large bright coloured font (as below), hopefully the members would take note.  Also, according to the forum sales rules, all sales should be agreed in the open forum and not by PM, therefore, the member who posts firsts should be the initial buyer of the item and any further members should post openly so that we can all benefit from questions or agreed prices.  It can be very frustrating to post and find the seller has sold the item, potentially behind the scenes (or on another forum) - which breaks the rules anyway!
 

*** SOLD ***​

 

[Chad]

I belong to a local reef club and we do a lot of buying, selling , and trading on the club forum. We don't edit the original post ever. If there are changes we make a new post in the thread. We don't want any issues of people changing information or prices in a sale thread without there being a clear record of that change. Editing of sale threads allows for someone to change the rules mid-game. When a sale is pending they post pending and when it is sold they post sold.

 

[RCA]

Sounds good to me

 

[JenJ]

As an alternative, how about the thread being deleted once the item is sold and the buyer and seller are both happy? Then when people look in the classified section, they know everything there is available?

 

[RCA]

Good suggestion but IMO the only issue with that JenJ is that there is no history recorded should it be required