fyi- Classified Ads migration in progress

[Sean]

Hi All,

Today I will be migrating our classifieds into the forum system. This will be an ongoing effort to greatly simplify the classifieds area. Initially the old ads will be ported over to forum categories and threads/replies, and the sidebar has been recoded to show latest classifieds. This is done to simplify ads for our members as well as reduce complexity of our overall system. The old classifieds was a 3rd party app that became a bit convoluted and unsupported. Bringing the classifieds into the core forum system removes those issues.

From now till Saturday I'll be taking feedback on any tweaks you would like for the classified section and some coding can be done Saturday to implement them.

The classified system may be down for a few hours while I migrate it.

Thanks,
Sean

[nickrapak]

I don't know whether this is because I saw it in the middle of the migration, but I would still like the old subcategories under "Buy and Sell".

[David A. Goldfarb]

I think we're going to try without subcategories for now and see how much traffic the classifieds actually get and what impact they have on the overall feel of the forums. Since they will be more integrated into the forums, they probably shouldn't have a radically different structure from the other discussion forums, which aren't heavily subdivided. If they get enough posts to merit subdividing, we can always do it later.

Since they are now part of the forums, they should be searchable using the regular forum search tools.

[Mike1234]

Rather than bumping old ads with single items... would you rather we place new ads with long lists?

[David A. Goldfarb]

If you've got a very large number of items to sell, as we discussed in the other thread, I'd recommend just posting one list and updating it periodically as items sell.

[CGross]

Will we be able to delete an add or edit it if something sells? Or reply to the post with any updates?

There are some moderator options under thread tools....should those be visible?

[resummerfield]

I think the ads just clutter up the forums, so is there a way to block the ads from the forums?

[David A. Goldfarb]

I think Sean should be adding the classifieds forums to the "ignore forums" menu, so you can block them, if you wish. To get there, go to "My APUG" then "Edit Options" then scroll down to the bottom to "Forums To Exclude From View" and check off the forums you wish to ignore, then press "Save Changes." I don't think that option is up yet for the new forums, so you might give it a day or so.

[resummerfield]

Thanks, David. I did check the "Ignore Forums" area, and the "classifieds" section or listing is not there, yet. I'm glad Sean will be adding it soon. It does really clutter up the forums.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Will we be able to delete an add or edit it if something sells? Or reply to the post with any updates?

There are some moderator options under thread tools....should those be visible?

Advertisers will have a few moderation options. The normal editing window will apply (a few hours to correct typos and such), and advertisers will be able to post comments as in any other kind of thread. Advertisers will also be able to close the thread when the item has sold and post a final comment to indicate that the item has been sold. I think Sean also plans to allow advertisers to delete comments, so we don't have hecklers hijacking ads.

I think that ads will be automatically moved to an archive forum after 30 days so the classifieds aren't cluttered with old ads, but they will still be accessible for research purposes or in case of a dispute.

[Mike1234]

Okay... to start with... three ads with fairly long lists bumped every 14 days okay??

[David A. Goldfarb]

How about one ad, formatted with lists of whatever sort you like, updated every two weeks. Remember that they will be bumped up the list every time there is a post, so if there are inquiries about various items from different parties, they'll get exposure. If we've got three ads from one person constantly receiving new posts, that's going to be too much.

[Mike1234]

If I list everything in one ad then it's going to be a very large and ecclectic mix. I don't see how any title is going to attract specific buyers. But I will abide. :) No member(s) will be allowed more than one ad at a time, right?

[David A. Goldfarb]

Yes, people will be allowed more than one ad at a time as long as it doesn't become obtrusive. A few ads that get a few posts and eventually drop off the list would not be considered obtrusive. Several ads with long lists of items that are constantly receiving new posts and that may be relisted for weeks or months would be considered obtrusive.

If it appears that one individual is taking over the forum with classified ads that would be considered obtrusive, and in the past we've asked people with a lot of things to sell over a long period of time to become forum sponsors, rather than using the classifieds, which are mainly set up for occasional sellers.

[Mike1234]

David... I understand and agree completely. It's just difficult to know where to draw the line without hard/fast rules. I'm not trying to push or be difficult but a dummy like me needs hard-set rules to follow that aren't open to interpretation by the different Admins/Mods. I've been banned from other forums for breaking "non existent" / "unpublished" rules that vary from member to member as interpreted differently from one Admin/Mod to the next.

I'm not saying that nonsense would happen here. You folks have been very fair, patient, and kind. "Hard-set rules" are good and "interpret-as-you-go" and "applied to members differently" are not good.

Please forgive my candidness but, IMHO, we really do need "hard-set rules" that ALL members must follow.

[Sean]

Thanks David for holding down the fort while I was tweaking. Ok most of the system is now migrated and in place. I have just added classifieds to the forum exclude list and posted a site wide notice on how people can find the setting. Any further questions or suggestions feel free to ask. Thanks!

[Sean]

P.S. I'll try to hash out some rules today and get them on the ad posting page..

[Mike1234]

You guys ROCK!!

[David A. Goldfarb]

Part of the ethos of APUG has been to go light on hard-set rules and focus on the general tone of the forums. For some people that doesn't work so well, but we've also seen problems arise on other boards, because it's impossible to create a rule for every situation, and the moderators have felt that their hands were tied while just about every regular forum user could see that one member of the forum or the other was abusing the forum without breaking a written rule.

Usually, if someone wants to do the right thing but isn't sure whether they're going to cross the line, they send a PM to the moderators and we try to figure out how they can achieve their objectives without causing a problem, much as we've been doing here, and usually it works out. Spammers aside, we haven't had to ban that many people from APUG.

[David Grenet]

Just a thought - how about the title on the sidebar linking to the Classifieds forum so it is more consistent with how the other sidebar items operate?