Testing.

Bidding will start with one arm and one leg...

and i will throw in 4 fingers and a left testicle... that's one hot ride!!!!!

My response doesn't really count, since I could post anyway.....but I'll throw in his thumb and his right testicle

Take a wife ??

Good way to test

I still need my programmer to make some changes in the coding to some restrictions that still exist in the classifieds sections before this can go live. For instance, the anti-bumping code is still in effect here, so the originator of the thread (auction) can't post a followup reply until someone else posts a reply. Which maybe wouldn't be a necessarily bad thing, I suppose.

I probably need to think about which options need to be enabled or disabled here. For instance, perhaps once the original post starting the auction is made, it should be locked so it can't be edited after the fact to keep anyone from changing the auction midstream after bids are placed. And should, perhaps, allowing the author to delete an auction be disabled as well? Bear in mind that logical restrictions for an auction likely won't be implemented in plain vanilla message board code, so we will have to just do our best with what we have available. I'm not inclined to pay for any custom programming unless it is warranted by this experiment.

Might as well ask this here....what about bumping. A common practice in many of the auctions posted here in the past was for the OP to come in regularly with the high vote (often done after every vote, unless a few came in relatively quick succession). Since the high vote is readily visible in the last post (unless people start making extraneous posts again, just because they can), that is just a means of bringing the auction back up to the top....and unnecessary unless somebody throws in a low bid and causes confusion.

Also, will "official" bumps (through the classified panel) work on auctions?
I don't really see any reason to cancel out the anti-bump programming...and I have mixed feelings about canceling editing. If it is left in place, in addition to the potential of something being changed midstream, I can see people altering/removing their bids; if editing is removed, the anti-bump thing could become an issue.

I'm not going to over complicate this. If it proves to be a headache then that will certainly answer the question as to whether this auction section will be able to live here. So if the members want to kill it with abuse, then that will be up to them.

Quite honestly, I'm not all that keen on auctions at all. But I feel like the members would like to have that capability here, so I'm giving it a shot. If they give me an excuse to be able to say that I tried it here, and it didn't work, then so be it. I already tried a standalone auction site a while back, and that flopped, so I am even doing this with some reluctance.

My personal opinion is bumping once a day is fair, I understand that you might not be able to make it so specific so I would say no bumps would be better than tons of bumps. It would be a shame for this auction thing to work...except for auctioneers excessively bumping and therefor ruining it for everyone.

As far as editing, I do not see any reason to need edits. If someone posting an auction screws up their auction description, they a.) delete the ad before any bids are made (if that is even possible, and if it is not...) b.) they correct the description in a later post. If that turns out having to be after another member reply's, so be it.

I myself have messed up my description, as far as forgetting to add the auction end time, messed up a date, didn't write male or female, ect. All minor things I have messed up myself and seen messed up many times by others. EVERYTIME I see this happen, it is pointed out by someone else (potential bidders) and is quickly and easily fixed. So even if you made it so there were no reply's until someone else replied first...it shouldn't be much of an issue.

Just my opinion...hope it helps.

I would personally like to have the option to edit. This way errors could be fixed, more info added, questions by potential buyers could be posted there for all to easily see. It would then be the responsibility of the auction owner to make sure people are aware of the edits, and it would be the responsibility of the bidders to ensure they are okay with any changes. If for some reason the winning bidder does not agree to the new terms, just let the auction go to the next one.