What's Up with the new Rules??

[GaDgEtMoN]

Originally posted by Really_Annoyed
It's pretty interesting that all the people who are complaining about the rules being enoforced now are the ones who were constantly breaking them in the first place. It was this exact group who cause the "zero-tolerance" on B/S/T. Seriously, if you were breaking the rules in the first place, why would you care if they are being enforced or not. As for the person who complain that you can no longer post "great price" or "free bump for friend", please explain what purpose did those posts serve anyways? If the price really is that "great", i'm sure people will notice it for themselves w/o the post. As for free bump, come on, everyone knew it was just a loop hole in the 48 hour rule and was using it as such.

ps. Gadgetmon, weren't you the one who had an issue with Bongo wireless or one of the advertisers? So how did things work out for the brother who you "just met" a few months ago?

You have a sense of humour!!! I'm surprised you back ppl who rip others for money and being told what to do...

[Really_Annoyed]

Originally posted by steveh552
But see, that was directed towards Darla whom had threated to ban someone for speaking there mind, she to is in the USA. Howard did not make that comment and that quite was not to howard.

I'm sorry, but I can't find where anyone threatened to ban anyone. Can someone point me to it?

[Really_Annoyed]

Originally posted by GaDgEtMoN
You have a sense of humour!!! I'm surprised you are American... I didn't think you backed ppl who ripped off for money and being told what to do...

that's why I didn't support you then. So i assume everything worked out ok?

[Frosty Vibe]

Just out of curiosity...

Can a question be asked in a FS thread ? or do all communication have to be done via PM ?

ie. picture request , price negotiation or shipping inquiru, etc ?

Reason I am asking is that the seller could arrange for someone to ask a question in thread and effectively bump the thread.


So, is asking questions still allowed ?


BTW, I don't use BST forum at all, so I don't really have a view on this issue. Frankly, I don't care..

IMO, bottom line is, rules are in place to be obeyed and broke, everyone should just behave accordingly to the new rules ( whatever way you choose to go ) and don't b*tch about the consequences of your behaviour afterwards.

[steveh552]

Originally posted by Darla
Hmm... sounds like someone doesn't want to be a member anymore. That can easily be taken care of.

Per the request where someone said they see nothing that says anything about banning, this is pretty d@mn close, and I think most would agree.

[pd0x]

Everyone needs to take a chill pill. The new rules (once you get your head around them) actually make sense...the ridiculous amout of overhead / traffic generated from the bumping and redundant posts in the b/s/t forums were probably causing a head ache for howard and the mods in general. The mods are doing a GREAT job of evening the playing field for everyone, this way every b/s/t post is getting nice and equal exposure, infact, if you take a look @ the b/s/t forum now, it actually seems really civilized and easy to navigate...I no longer have to go back 5 pages in order to look @ deals which were just posted yesterday (if you are wondering, this reduces the amount of searches that need to be done, and hence server load)...just in general its a godo thing...If you feel that the new rules are ridiculousI suggest you take your business elsewhere, howard doesnt charge a fee in order for you to sell your phones or buy them, he provides it as a public service and he has every right to change it any which way he likes. For every one member that leaves (although I doubt a single one has) there will be atleast 2 to take his/her place in the coming months....

Give the mods a break, and take a chill pill.

raza

[fidog]

Originally posted by huy397
Just out of curiosity...

Can a question be asked in a FS thread ? or do all communication have to be done via PM ?

ie. picture request , price negotiation or shipping inquiru, etc ?

Reason I am asking is that the seller could arrange for someone to ask a question in thread and effectively bump the thread.

So, is asking questions still allowed ?

BTW, I don't use BST forum at all, so I don't really have a view on this issue.

IMO, bottom line is, rules are in place to be obeyed and broke, everyone should just behave accordingly to the new rules ( whatever way you choose to go ) and don't b*tch about the consequences of your behaviour.

The answer to your question is yes and no.

Once a thread is created/posted, it will be locked for 48 hours. After this time, it will be opened again for people to either post questions or the thread creator to make amendments, or even bump it at that point. But every time a reply is posted (be it by the creator or by a person who replies to it), it will be closed again for 48 hours.

So the best way to communicate with either a buyer or seller is by PM (or by phone, ICQ, AIM, MSN or e-mail as directed).

If there was an error in the thread as it was created, the creator can contact any of the mods of that forum (or a supermod) to make changes to it, even within the 48 hour locked period.

[Frosty Vibe]

thanks fidog.


Pretty sophisticated system we got on HoFo

[fidog]

You're welcome, Huy397!

[[bisheadking]]

we got two new BST mods i didnt notice.


hi.

[anz2007]

I personally think that this new system, from a bystander's point of view, is way to complicated! It makes sense to leave the BST moderated. The rules are semi-good, but it is senseless to make them uniform and unbreakable. Sometimes, a "check pm" post is necessary. Some posters have never gotten PMs. Also, if a thread is going to be locked for 48 hours, the original poster should have the opportunity to edit his post for the FULL 48 hours. Also, I don;t think subsequent posts should lock the thread. That makes it easy for a rival seller/someone who is good intentioned but "stupid" to lock your thread, making it almost impossible to sell the item.

There are solutions for these things, I think. For the PM issue, why not send a "Welcome to HoFo" PM? The "New PM" dialog will pop up as soon as they activate their account, and it will explain the PM concept, how to post, forum rules, and other things. Also, take the chance to offer the subscription service. You have their complete attention. That will eliminate MOST of the "check PM" stuff (this is all do-able. It is done on some other, much smaller, boards using a bot that automatically sends these messages). Secondly, a poster should be allowed to post only the original thread, then they should be allowed to edit it forever. They should be allowed to post once every 48-72 hours thereafter. Allow others to post once every 48 as well, with no edit privilidges (other than the 1 hour). This will allow unique posters to post replies, but keep poeple from perpetually bumping.

If a cookie-cutter approach is taken to these issues, people will lash out at those imposing the rules, and the rules won't work out. If, on the other hand, people are forgiving and things are looked at on a case-by-case basis, people will understand that you are taking every step to make the experience a pleasant one, and they're to blame for whatever problems they see with it.

[Koofteh]

Yes, I think the rules are way too much. I can still understand though if they're essential to keep order in the BST section.

What I can't get over is how rude the mods have been about it. I searched for a sale and I replied to it, and I obviously never saw the new rules. I got a message from samantha2001 that was borderline rude...that's just not done right.

[fidog]

Originally posted by anz2007
<snip> Also, if a thread is going to be locked for 48 hours, the original poster should have the opportunity to edit his post for the FULL 48 hours. Also, I don;t think subsequent posts should lock the thread. That makes it easy for a rival seller/someone who is good intentioned but "stupid" to lock your thread, making it almost impossible to sell the item. <snip>

There is a potential problem with giving the original poster editing access to the thread for the full 48 hours.

For example, the seller can simply edit the thread after completing a sale verbally (say within the 48 hours) to remove from the list what was originally an included accessory, then when the buyer receives the goods, he/she will ask the seller where that one accessory was. And then the seller can simply say "it was never part of the bundle". It then becomes the buyer's word against the seller's and before you know it, the Fraud Forum will be up to it's ears with complaints.

I'm not saying many people will take advantage of this, but it can be a problem.

Remember the mods can always edit a thread upon the original poster's request.

[anz2007]

Originally posted by fidog
There is a potential problem with giving the original poster editing access to the thread for the full 48 hours.

For example, the seller can simply edit the thread after completing a sale verbally (say within the 48 hours) to remove from the list what was originally an included accessory, then when the buyer receives the goods, he/she will ask the seller where that one accessory was. And then the seller can simply say "it was never part of the bundle". It then becomes the buyer's word against the seller's and before you know it, the Fraud Forum will be up to it's ears with complaints.

I'm not saying many people will take advantage of this, but it can be a problem.

Remember the mods can always edit a thread upon the original poster's request.

how about allowing appending only (like ebay does)

[be_a_twit]

Originally posted by Shawn_230
Yes, I think the rules are way too much. I can still understand though if they're essential to keep order in the BST section.

What I can't get over is how rude the mods have been about it. I searched for a sale and I replied to it, and I obviously never saw the new rules. I got a message from samantha2001 that was borderline rude...that's just not done right.

i got this message from her a while back, i guess this was the time when they implemented the new rules...if anything, i don't think it's rude or borderline rude or whatever. she's being polite and professional with her PM, she's trying not to offend the recipient of that message and i appreciate her for that. because of that PM, i was able to read the rules and made sure i don't violate it... here's the message, i hope it's ok to post it here.

compared to teedot's message to junlok, samantha2001's message is not rude at all.

mods, please don't ban me if i post PMs...

samantha2001 wrote on 09-11-2003 10:54:
this is just to remind and warn you, please read the updated buy/sell/trade section rules.

failure to do so will result in a ban/closed thread.

http://www.howardforums.com/showthre...hreadid=177159

thank you and please cooperate.