Classifieds. Frustration is upon me

[Freebird]

OK folks. I have no answers, only questions.

 

Once upon a time in the early days of this forum, I had a "Classifieds" topic area right here in the forum. That worked fine for the most part except that when somebody sold an item, they never posted that it was sold and it became full of items that had been there for months and/or years and nobody knew if it was still for sale or not. Even if it WAS marked sold, it still required me or one of the moderators to constantly go through the ads and delete the threads for the sold items.

 

I determined that a better solution would be the classifieds software which I then purchased and installed. The advantage of the classifieds software is that items are automatically deleted after a pre-determined time unless the seller renews the ad. It really is the best way to do it except for one problem.....

 

People who post their items in the classifies most often feel the need to then come to the forum and post that they have listed their items in the classifieds. That completely defeats the purpose because we are right back where we started, we have thousands of posts of items that we don't know are still available or whatever. Those post end up being here for years and do nothing but take up space, slow down search functions, etc.

 

I've been trying to clean things up a bit but it's a slow process. This morning I did a keyword search for the word "Craigslist" and found over 600 threads of things like "seen on Craigslist"....since ads on Craigslist only run for about 30 days, almost all of those threads are useless now. I've deleted hundreds of threads this morning but still have a long way to go.

 

I haven't even started on the "added to the classifieds" or "for sale" type threads yet. There are hundreds of those also.

 

So what is the solution? A forum area dedicated to "seen on Craigslist" type ads? At least they would all be in one place and I wouldn't have to search the entire forum for them. I could just delete any in that folder that are over 30 days old. Same for "listed in the classifieds" type posts. They could be posted there also and deleted routinely.

 

I'm looking for your suggestions. Unfortunately, there is no function available to automatically delete these forum posts after a certain amount of time. It has to be done manually, that is why they are best kept in the classified section but that does no good at all when a member feels that he has to post it here also.

 

It would be easier if I just did a search, say for "Craigslist" and then just delete them all in one click but not all are items for sale. Some are discussions on how to search Craigslist and various other discussions. I now have to search and then click on and read most every post to determine if it needs to be deleted or not. It takes several hours to do.

[ToyOdie]

Don, the classisfied section is great but there is no specific place to discuss the things that are for sale there. The link at in the menu bar isn't as noticable as the topic in the forums. You might think about creating a Sticky Thread in the Watering Hole or the Home thread page for discussion of the classified section. Then after the item is sold the member who posted it can PM you to remove the thread.

 

Just my

[RJD]

If someone starts a thread about something that is being sold, and Don or another moderator sees and reads it, move it at that time to a specific location just for those types of threads. At that point they will be grouped together and easier to manage at a later date.

[Marcarl]

For the classified section, when someone posts a classified ad, have the program pop up a window that asks if that person would like a link to the watering hole and post a comment there as well. Have the classified run for a max of 2 months after which it goes, poof, along with the thread in the watering hole. If a person is on the ball, he could extend the ad for another period of time, if not and the sale is important, he can always redo it.

As far as craiglist, ebay and such are concerned, if that word shows up in the original post, have the program ask the poster if this a an ad type post or a discussion. If it's a discussion, then it will hang around, if it's an 'ad' then in 2 months,,,,, poof.

Just my thoughts

Carl

[Guest PlaneCrazy]

OK folks. I have no answers, only questions.

 

Once upon a time in the early days of this forum, I had a "Classifieds" topic area right here in the forum. That worked fine for the most part except that when somebody sold an item, they never posted that it was sold and it became full of items that had been there for months and/or years and nobody knew if it was still for sale or not. Even if it WAS marked sold, it still required me or one of the moderators to constantly go through the ads and delete the threads for the sold items.

 

I determined that a better solution would be the classifieds software which I then purchased and installed. The advantage of the classifieds software is that items are automatically deleted after a pre-determined time unless the seller renews the ad. It really is the best way to do it except for one problem.....

 

People who post their items in the classifies most often feel the need to then come to the forum and post that they have listed their items in the classifieds. That completely defeats the purpose because we are right back where we started, we have thousands of posts of items that we don't know are still available or whatever. Those post end up being here for years and do nothing but take up space, slow down search functions, etc.

 

I've been trying to clean things up a bit but it's a slow process. This morning I did a keyword search for the word "Craigslist" and found over 600 threads of things like "seen on Craigslist"....since ads on Craigslist only run for about 30 days, almost all of those threads are useless now. I've deleted hundreds of threads this morning but still have a long way to go.

 

I haven't even started on the "added to the classifieds" or "for sale" type threads yet. There are hundreds of those also.

 

So what is the solution? A forum area dedicated to "seen on Craigslist" type ads? At least they would all be in one place and I wouldn't have to search the entire forum for them. I could just delete any in that folder that are over 30 days old. Same for "listed in the classifieds" type posts. They could be posted there also and deleted routinely.

 

I'm looking for your suggestions. Unfortunately, there is no function available to automatically delete these forum posts after a certain amount of time. It has to be done manually, that is why they are best kept in the classified section but that does no good at all when a member feels that he has to post it here also.

 

It would be easier if I just did a search, say for "Craigslist" and then just delete them all in one click but not all are items for sale. Some are discussions on how to search Craigslist and various other discussions. I now have to search and then click on and read most every post to determine if it needs to be deleted or not. It takes several hours to do.

 

Unfortunately, I don't have any experience with vbulletin. The phpBB forums I have already have an autodelete function that you can set to delete threads after a certain period of time.

 

Perhaps you could create a specific forum where members can discuss either the items in the classified sections or ebay, craigslists stuff, etc. Then use the auto-prune function in the vbulletin CP to pruine anything over 30 days old?

 

I also saw this mod Auto Delete/Move Thread After X days on the vbulletin org site, but I am not sure it would be good enough since it doesn't seem to let you do only one forum. If you know people who can code, they may be able to mod it for you.

[mmoffitt]

I like the idea of a sticky in the water hole section...The way I usually review the forum is drop in several times a day and just click the "new posts"...unfortunately it doesn't show new classified ads, so I miss out on those often. If there were a stick in the watering hole though and the seller also posted a short note about what they posted, I would see that pop up in the "new posts" search...

[bkuhr]

Is it possible to 'prescreen' posts for certain key words? (for sale, craigslist, ebay...)

If so have window pop up on poster and ask 'if discussion', and button to continue, or 'sale item' and button to automatically move post to correct forum with auto delete date.

 

Your question to poster should include short note explaining issue so they dont just hit the continue button because they dont understand issue.

 

Just my thoughts.

[Solodadof2]

I applaud you for keeping up with all this. Is there a way to just use one thread heading for all the thought you want to know about ads? Makee it so that no-one can post to is and it auto delets after 14 days?

[LilBeaver]

As far as the craigslist and ebay issue goes, how about a single thread dedicated to craigslist ads? Then another one for Ebay ads?

 

As for posting items are for sale vs the classifieds here are my quick thoughts.

First of all I occasionally visit another forum that does not have a classifieds section, rather they all post when they have their crap to sell. At first I thought it was okay, but after a while it just gets annoying.

 

I am guilty of making a thread here to indicate that I have something to sell, however, it has been a while since I have done that and now that I realize how annoying it is I certainly will not be doing that anymore. My reasons for posting a thread about whatever item I was selling was to increase the visibility of said item. However, I'll sacrifice the extra visibility as to not saturate the forum with my crap that 99.9% of the people trying to read the forum have to skip over.

 

For what it is worth, I really like the classifieds section and hope that it doesn't go anywhere.

[Woody]

first of all Don Thanks for what you do and I can help let me know. as for your question,

A forum area dedicated to classifieds.

[Evan]

Don, it is again comforting from your post to see that that this forum is in such good hands. Seeking suggestions and feedback is appreciated and you are getting lots of that. Personally, I am attracted to the possible solutions that you note and for what it is worth, I do value some mechanism fo flag new classifieds or other Venture specific adds. Anyway, I also think that your decision should be significantly influenced by what is more efficient for the site and your team.

[Condor]

Unless you can put a time limit on a forum post, or include classifieds in the new post email notification, or sort button, I don't think there's an adiquate answer to the problem Don. BTW you might as well add 'Seen on Ebay' posts to your effort.

[massey130]

Is it possible to have a watering hole auto thread creator with no replies that a new item has been added to the classified section. it would be up to the individual to check and search classifieds.

 

then, have a discussion link for the item on the item's page. the discussion thread expires and disappears at the same time the add does. the only way to the discussion thread is through the add unless subscription availability is added.

 

a blanket deletion of ebay and craigs list would be fine. there could be a tech section on how to use each one so that the blanket deletion would not get rid of valuable information.

[XV1100SE]

Don - I saw on the vbulletin.org site that questions or suggestions can be posted. Do you use that forum? (also noticed that they have a BOTM - Board of The Month poll).

 

I think for the most part members follow the rules on here. I'd go with a sub-page on the Classified for "Seen on other Sites" (generic - covers Ebay, Craigs List, Kijiji...). Ideally if vBulletin supports an auto delete date that the creator of the thread can put in that would be easier for you to maintain. Members shouldn't create posts in other areas referring to their ad or posts in "Seen on other Sites".

 

I too like the way you ask for members opinions and think you do a great job maintaining the site. Hope your health issues have stabilized.

[dmoff1698]

Is it possible to have a watering hole auto thread creator with no replies that a new item has been added to the classified section. it would be up to the individual to check and search classifieds.

 

then, have a discussion link for the item on the item's page. the discussion thread expires and disappears at the same time the add does. the only way to the discussion thread is through the add unless subscription availability is added.

 

a blanket deletion of ebay and craigs list would be fine. there could be a tech section on how to use each one so that the blanket deletion would not get rid of valuable information.

 

I'm thinking the discussions related to parts for sale should be a part of the add, just like they are on e-bay. When the item is sold or the add expires, the discussion goes away too because it is no longer relevant.

 

If you can include new posts to the classified section into the "new posts" notification, there would be no need to post into the Watering Hole at all.

 

I just reread what I wrote, and don't understand what I just said.

[slick97spirit]

 

I just reread what I wrote, and don't understand what I just said.

 

 

:rotf::rotf::rotf:

[BuddyRich]

A separate section with an auto delete function. That way it drops dead after 30 day. It'll keep your database cleaner.

[dynodon]

If the various pop ups and other auto functions are not available, then I would favor separate sections for "for sale items discussion" and "e-bay/Craigslist items discussion" that automatically delete after 30 days. Post on the Watering hole and other sections that these types of topics are not allowed, and should be in their own section. Assign a couple moderators to monitor it, or let all of us browbeat anyone that breaks the rule(with love and restraint of course.....)

 

You won't be able to completely stop this unless you monitor and approve every post, and that just won't be possible!

 

oh, and thanks for all you do.

[friesman]

A separate section with an auto delete function. That way it drops dead after 30 day. It'll keep your database cleaner.

 

Yeah that, We use that on some of our Boards at work to keep em clean.

 

Brian

[KarlS]

I must admit that I've bought most items for my VR after seeing them listed in the Watering Hole first. You know items you don't NEED but gotta have once you see them. Maybe like has been suggested a forum "seen for sale" and/or one "newly listed in Classifieds" I would not want you to have to add to your workload to monitor it. I will try and remember to scan the classifieds more often.

[Eck]

Don,

I have gone into all my threads and began deleting anything over 3 months old and will make sure all my "old" posted threads are deleted.

 

Once i get mine done, I will go into each individual members threads and delete anything over three to four months to help relieve some real estate.

 

If there is any way I can help you please let me know.

 

Send me an email on what I can do to help you since I have all the time in the world to help you..

 

 

Eck

[Freebird]

Eck,

I think we are on the same page but just to make sure that everybody else is. I don't want to delete ALL old posts. There is a LOT of useful information in them. It's just the for sale type posts that I want to get rid of. Most of them are completely useless after 30 days or so.

 

Now, I've created a new area specifically for the for sale type posts and for those who feel the need to create a thread to let everybody know that they have listed something in the classifieds. It is NOT meant to replace the classifieds. Any for sale ads will be deleted. Short post to let us know that you have listed an item is fine. If you wish to post a link to your classified listing, that is fine also.

 

The new area is specifically setup so that all posts there will be automatically deleted after 30 days. Any such posts made in any other area of the forum will be deleted.

 

I thank you all for your opinions and suggestions. Most were very good but some are beyond my programming capabilities. Pop up windows, automatic posts triggered by a new listing in the classifieds, etc. Those are all good ideas but beyond my expertise and would be expensive to have somebody do custom coding to accomplish

 

I hope that this is acceptable to everybody and will make it easier for all of us.

[LilBeaver]

Sounds like a reasonable way to go Don.

 

Question:

Can individual users delete their own threads? I've tried a few times now and don't see how to do it. Am I missing something or is that a feature that us normal users do not have access to?

 

Thanks A lot!

[Freebird]

No, you can delete posts but not entire threads. Once a thread has replies, it would then mean that you would be removing other folks posts also and that could, in some cases, be a bad thing.

[Trader]

I think the auto delete after 30 days would work just fine. if the ad is relisted or still there after 30 days it would be no biggie for the seller to repost to the section.

 

I've only been on this site since the spring...but I'm truely impressed!

 

GOODONYA!