Commenting on Classified Ads

Over the last few weeks I've noticed multiple old ads being bumped to the top of the classifieds because a user has "replied" to one (not by private message, but by commenting on the ad itself). I just saw a post from 2012 jump back to the top for this reason and thought it might be time to bring some attention to this. I periodically go through my old ads and edit or delete them when animals sell and I've noticed some of them have replies that I was never aware of since my notifications only alert me to private messages. It seems to me that it's appropriate in almost every case for prospective buyers to use the private messaging feature rather than bumping an ad to ask a question, especially if the seller is less likely to realize they've been asked a question when it's in the ad rather than their inbox.

Just a suggestion, but would it be possible to block all replies to ads unless they're posted by a moderator? I could be overlooking something, but it just doesn't seem to me that there's a real need for users to comment directly on one another's advertisements and I've noticed it happening more often lately. Otherwise everything's hunky dory around here as far as I'm concerned and I appreciate you guys keeping this place going behind the scenes. Thanks for hearing me out.

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...ing+classified

I'm guessing you aren't a frequent user of this site.
Posted responses to ads, by registered members, were blocked for about 3 yrs. It has only been about 5 months since they were reopened. Lots of old ads getting dragged up; and, to a lesser extent, the same ol crap is happening that got them closed in the first place. I think a lot of people just got used to PMing or emailing sellers; because, overall, the number of replies posted in ads is much lower than it had been in years past.

There are a lot of different ways of doing things on a forum like this; and it's surprising how few people actually look at them. I shut of email notification of PMs and thread responses as soon as I figured out it could be done. I increased my posts per page to the max. And I close all my ads so people can't post in them. Sure, I lose sales because people can't be bothered to follow instructions; but I don't consider that a great loss. I used to HATE having to delete/repost my ads every time somebody posted a random comment, or asked a question that was already answered in the ad they didn't bother to read (thank goodness for pictures!!).

would it be possible to block all replies to ads unless they're posted by a moderator?

If your question refers to a sitewide change; there was a poll on that very subject early this year - that's how they came to be reopened. I'm sure Rich will be evaluating the impact that the change has had on the site...but I'd guess that, unless it has had a negative impact on the site as a whole, he's probably not going to just switch it back again.
If your question was more personally motivated, and you were asking about blocking replies to YOUR ads, the answer is YES. Every member has the option of closing their ads, so other members cannot post in them. There's a little box at the bottom of the page that says something to the effect of Close thread after posting. Of course, a portion of the people that do that won't be able to figure out how to open them again to edit; but

Originally Posted by hurreckon

Over the last few weeks I've noticed multiple old ads being bumped to the top of the classifieds because a user has "replied" to one (not by private message, but by commenting on the ad itself). I just saw a post from 2012 jump back to the top for this reason and thought it might be time to bring some attention to this. I periodically go through my old ads and edit or delete them when animals sell and I've noticed some of them have replies that I was never aware of since my notifications only alert me to private messages. It seems to me that it's appropriate in almost every case for prospective buyers to use the private messaging feature rather than bumping an ad to ask a question, especially if the seller is less likely to realize they've been asked a question when it's in the ad rather than their inbox.

Just a suggestion, but would it be possible to block all replies to ads unless they're posted by a moderator? I could be overlooking something, but it just doesn't seem to me that there's a real need for users to comment directly on one another's advertisements and I've noticed it happening more often lately. Otherwise everything's hunky dory around here as far as I'm concerned and I appreciate you guys keeping this place going behind the scenes. Thanks for hearing me out.

Obviously by the results on that poll the members on this site are divided on the issue. I see both pros and cons. The good news is everyone has the ability to make that choice for their own ads.

On your other points about your own ads, I believe the default settings for ads is that you receive a notification by email if someone posts to your ad.

I believe that you would have to select under "additional options" to change to "Do not subscribe" to your own thread to not receive a message to your email box that someone replied.

So if you don't lock your thread, people will probably respond. If you don't subscribe to your own thread you will not know they posted.

You can fix the problem by subscribing to your own thread or locking them.

Originally Posted by Dennis Hultman

I believe the default settings for ads is that you receive a notification by email if someone posts to your ad.

If it isn't the default setting you can go to your user control panel and change it under Edit Options.

I used the User CP, --> Edit Options, scroll down to this and click the drop down menu to cancel email notifications. That way, my subscriptions aren't affected. It may not matter to a lot of people; but I use my subscriptions to track threads in which I have posted. Before I started locking my ads, that was the easy way to follow them, as well.

Perhaps replies to ads could be locked after a certain amount of time? That way you wouldn't have to worry about someone asking about an add from a while ago.

Considering I have no idea how the moderation programming for this site works, this may be a stupid suggestion, but I thought I'd put it out there anyway.

I could be wrong, but I don't think that can be done without custom programming...and, even if it could, it could close long running ads of paid members. The only other way would be for the moderation team to regularly go through all the ads, and do it manually (which isn't feasible).
Of course, it isn't difficult to manage one's own ads...but most members don't do it; and trying to police that effectively would probably be more work than doing it ourselves.

Originally Posted by hhmoore

I could be wrong, but I don't think that can be done without custom programming...and, even if it could, it could close long running ads of paid members. The only other way would be for the moderation team to regularly go through all the ads, and do it manually (which isn't feasible).
Of course, it isn't difficult to manage one's own ads...but most members don't do it; and trying to police that effectively would probably be more work than doing it ourselves.

As I said, I don't know how the programming on this forum works. *shrug* When I eventually place ads up, I will do my best to manage them efficiently.

Quite honestly, is a seller getting a nibble for a possible sale from an old ad really all that bad? 99% of salesmanship is catching a prospective customer's eye and interest.

Worst case? The seller is no longer in business and the query simply goes unanswered. Who was harmed by that?