Classified Ads....

I deleted a thread today that was started by a good member where he was trying to part out a couple of bikes. Then another member added on that he had parts for sale also. The original poster stated that his parts were in the classifieds for a long time and that he never got a single inquiry. He finally got some interest when he posted them to the forum. That, as you all know by now, is not allowed.

I'm not trying to be difficult but there are valid reasons for not posting for sale items in the forums. If you DO insist on posting them in the forums, they should ONLY be posted in the links to Craigslist, Ebay, and Classifieds section. There are two reasons for posting them ONLY in that forum:

1. Those posts get pruned by date so old items sold will be pruned at some point. Sold or not sold, they get pruned by date.

2. That forum can only be posted in by supporting members. Why is that important? Because you, the members, voted long ago and then later, again, to only allow ads to be posted by supporting members. You didn't want total strangers joining up here just to spam our website or simply to try and sell stuff. You wanted to see ads only from people that you had some connection to. I agreed to that and actually, I think it's a good idea so that is how we do it.

The other reason that ads are NOT allowed in any other forums is that they end up being there for a long time, sometimes years. Look how many posts get made here. I and the moderators simply don't have enough hours available to comb through each and every post and delete the ones that are no longer valid. We shouldn't have to do that anyway. If we just prune all the forums by date, then a lot of good and helpful information will be gone forever.

Those are the reasons it is done the way it is.

So I would ask all of you to start using the classifieds. I'm not talking about just when you are trying to sell things but also when you are looking to buy things. Make it a habit. Think of it like a newspaper. You wouldn't open the newspaper and read the Sports Section if you were trying to find a good used truck for sale would you? It's the same here. If you are looking for parts, check the classifieds. Those who have things for sale will gain much more confidence in the classifieds if they knew that people were looking at them. I will say one other thing about the ads though. I've seen many times where somebody asked a question in the comments section of an ad but never got a response. If you have something there for sale, check it once in a while to see if there are any responses. If you are a buyer and want a quick answer, the seller's username is always listed. Click on it and send them a PM to be sure.

It seems that I have to repeat this stuff every year or two but that's OK. I just want to remind everybody why some things are the way that they are and also give our newer members a little heads up.

Thanks

Well put as always Don,, thank you!!

Along the same line, a while back I read a comment requesting that housekeeping/pruning be made here in the club's forums to old posts. As I recall,, some of us members spoke up about wanting to maintain the integrity of past posts for sentimental and archival useful purposes.. I still am not sure about whether or not past posts/threads are deleted on a regular basis, are they? If they are,, what is the criteria for the removal? The thought of seeing past posts deleted came up again with the loss of my friend Yammer Dan,, I would love to be able to read/reread Dan's post for many years to come (I know,,, I am a sentimental varmint). Personally, I think that post deletion should only happen, unless of course we are talking those posts that violate our clubs posting rules, with some form of knowledge by the membership (such as deletion by stated date expiration) so anyone who would like to make a personal copy of those posts before they are deleted can do so..

Can you or one of the mods make comment of where this post pruning thingy currently is at?

Thanks Boss

Puc

There is no systematic deleting of posts simply because they are old. It really depends upon the content. Tech Talk posts are rarely deleted unless they are just jibber jabber with no real meaningful help at all. Watering hole posts are sometimes deleted by oldest. That is why it is important that tech type posts are started in the tech talk areas, those are the posts that have the most historical value for people with a problem. Links to Classifieds, Ebay, Craigslist are the most often deleted and in fact, should automatically prune on their own but it doesn't seem to always work. That is why for sale type stuff is posted there. It makes no sense to preserve ads that are long expired for items no longer listed or available.

Thanks Don,,, was just concerned that threads like this: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?15325-Warden-I-Love-You!!! may get tossed without the membership knowing it was being disgarded...

I deleted a thread today that was started by a good member where he was trying to part out a couple of bikes. Then another member added on that he had parts for sale also. The original poster stated that his parts were in the classifieds for a long time and that he never got a single inquiry. He finally got some interest when he posted them to the forum. That, as you all know by now, is not allowed.

 

I'm not trying to be difficult but there are valid reasons for not posting for sale items in the forums. If you DO insist on posting them in the forums, they should ONLY be posted in the links to Craigslist, Ebay, and Classifieds section. There are two reasons for posting them ONLY in that forum:

 

1. Those posts get pruned by date so old items sold will be pruned at some point. Sold or not sold, they get pruned by date.

 

2. That forum can only be posted in by supporting members. Why is that important? Because you, the members, voted long ago and then later, again, to only allow ads to be posted by supporting members. You didn't want total strangers joining up here just to spam our website or simply to try and sell stuff. You wanted to see ads only from people that you had some connection to. I agreed to that and actually, I think it's a good idea so that is how we do it.

 

The other reason that ads are NOT allowed in any other forums is that they end up being there for a long time, sometimes years. Look how many posts get made here. I and the moderators simply don't have enough hours available to comb through each and every post and delete the ones that are no longer valid. We shouldn't have to do that anyway. If we just prune all the forums by date, then a lot of good and helpful information will be gone forever.

 

Those are the reasons it is done the way it is.

 

So I would ask all of you to start using the classifieds. I'm not talking about just when you are trying to sell things but also when you are looking to buy things. Make it a habit. Think of it like a newspaper. You wouldn't open the newspaper and read the Sports Section if you were trying to find a good used truck for sale would you? It's the same here. If you are looking for parts, check the classifieds. Those who have things for sale will gain much more confidence in the classifieds if they knew that people were looking at them. I will say one other thing about the ads though. I've seen many times where somebody asked a question in the comments section of an ad but never got a response. If you have something there for sale, check it once in a while to see if there are any responses. If you are a buyer and want a quick answer, the seller's username is always listed. Click on it and send them a PM to be sure.

 

It seems that I have to repeat this stuff every year or two but that's OK. I just want to remind everybody why some things are the way that they are and also give our newer members a little heads up.

 

Thanks

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

Thanks Don,,, was just concerned that threads like this: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?15325-Warden-I-Love-You!!! may get tossed without the membership knowing it was being disgarded...

Yes, that is a good example of one that could eventually get deleted. The Watering Hole is occasionally pruned by date. There is no way that I have time to go through thousands of threads and choose which ones to keep. I agree there are some that would be sad to loose.

Yes, that is a good example of one that could eventually get deleted. The Watering Hole is occasionally pruned by date. There is no way that I have time to go through thousands of threads and choose which ones to keep. I agree there are some that would be sad to loose.

I TOTALLY get that brother,,, I was just wondering if there was some kind of time frame, delete period time, or something that we could be made aware of as members so if we wanted to we could make copies of posts before they were deleted? I have already started the process of doing my own archiving of ones like I posted as an example - just thinking better safe than sorry..

I did put my ad every way I knew how in the classifieds section here.members have asked where? I don't see it, etc. I am not trying to violate rules.First of all I didnt know there was a rule.Then freebird said i couldnt do that i saw another member had parts listed in this forum so i thought it was because my parts were mentioned in a random thread and not just for sale that i could do it that way.Forums have to have rules.I abide them when I fully understand them.I am also a member of venturers.org. Very inferior to this forum, but thats my opinion,not necessarily the same as others. Guys like flyin fool and cowpuc are huge help to me.I appreciate that.I have had ventures x 7. But because the nature of the bike doesnt need repair much I am not familiar with all its problems and how to fix them. So to anyone and everyone here, I am sorry for violating the rules. And if someone can tell me why my ad is not findable by others that would be helpful.parts for old ventures are plentiful if one knows where to look.As in a venture forum.Thanks ya'll. (contraction for you all).

If you post your ad in the classifieds, others can see it. It's not really your fault that people aren't in the habit of looking there for parts. That is why I started this thread, to encourage people to check the classifieds so that they see ads posted by other members.

As for not having permissions, if you try to post to "Ebay Ads", you won't have permission. That is all Ebay ads and is automatically populated by a script.

The forum you CAN post in, though classifieds is preferable, is the Links to Ebay, Craigslist, Classifieds. When you put your items in the classifieds, it automatically gets added to that forum without you doing anything else but if you want to manually post there, you can. This is the forum I am talking about.

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?181-Links-to-Classifieds-Craigslist-Ebay-Sales-Etc

As far as people not knowing the rules about ads in the forums, there is a "Sticky Thread" right at the top of the watering hole that I posted about 4 years ago in an effort to get the word out. Here it is:

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?87332-Classifieds-No-more-mister-nice-guy

If you post your ad in the classifieds, others can see it. It's not really your fault that people aren't in the habit of looking there for parts. That is why I started this thread, to encourage people to check the classifieds so that they see ads posted by other members.

 

As for not having permissions, if you try to post to "Ebay Ads", you won't have permission. That is all Ebay ads and is automatically populated by a script.

 

The forum you CAN post in, though classifieds is preferable, is the Links to Ebay, Craigslist, Classifieds. When you put your items in the classifieds, it automatically gets added to that forum without you doing anything else but if you want to manually post there, you can. This is the forum I am talking about.

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?181-Links-to-Classifieds-Craigslist-Ebay-Sales-Etc

 

As far as people not knowing the rules about ads in the forums, there is a "Sticky Thread" right at the top of the watering hole that I posted about 4 years ago in an effort to get the word out. Here it is:

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?87332-Classifieds-No-more-mister-nice-guy

I found the classifieds thread through your link. I wasnt here 4 years ago. I read your 4 year old post.You were mad then and you are mad now. I am sorry people dont follow the rules. I will follow them.Thanks for the links.

LOL...I wish you knew me better. If you did, you would know that I'm not mad at all. Wasn't then and am not now. I am just trying to get people to follow this simple rule. We don't have many.

I found the classifieds thread through your link. I wasnt here 4 years ago. I read your 4 year old post.You were mad then and you are mad now. I am sorry people dont follow the rules. I will follow them.Thanks for the links.

Hey Cruise,,, because I am a human bean too and have hit the keyboard at times to participate in our club activities here on several occasions, I can honestly say I know exactly how you feel and where you are coming from.. Something I learned early on during a time when I was taking something said here a little more personally than I should have was that because this is the internet and our communications here are completely limited to the written word with zero access to the all the other modes of communication that support items like contextual support, I needed to do a reality check on my skin thickness meter. That reality check time period for me provided me with the incentive to actually get out and meet,, in real life, numbers of the people here on VR so I could in fact see for myself whether or not my feelings were justified.. Here is what I found after doing just that and engaging all those other modes of communications with Don (Freebird) and many other site managers and members here at VR:

1. Don really doesnt get mad or do things out of spite,,, quite frankly,, that is not in his nature.. What is in Don's nature is the ability to run one of the finest internet websites available and a HUGE part of that comes out in his organizational skill. Once I met Don and thought about the size of the task he deals with on a daily basis just in maintaining equalibrium here on the site I decided to give him a break and try to examine any future hard feelings on my part as a result of actions he had taken on the site under the light of understanding this. In the end,, I think a little thicker skin on my part was formed and, IMHO,, that thicker skin has made my time here in the club more enjoyable.

2. Much mention has been made on the site of a penalty box, club probation and on and on. Quite frankly,,, those things are actually a myth.. We may joke around about being singled out and set aside for a cooling off period or something but the fact is,, its all a myth.. What is not a myth is that, on the very very rare occasion that we really do end up with a real bad egg in our midst,, someone who is out to destroy our club or injure one of our members,,, without getting mad - Don will step in and do the not so much fun job of unplugging the persons membership BUT again,, even that is very rare.

3. I include this ONLY because it is a good example of how easy it is for things to go south when judgement is made only by the written word.. I started picking on a really good friend and brother of mine here on the site and started a rumor that he had a machine that produces snow and that he controls the weather. A while into this picking on my brother time and during a phone conversation with him, I was shocked to learn that he actually had people who were actually upset with him over what he had done to the weather:doh:... He and I chuckled about that but truthfully,, when I looked at my own heart and the times that I had misinterpreted things I had read on the site I realised that, in some cases,, even the thought that someone believed there was one ioda of truth behind my joke involving my teasing of my friend did have a side to it that is not funny.. Fact is,, FlyinFool really does not control the weather..

I guess what I am saying here is that,, again IMHO,, that old saying about judging a book by it's cover may have some really deep value to it for for those who want to look for it.... Oh great,,,, now I am back on club probation for calling Don a book

I would like to add that this is never personal. Heck, I didn't even mention any names when I started this thread. It was meant as a reminder to all and a note to our newer members. It happens from time to time. Heck, nobody even got put on double secret probation over this. I personally have no hard feelings over it towards anybody involved. Absolutely none whatsoever. So carry on...Eat, Drink, Be Merry.

I even started a poll to gauge whether or not people still feel the same way about the classifieds as they did the last time we discussed this a few years ago. I'm open to input and opinions and the member's preferences are important to me. I will make changes when the majority ask for them, to the extent that I am able to do so.

Hey Cruise,,, because I am a human bean too and have hit the keyboard at times to participate in our club activities here on several occasions, I can honestly say I know exactly how you feel and where you are coming from.. Something I learned early on during a time when I was taking something said here a little more personally than I should have was that because this is the internet and our communications here are completely limited to the written word with zero access to the all the other modes of communication that support items like contextual support, I needed to do a reality check on my skin thickness meter. That reality check time period for me provided me with the incentive to actually get out and meet,, in real life, numbers of the people here on VR so I could in fact see for myself whether or not my feelings were justified.. Here is what I found after doing just that and engaging all those other modes of communications with Don (Freebird) and many other site managers and members here at VR:

 

1. Don really doesnt get mad or do things out of spite,,, quite frankly,, that is not in his nature.. What is in Don's nature is the ability to run one of the finest internet websites available and a HUGE part of that comes out in his organizational skill. Once I met Don and thought about the size of the task he deals with on a daily basis just in maintaining equalibrium here on the site I decided to give him a break and try to examine any future hard feelings on my part as a result of actions he had taken on the site under the light of understanding this. In the end,, I think a little thicker skin on my part was formed and, IMHO,, that thicker skin has made my time here in the club more enjoyable.

2. Much mention has been made on the site of a penalty box, club probation and on and on. Quite frankly,,, those things are actually a myth.. We may joke around about being singled out and set aside for a cooling off period or something but the fact is,, its all a myth.. What is not a myth is that, on the very very rare occasion that we really do end up with a real bad egg in our midst,, someone who is out to destroy our club or injure one of our members,,, without getting mad - Don will step in and do the not so much fun job of unplugging the persons membership BUT again,, even that is very rare.

3. I include this ONLY because it is a good example of how easy it is for things to go south when judgement is made only by the written word.. I started picking on a really good friend and brother of mine here on the site and started a rumor that he had a machine that produces snow and that he controls the weather. A while into this picking on my brother time and during a phone conversation with him, I was shocked to learn that he actually had people who were actually upset with him over what he had done to the weather:doh:... He and I chuckled about that but truthfully,, when I looked at my own heart and the times that I had misinterpreted things I had read on the site I realised that, in some cases,, even the thought that someone believed there was one ioda of truth behind my joke involving my teasing of my friend did have a side to it that is not funny.. Fact is,, FlyinFool really does not control the weather..

 

I guess what I am saying here is that,, again IMHO,, that old saying about judging a book by it's cover may have some really deep value to it for for those who want to look for it.... Oh great,,,, now I am back on club probation for calling Don a book

Wait a minute Puc. You saying FlyingFool DOESNT control the weather?? Dagnabbit! Now I need to apologize for all the PM’s asking him to change it!! Lol!

I may have talked to don once before.I am not sure.I could not get my signon and password to work and a guy called me and fixed it.He also said he was the one that started venturers.org.That is a good site, but i like this one a lot better.For one, if I asked a question there if they thought i already ought to know the answer they never responded. On another some guys would have you dismantling many things on your motorcycle to fix what they diagnosed.most of the time on these and nearly any other bike a lot of fixes are simple.As it has been said here by a few members, dont throw money at it till you to get the right thing bought .installed.Anyhow, if that was don, it was nice to talk to him.I have the 86 I need to put a starter on even though several times I have been told that might not be the problem.I know it is now since flyin fool gave me a whole bunch of things to check first. i can do anything to a car. Bikes are similar but very different at the same time. I dont want anybody to get mad or make anyone mad. If i did I apologize. Gotta go now.Thanks guys for everything. I spent 5 hours on my xj650 and now have it running like a top.Thank god for parts bikes.I installed new disc pads today.But I had to transplant the mastercylinder, the caliper,the seat,handlebars,sidecover,headlight bucket and a new headlight.Still have to transplant the signals. Has anyone under the age of 60 ever heard of jis screwdrivers.The kid had put flat dragbars on.Which made the mastercylinder sit at about a 45 degree angle.Then he rounded out the slots in the screws,which led to a destroyed cover and need for replacement which fortunately I had.Then I will install the front fender.He had taken the stock seat, whittled it down to nearly nothing.He was going to CAFE it he said.I saved it. My black 86 I manged to destroy the left side of the fairing, but i have a maroon one.I bought black paint and had an autopaint store mix the gold to put on the accents later.It should be nice when it is running.A weird problem is it sits too straight up.A little too much turn of the handlebars either direction and it falls over.One guy said it was because the front springs were worn out.It needs to lean a little bit, then it wouldnt stand up so straight.Getting on the centerstand is not possible.I have never been able to do it. see yall later.

Personally I like it the way it is with the separate classified section. If you put it in the Forum you would have to weed through a lot of posts to find something and secondly it would clutter up the watering hole etc. By having classifieds as separate link as it is now you have an easier time looking for something because you don't have as many posts to scroll through.

P/S I never take a news paper fishing ....who does that anyway

Personally I like it the way it is with the separate classified section. If you put it in the Forum you would have to weed through a lot of posts to find something and secondly it would clutter up the watering hole etc. By having classifieds as separate link as it is now you have an easier time looking for something because you don't have as many posts to scroll through.

y

P/S I never take a news paper fishing ....who does that anyway

:confused24:,,,,,, "the code" must be different up there in Canuckian land. Don't you lop eared varmints ever have to go potty when you go fishing up there? Or have to start a camp fire to cook your fish on? And what do wrap your fish in for the ride home? Oh PLEASE dont tell me ya just lay em in the trunk of your bike with nothin on em:yikes:

:confused24:,,,,,, "the code" must be different up there in Canuckian land. Don't you lop eared varmints ever have to go potty when you go fishing up there? Or have to start a camp fire to cook your fish on? And what do wrap your fish in for the ride home? Oh PLEASE dont tell me ya just lay em in the trunk of your bike with nothin on em:yikes:

Ahh but you see up here natures provides all, For going potty there are leaves (we try to avoid the poison ivy ones), birch bark, pine cones or sap for tinder just to name a few. And 2 sticks to rub together to ignite the fire Oh and to bring them home you lay em in your saddlebags on top of wet grasses with more wet grasses on top orrrr if you really want em fresh you put em in your saddle bag then fill it with water so their still alive when you get home. Like I said who in their right mind brings a newspaper fishing. All that news is what you go fishing for to get away from.

Ahh but you see up here natures provides all, For going potty there are leaves (we try to avoid the poison ivy ones), birch bark, pine cones or sap for tinder just to name a few. And 2 sticks to rub together to ignite the fire Oh and to bring them home you lay em in your saddlebags on top of wet grasses with more wet grasses on top orrrr if you really want em fresh you put em in your saddle bag then fill it with water so their still alive when you get home. Like I said who brings a newspaper fishing.

Never ride faster then your angel can fly. I am as free as the wind on my face.