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.