idea proposal: sectioned Buy/Sell/Trade subforum

[Fitseries3]

i really like the way overclock.net has their BST forum sectioned into categories.

i think if we did that here on TPU it would alleviate a lot of issues that have been discussed in the past.

i also think if this idea was implemented we could do away with thread-owner bumping.

thoughts and opinions?

 

[[Ion]]

I'm completely in favor of this, I'm very impressed with OCN's FS section, it makes finding what you want so much easier

 

[Crys1s_Gam3r]

I, too, think this is a good idea.

 

[Fitseries3]

XS uses the same idea but with stricter rules.

posts are LOCKED and cannot be changed and only the owner can post in it. you also need 100 posts to see the BST forum.

im not proposing those rules but they could help keep the clutter down.

 

[DonInKansas]

I don't like the XS way because it doesn't allow for questions to be asked that may apply to multiple interested parties, possibly making the owner go through several PMs asking the same thing.

I still think the answer is having each member only have one live FS and one live WTB thread going at any time. The traffic in there doesn't really warrant multiple forum sections if we could keep some members from opening 2,3,and sometimes 4 FS threads at any one time.

 

[human_error]

Interesting, but where would i put a thread which had a motherboard, a pda and some games (using the sections in the screenshot you provided). Having multiple sections could lead people to having threads under the wrong section as time goes by (if they keep one thread and just update the contents for example).

It could also lead to complaints on which section a bst thread is in being posted in the threads which is off-topic for the bst forum and could result in more work for the moderators having to move threads around the various sub-forums.

Not trying to trash the idea, however i do see problems with having lots of sub-forums and don't find there is too much of an issue with our current system beyond a little over-bumping.

Maybe we could have a list of tags we could select when creating/editing a thread which we could select (you could select as many tags as are relevant to the contents of the thread) you could then have the list of tags available to select/deselect which would filter the threads displayed in the bst forum depending on what the user was interested in buying.

 

[Fitseries3]

it could be simplified similar to what XS has.

 

[human_error]

it could be simplified similar to what XS has.

still, where would i put a thread with a case a motherboard and a cooler then? (or again where would i put a thread where the contents changes regularly). Running multiple threads in multiple sub-forums is more work for sellers and moderators. If there was a place where you would put threads which covered multiple sections then everyone would use that one as it would get the most viewing traffic.

Maybe splitting the bst into selling items ( selling for money or trading for other items), buying items (again for money or as part of a trade) and for free items (giving only 3 easy to understand sub sections). This would only remove 4 or so threads per page in the bst thread list though.

It is a shame we cannot implement some code which would prevent the posting in your own thread for 24 hours unless it is within an hour of creating the thread (for selling a lot of items this would allow you enough time to put a couple of posts in a row) or if someone else was the last person to have posted in the thread (letting you reply to them as soon as possible if they ask a general question) - this would prevent people bumping too often.

Just throwing out other ideas which could help improve the bst section.

 

[bogmali]

I also like how OCN looks and functions.

 

[W1zzard]

It is a shame we cannot implement some code which would prevent the posting in your own thread for 24 hours unless it is within an hour of creating the thread.

who says we can't ? bring forward what you want and i can probably code a plugin for vbulletin

 

[BUCK NASTY]

I think something similar to XS's B/S/T section would be easier to police for the mods. The fewer the categories, the better.

 

[Fitseries3]

who says we can't ? bring forward what you want and i can probably code a plugin for vbulletin

hardforums does that.

 

[jellyrole]

Would that not let us reply to questions in our thread?

 

[Fourstaff]

I would vote in favour of sorting by shipping first, International, US, Europe etc. And then this if necessary for larger ones like int'l and US.

 

[Kantastic]

Would that not let us reply to questions in our thread?

PM the person who asked.

 

[W1zzard]

Would that not let us reply to questions in our thread?

could be limited to double posting (ie. if lastposter == you, then)

 

[jellyrole]

Okay, that would be acceptable! The only thing is that sometimes you can't bump at the same time. Say you have work and bump at like 10pm one night then don't the next day..you miss out on the time that the most people are on to see your thread.

 

[human_error]

It is a shame we cannot implement some code which would prevent the posting in your own thread for 24 hours.

who says we can't ? bring forward what you want and i can probably code a plugin for vbulletin

The way i would implement the idea is to have a series of checks made when someone tries to post in a thread in bst-

• If the reply is created within 1 hour of the original post of the thread it is allowed (this is only checked if it is the creator of the thread and if there are no replies and it is under 24 hours since the thread was created).
• If the last post in the thread is by someone other than the person trying to post then it is allowed (this check is for everyone - no multiple posts in a row unless over a day has gone by (covered in the next rule)).
• If you are the last person to have replied to the thread then replying is allowed if it is beyond 24 hours since the last post in the thread (this check if for everyone except the thread creator).
• If you are the creator of the thread then you are allowed to post if it is beyond 24 hours since you last replied to the thread (this check is for the thread creator only).

Else replying to the thread is not allowed and the user is linked to a message detailing the bst forum rules saying posting now would violate it, or instead would simply display a message saying why the reply was blocked then put the person in the edit mode for the last post in the thread (which would be their post by the rules above). Obviously if you didn't pass any one of the checks then your post is not allowed.

I think with those rules it would prevent too regular bumping by the thread creator, prevent a friend bumping on behalf of the thread creator too regularly (basically preventing you posting 2 or more replies in a row within a 24 hour period - which could be useful outside the bst forum) - this could help reduce the needless bumping in bst.

 

[DonInKansas]

You guys act like this is Hardforums where a thread is on page 5 within a couple hours. With our traffic the farthest back it would get is the top of page 3 or so within the 24 hour limit. The answer is not splitting the forum, it's limiting the threads in my opinion. A guy bumping 3 of his/her For Sale threads is not only unnecessary, it's annoying. Creating more subforums is adding more clicks than turning pages.

 

[Fitseries3]

how about something like craigslist has...

after 45days your thread is archived and can no longer be posted in

i hate the 400 page long threads that have been bumped for 3 years.... especially when the owner doesnt keep up with the 1st post.

 

[DonInKansas]

i hate the 400 page long threads that have been bumped for 3 years.... especially when the owner doesnt keep up with the 1st post.

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=78262

 

[Fitseries3]

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=78262

that is different. that thread serves a purpose and isnt even in the BST forum.

i am talking about threads like the one sneekypeet and binge had that was a few years old.

EDIT: not picking on anyone in particular.. here is an example... http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=82486

 

[DonInKansas]

That doesn't apply either, because his first post is always updated. I don't see the point.

You have the same item listed in two different threads in the B/S/T. I don't see how you're one to gripe.

 

[Fitseries3]

That doesn't apply either, because his first post is always updated. I don't see the point.

You have the same item listed in two different threads in the B/S/T. I don't see how you're one to gripe.

yes.. he does keep the 1st post updated but not everyone does.

perhaps we could have a max post count for threads so that they dont get over a certain number of pages long.

and where do you see me with the same thing posted in multiple threads?

DON did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed today? you are never this grumpy when you are IMing me.

 

[erocker]

As someone who moderates that forum, I have no problems with the way it is now. We currently have no problems with people excessively bumping or anything like that. The rules of the forum have been made more clear and as a

result there have been much fewer threads that don't follow the rules. Things have been going well. This just seems like a lot of work for a very minor problem. The b/s/t forum is very lenient in some ways as you don't need a post

count, and only need to wait 14 days to use it. This is great for those who haven't dealt online before and a good opportunity for them to get their foot in the door. We do have some strict rules as far as what is required as far as

content of the thread, but I think this works very well and is unique. Most sales consist of different items, I don't think having particular hardware forums is necessary. If anything more threads will get lost in multiple subforums. The

search feature works great as far a narrowing your search down to FS, FS/FT, WTB, etc. I would prefer as a member that TPU's B/S/T forum remains different from other websites.