Alan,
How about a popup, flashing, bright red window that says READ THE RULES when some one clicks on the Reply box under a For Sale post. Your last notice doesn't seem to have reached a lot of people. Numerous "email sent" posts in the present list.
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We have no way to do what you have suggested, but I sure wish we did.
When you see For Sale posts with "Email Sent" in them, send us an alert about it. Click on the "Take Action" link in the bottom right corner and choose "Report Topic." The computers will do the rest.
Thanks Rich. I haven't done that because I thought it would add to the moderating workload. While I have your attention, Merry Christmas to y'all.
Please suggest to folks selling to just go to their original post and add 'SOLD' rather than bumping it to the top as well!
Also, I think the original poster can delete the post when sold, if there are no replies. That would clean things up a little.
Not all users have their e-mail address in their profile (no idea why). I recently sold something and the buyer posted a reply saying they wanted it. But then I had to post another reply because they had no e-mail address in their profile and it was the only way to communicate.
I stated in my original post to contact me by my e-mail which is in my profile.
So unless e-mail addresses are mandatory in profiles. Not sure you can just say no reply's are allowed.
Some time ago we set the For Sale forum to not allow any replies to a topic. While this solved the problem of "bumping" it also proved to be a genuine problem for some sellers, for the same reasons that Sandjam posted above. If a forum member does not have his email address in the Display Email field, there is no way to reach him other than an "Email Sent" post.
In other words, we can't please everyone on this situation because no matter which way we do it, we get complaints.
SandJam posted:Not all users have their e-mail address in their profile (no idea why). I recently sold something and the buyer posted a reply saying they wanted it. But then I had to post another reply because they had no e-mail address in their profile and it was the only way to communicate.
I stated in my original post to contact me by my e-mail which is in my profile.
So unless e-mail addresses are mandatory in profiles. Not sure you can just say no reply's are allowed.
Sure they can. They can do whatever they want - it's their forum. The item will just sit for sale until the original poster wakes up.
Personally, I'm about to make a list of everyone who's violated the rules in the past month and post it as a form of public shaming before those who can't follow simple directions ruin it for those of use who can.
-Greg
Greg Houser posted:Personally, I'm about to make a list of everyone who's violated the rules in the past month and post it as a form of public shaming before those who can't follow simple directions ruin it for those of use who can.
-Greg
Except it is usually pretty difficult to "shame" those fools who are simply too thick-headed to, A) read the rules, B) understand them, and C) follow them!
Greg Houser posted:SandJam posted:Not all users have their e-mail address in their profile (no idea why). I recently sold something and the buyer posted a reply saying they wanted it. But then I had to post another reply because they had no e-mail address in their profile and it was the only way to communicate.
I stated in my original post to contact me by my e-mail which is in my profile.
So unless e-mail addresses are mandatory in profiles. Not sure you can just say no reply's are allowed.
Sure they can. They can do whatever they want - it's their forum. The item will just sit for sale until the original poster wakes up.
Personally, I'm about to make a list of everyone who's violated the rules in the past month and post it as a form of public shaming before those who can't follow simple directions ruin it for those of use who can.
-Greg
You did not read it correctly. I was the original poster and have my e-mail in my profile. It was the buyer who did not. So I had no choice to reply.
Why not require the poster of an ad, either "for sale" or "wanted", to include their contact info in their post? Those without, will be removed.
If you want to sell something, or are seriously looking for something, you can find the time to add your email address!
Why not require the poster of an ad, either "for sale" or "wanted", to include their contact info in their post? Those without, will be removed.
Because ANYBODY can read the posts. People have to be registered with OGR to look up contact information in the member area. That provides just a bit of security and confidence.
Mo985 posted:Why not require the poster of an ad, either "for sale" or "wanted", to include their contact info in their post? Those without, will be removed.
Except, that would be a major monitoring job for the OGR folks!
If you want to sell something, or are seriously looking for something, you can find the time to add your email address!
The problem with putting one's eMail address into the ad is, you are left open to any internet "scammer" that is NOT a "registered" member of the OGR Forum. There have been a number of folks who complained about being contacted & scammed by someone, that can NOT be traced, as that someone was not a "logged-on registered member". With your eMail address secured within your persona profile on the OGR Forum, ONLY other registered members are able to view your personal profile.
Any potential seller (or buyer) that does NOT have an eMail address listed in their personal profile, is simply wasting his, and everybody else's, time!
It's comical how many members actually believe being a "member" helps the occurrence of non-members being able to read other member info.
There are TONS of accounts made with no posting or other participation activity of any kind, just the 2 points or so created when you submit for an account.
All those accounts were made for some reason, and I doubt anyone would go to the trouble if they weren't getting something out of it (like maybe a way to harvest email addresses, just as a guess off the top of my head).
Also, on a similar vein, typos happen (yes, even on email addresses!). I bought something from a person on the Forum around 2 years ago, and there was a typo in his email address. I had to reply to his post to let him know, so there was a one or 2 cycle of reply/response until we established email contact.
It's comical how many members actually believe being a "member" helps the occurrence of non-members being able to read other member info.
If you don't think there is any value to the protection, then why not put your contact information in your signature?
Before I contact someone in response to a posting here, I look at their membership info.
How long have they been a member.
How many posts have they made.
One of the issues I have, No Response, either from the Wanted item lister, or the Selling item lister...When I Send a Response, I add my phone number, however, very few ever call....Most of the time, it’s all about the $$$$$. Ones reputation is very important, we work a lifetime for it...Great post...
leapinlarry posted:One of the issues I have, No Response, either from the Wanted item lister, or the Selling item lister...When I Send a Response, I add my phone number, however, very few ever call....Most of the time, it’s all about the $$$$$. Ones reputation is very important, we work a lifetime for it...Great post...
Here is how I look at it: If the other person cannot be bothered to respond, I don't want to do business with them anyway.
Leapinlarry, I admire your candor and thanks for listening. At least we know we reached someone. I also have had non responders, and just won't deal with them again.
SandJam posted:Not all users have their e-mail address in their profile (no idea why). I recently sold something and the buyer posted a reply saying they wanted it. But then I had to post another reply because they had no e-mail address in their profile and it was the only way to communicate.
I stated in my original post to contact me by my e-mail which is in my profile.
So unless e-mail addresses are mandatory in profiles. Not sure you can just say no reply's are allowed.
Simple when they do that post, item for sale until someone emails me. Or in the original post place a comment something like I only reply to those who email me, with email in my bio
I feel for you Rich and the others at OGR who have to listen to this issue which has consistently reared its ugly head! You guys are going to get tired one day and say: "DONE!" And then there will be more whining. You are right, you can't win! And all you guys are trying to do is help.
I appreciate this Forum very much. I appreciate all the work and time involved.
C W Burfle posted:
If you don't think there is any value to the protection, then why not put your contact information in your signature?
Because that would be worse. My email address does not permanently reside in my profile either was my point(yes, I am one of those). I am not above temporarily posting it in a form a computer can't automatically process (or at least not without additional logic in any code) once in a while, though that has flaws too, since the person reading has to "get it" when it's not just a link in the form of xxx@yyy.zzz.
-Dave
John H posted:Alan,
How about a popup, flashing, bright red window that says READ THE RULES when some one clicks on the Reply box under a For Sale post. Your last notice doesn't seem to have reached a lot of people. Numerous "email sent" posts in the present list.
OGR Webmaster posted:We have no way to do what you have suggested, but I sure wish we did.
When you see For Sale posts with "Email Sent" in them, send us an alert about it. Click on the "Take Action" link in the bottom right corner and choose "Report Topic." The computers will do the rest.
John H, good topic thread. It was disheartening to see how many “discussion” replies continued to occur in several For-Sale listings even after Rich’s post on that very subject. Sort of proves that some (or many!) don’t read—or choose to disregard—the posted For Sale Forum rules.
Rich, I understand that you can’t do the pop-up message that John recommended above. For curiosity’s sake, what do you mean when you say “the computers will do the rest” when someone “Reports Topic”? Do you (or someone at OGR) have to take some sort of manual action to either edit individual reply posts or delete the thread entirely?
It's working! There is a buyer upset because he posted, but lost the sale because of email. Kudos to the seller.
OGR Webmaster posted:Some time ago we set the For Sale forum to not allow any replies to a topic. While this solved the problem of "bumping" it also proved to be a genuine problem for some sellers, for the same reasons that Sandjam posted above.
As a frequent poster of "for sale " items, it wasn't a problem at all for me as a seller......
Honestly, I have no issue with putting it back to where you cannot reply to for sale ads. The one nice thing about that setup is that you can delete your FS post after its sold and keep the forum cleaned up.
That way it also forces buyers to e-mail the seller since there is no Reply option. I don't really have issues with replies like most do on here. There are too many bigger issues in the world today. I would be happy with whatever the OGR moderators decide.
I'm a frequent buyer. I support removal of the replies. This will stop the bumping, discussions, compliments, and chit chat.
as of this morning ,it looks like some people still not getting the message from Alan.....some one pulled an ad from 2016 for the rocket booster set,and thinks its for sale.....so ads a year old+ are now bumping new ads from the past day /week/month.....please Alan A.....lock this back up...
Old ads don't cause much of a recurrent problem; doesn't disrupt much. It's the inane ones that serve no useful purpose that bother me. They occur too often.
I would say go back to no replies and require members to have an email address if they want to play in the OGR sand box.
Chris Lonero posted:I would say go back to no replies and require members to have an email address if they want to play in the OGR sand box.
1) I agree with absolutely NO REPLIES on the For Sale or Trade and Wanted to Buy Forums.
2)Totally disagree with ANY requirement to have ones personal eMail published openly, even in ones person profile, on the OGR Forums! To be a "member" and "logged on" to the OGR Forums, does require one's eMail address be furnished to the Webmaster of the OGR Forums, however only the OGR Forum Webmaster and Moderators can see that eMail address.
Concerning the Buy Sell or Trade, and Wanted to Buy, forums, if a poster/lister is too stupid to have his eMail listed in his Personal Profile, then he/she really doesn't deserve ANY responses, and thus no chance of sell or purchasing ANYTHING, in my opinion.
Steims posted:I'm a frequent buyer. I support removal of the replies. This will stop the bumping, discussions, compliments, and chit chat.
I agree, but it won't stop the complaining, b*^ching, moaning, and wringing of hands, like happened last time.
Hot Water posted:Concerning the Buy Sell or Trade, and Wanted to Buy, forums, if a poster/lister is too stupid to have his eMail listed in his Personal Profile, then he/she really doesn't deserve ANY responses, and thus no chance of sell or purchasing ANYTHING, in my opinion.
I agree with this, too.
So if you don't put up your email in your profile, how does this discussion affect you? You would only be a buyer.
Hot Water posted:1) I agree with absolutely NO REPLIES on the For Sale or Trade and Wanted to Buy Forums.
Yes!
2)Totally disagree with ANY requirement to have ones personal eMail published openly, even in ones person profile, on the OGR Forums! To be a "member" and "logged on" to the OGR Forums, does require one's eMail address be furnished to the Webmaster of the OGR Forums, however only the OGR Forum Webmaster and Moderators can see that eMail address.
Yes!
Concerning the Buy Sell or Trade, and Wanted to Buy, forums, if a poster/lister is too stupid to have his eMail listed in his Personal Profile, then he/she really doesn't deserve ANY responses, and thus no chance of sell or purchasing ANYTHING, in my opinion.
More than a bit short sighted -- when I am selling I put my contact info in the listing broken into name (AT) provider.
Greg Houser posted:Personally, I'm about to make a list of everyone who's violated the rules in the past month and post it as a form of public shaming before those who can't follow simple directions ruin it for those of use who can.
-Greg
He's making a list, checking it twice, gonna find out whose naughty or nice 
Greg I couldn't resist
Hope you have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Has anyone ever heard the term "don't look a gift horse in the mouth"? That seems to be the case here. OGR provides us the members with an avenue to buy and sell here "free of charge" in a day and age when almost nothing is free anymore. So how could we ever show OGR our gratitude for this free membership perk?
I've got an idea! How about half of us don't follow the rules and the other half publicly gripe about it. If that don't show OGR our appreciation I don't know what will.
Has anyone ever heard the term "don't look a gift horse in the mouth"? That seems to be the case here. OGR provides us the members with an avenue to buy and sell here "free of charge" in a day and age when almost nothing is free anymore. So how could we ever show OGR our gratitude for this free membership perk?
It would be a shame for this perk to disappear.
That is why I don't generally flag anybody who violates the Buy / Sell board rules. I think the moderators have better ways to spend their time.
It could happen. I don't believe there is anybody who doesn't know the rules and the spirit in which they are intended. Think about it before violating the rules next time.
I think the OGR should go back to locking the posts to read only, and automatically delete posts over a certain age.
C W Burfle posted:
I think the OGR should go back to locking the posts to read only, and automatically delete posts over a certain age.
The best suggestion of the day!!!!!!!
We wouldn't be having all this conversation if my original post was possible. Maybe we can help ourselves.From now on, when I post a for sale, I will post in BOLD RED:READ THE RULES BEFORE REPLYING
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