For Sale and Want to Buy posts

Could solve this without upgrade.  Just mandate that all posts for Wanted to Buy must be prefaced with WTB:   Similar on For Sale as FS:  and For Trade as FT:   Many of us already post that way but maybe it should be required convention.

Requiring it would need policing, which the moderators don't need any more of.

Ok then don’t police it.  Just put the expectation in the rules for posting in those forums.   It won’t be perfect 100% but it we will see improvement.  

All it takes is some common sense.  If you are selling something, why would you not preface the title with F/S?  Same with WTB.  Same with two rail items.  John

@Mark V. Spadaro posted:

....I know I have clicked dozens of times, expecting a discussion of the subject, only to learn it is either a wanted item or, an unwanted item being sold.

They got you to click on it. 

I use FS or WTB, but not using it looks like a bait and switch tactic. The more folks that look at the post, the better chance it will sell.

I'm all in on the idea, but it's hard to get the word to everyone, like the ones that only use the forum to sell something. They won't be reading this thread. I have posted a number of times about deleting your own post when the item is sold, but we still get many listings just marked "SOLD". Two clicks will allow someone else's post to move up a notch.

I'm strongly opposed to "requiring" something in the title.  I like the idea, but it should just be a suggestion.  If someone ignores the suggestion, he's likely to get less bites on his sale items.

Gosh, never mind the F/S: or WTB:, sometimes the title doesn't have any useful information!  Others are so general that they're close to useless.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I'm strongly opposed to "requiring" something in the title.  I like the idea, but it should just be a suggestion.  If someone ignores the suggestion, he's likely to get less bites on his sale items.

Exactly! Earlier someone mentioned "common sense" when developing post titles, except that "common sense" is no longer "common".

Gosh, never mind the F/S: or WTB:, sometimes the title doesn't have any useful information!  Others are so general that they're close to useless.

More and more of this "lack of useful information" in post titles, is becoming more and more common throughout the OGR Forums.

@Hot Water posted:

Exactly! Earlier someone mentioned "common sense" when developing post titles, except that "common sense" is no longer "common".

My objection is really that we're gearing our whole society to the lowest common denominator, I think that's a dangerous path to follow.  There has to be a minimum level of expectation.  What made this country great was not because we catered to the bottom.  Let's not go there now.

I would think that programming could be added so all for sale notices have "For sale" added to the title and similarly for "Wanted to buy."  Then nobody feels imposed upon and all titles are informative.  If not, requesting folks to add F/S or WTB at the beginning of the title doesn't seem an enormous imposition.  No need for policing I would think.

I really couldn’t care less about this. While it is true that sometimes I have clicked on a subject only to find out it was a FS or WTB post I simply clicked back to where I was. I wasted maybe 10-15 seconds of my time and 2 clicks. No big deal.

When I try to sell something here I always put the FS in the title because I feel it gives it a better chance to sell if someone is looking and they are not in the FS forum.

However, if the powers that be want to make it a requirement I will abide by the rules but my opinion is, as John said, it should not be a requirement.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

My objection is really that we're gearing our whole society to the lowest common denominator, I think that's a dangerous path to follow.  There has to be a minimum level of expectation.  What made this country great was not because we catered to the bottom.  Let's not go there now.

Too late...

I think that having FS or WTB in the title is just common sense, and definitely agree that the moderators don't need any more babysitting tasks.

My "wants" for that forum are:

1) A requirement that the poster has an email address in their profile - this is something that could be automated.

2) A method for smacking people on the head when they include their email address or phone number in the post.  This might take a bit more work... 

@Mallard4468 posted:

2) A method for smacking people on the head when they include their email address or phone number in the post.  This might take a bit more work...

Truthfully, I could care less if people include personal data in their posts.  It doesn't affect me in the slightest, so if they don't mind the SPAM or worse that results from that inclusion, it's OK by me.

See my previous comment about the lowest common denominator.

@Landsteiner posted:

I would think that programming could be added so all for sale notices have "For sale" added to the title and similarly for "Wanted to buy."  Then nobody feels imposed upon and all titles are informative.  If not, requesting folks to add F/S or WTB at the beginning of the title doesn't seem an enormous imposition.  No need for policing I would think.

You would be surprised!  I am willing to bet that 80% (or more) do not read the for sale rules found within the featured topics of that forum.  Our most troublesome category is the for sale/trade and it consumes MOST of our forum resources yet we continue to make it free to the membership.

OK guys, I went into the for sale / trade rules and added the suggestion to "Please" add F/S and/or Trade to your listing.  Right now, until there is an upgrade, this is all we can do.  Now, lets see how many folks actually do this...any bets on the table?