Back on 06-04-2011 I disabled replies to classified ads to all non-paying members. This was done, in part, because of a rampant problem with ad threads getting bumped sometimes MANY times a day by some posters, causing issues on many fronts. This was discussed here when I implemented that change ->
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...d.php?t=249378
So, we've been running the classifieds in this manner for just over two and a half years, and I figure it's time to re-evaluate the situation to see where we stand. Basically, has it helped? Or has it hindered you and/or how you use this site?
From my own personal standpoint (and I think some of the mods as well), the emails and PMs from members asking why that cannot post replies to the classified ads has NEVER ceased. Regardless of an announcement that shows up in each and every classified forum about this, and regardless of this being mentioned in the above mentioned thread about this policy change. Apparently those are not effective ways to get a message across to all members. I suppose it's a classic "lead a horse to water...." problem that has no real solution.
Secondly, my review of the statistics of traffic on this site shows a steady decline in participation. I expected postings to drop when the bumping problem was stopped cold, but maybe it's gone beyond that now. After all, this IS a discussion style forum site, so at what point does STOPPING discussions begin to hurt participation?
Postings are down, but oddly enough, new thread creations are up. New registrations have declined slightly as well, and raw page views are down as per the Google stats as well as the stats I see on my FaunaTopSites listing. So, when I see stats like those, I have to question myself about what I may have done in the past that could be causing this change. Granted, we lost substantial ground when we went through that server hacking problem back in the Fall, as I am sure many prospective participants high-tailed it away from here when they started getting malicious redirects to other websites. And it took longer for me to get that fixed than I wanted to. Maybe that is what is behind most of the drop I see in the stats. Maybe at least some have tried coming back and seen that the problem has been resolved. But likely not all. At least not yet. But still, I think I do need to be introspective about the classified ad change made and do a status check to see what you all think. Has it helped things, or put a real damper on member participation in sections that it really SHOULD be encouraged?
Of course, any members who might have left here for greener pastures because they did NOT like the "no reply" change probably won't be providing their input. Seems like no change here ever takes place without some collateral damages.
Anyway, not saying that I AM going to change things, but admittedly the results of this poll WILL influence me. That's why I am asking for input. It's entirely possible that even a poll will show no conclusive thoughts about this situation.
The poll will be pretty cut and dry, so comments posted as replies here are solicited. I prefer polls to be pretty simple, if at all possible.
So, let me know, please.