Time to evaluate the issue of replies in the classified ad sections.

This might be a silly question but what is a paid member?

Paid members are people that choose to contribute to the site, in exchange for some added benefits. The coins below the username identify them as such, and also indicate their membership level. There are currently 3 membership levels to which one can subscribe - Contributing, Benefactor, and Endowment (at $25, $100, and $250, respectively). Obviously, the perks increase by level; and it is up to the individual to decide if the value is there for them.
Click on the coins of any member to view the subscription page & access the Paid Members Benefit table (I believe it may be a bit out dated; but you'll get the basic idea).

Originally Posted by rcarichter

Probably a long-shot, but....
What if, when a non-paying member attempts to reply, they get a pop-up type thing that says "Non-paying members cannot reply within the ad. Please contact the seller via pm with any questions". If they're interested in the animal, it wouldn't be off-putting. If they're trolling to gripe about price, etc. it wouldn't give them the attention they're looking for.

Noelle

I like this idea.

Originally Posted by hhmoore

Paid members are people that choose to contribute to the site, in exchange for some added benefits. The coins below the username identify them as such, and also indicate their membership level. There are currently 3 membership levels to which one can subscribe - Contributing, Benefactor, and Endowment (at $25, $100, and $250, respectively). Obviously, the perks increase by level; and it is up to the individual to decide if the value is there for them.
Click on the coins of any member to view the subscription page & access the Paid Members Benefit table (I believe it may be a bit out dated; but you'll get the basic idea).

Thanks for the info

I like the idea of having replies allowed. If posters nuisance bump threads then infract them or give them a 30 day ban.

I liked when you could reply in the add. Seemed more interactive. Rich you could switch it back, see how it is and if there's problems switch back to how it is now. Just my 2cents.....

Originally Posted by MesozoicReptiles

I liked when you could reply in the add. Seemed more interactive. Rich you could switch it back, see how it is and if there's problems switch back to how it is now. Just my 2cents.....

That's why the poll is here. To see if I NEED to make a change. Unless there is a substantial indication of a change being needed, I can't see any reason to do so. So far, I don't see that "substantial indication" being reflected in the poll's results.

Originally Posted by rcarichter

Probably a long-shot, but....
What if, when a non-paying member attempts to reply, they get a pop-up type thing that says "Non-paying members cannot reply within the ad. Please contact the seller via pm with any questions". If they're interested in the animal, it wouldn't be off-putting. If they're trolling to gripe about price, etc. it wouldn't give them the attention they're looking for.

Noelle

I like that idea, saves admins from messages and keeps things as is

Originally Posted by WebSlave

Yeah, I thought that was a good suggestion, and was easy for me to implement myself.

However, dollar to a donut bets that I will STILL get people who will cut and paste that notice and send it to me via email complaining that they cannot reply to posts.

In my experience, no matter how well worded or abundantly clear your worded message is, some people don't/won't/can't get it or just don't bother to read.

I like the way the classifieds are currently set up & as soon as I can get my money issue fixed, I will get my coins back.

I actually like the way it is currently set up. Using other forums I generally get pretty tired of thread bumping. Specifically as a consumer I like to see fresh ads up daily and not something that has been bumped for several days/weeks and obsolete.

Maybe there is a way to reply without bumping?

Personally, I don't think pm'ing a seller or contacting them in alternative methods they list is that much of a hassle.