Well, like anything else I do, some people will like it, and some people won't, so there was no doubt in my mind that this would be the same way. I did try it for a while where the ads could not be responded to within the thread, but the more I analyzed what was going on, the less I liked it that way.
For one thing, there were too many "hit and run" posters. Basically posting an ad and then not coming back, not even to remove the ad if and when the animals were sold. By opening up those threads for replies, it would greatly behoove the person posting the ad to come back to check on it in case there were replies posted that could mean making the sale for them. Some people just WANT to discuss the transaction that way and will not reply via email or PM. Sure as shootin', if one person has a particular question, there are likely dozens of others with the same question on their mind as well. So let it be answered publicly right there along with the posted ad.
Secondly, it seemed kind of foolish to have the BOI on this site, yet allow people to post ads that could snare the unwary who would not think to check the BOI first. A simple reply from someone in that thread could easily save someone from making a very bad mistake. Sure, some of those posters will certainly get angry about this, but what would the result eventually be? Yep, they will just go away, which I think would be in everyone's best interests anyway. I am more interested in protecting the general public from getting burned in a scam than I am in protecting a seller from a possible heated discussion, so the tradeoff seemed more than fair to me. Will it become a mini-BOI? No, not likely when the original poster of the thread can delete the entire thing at will. It will be a self healing process when those sorts of wounds fester here and there.
Yes, there will be some distracting discussions, that could possibly get heated at times, but look at the bright side of this: People are attracted to threads with lots of replies and views. So the silver lining to that cloud would be that LOTS of people would be noticing YOUR ad. The more people noticing it, the greater the likelihood that a sale might result from those views. Plus EVERY time a reply is posted, it bounces up to the top of the forum, which is certainly a bonus as well. Of course, this can be abused, but that will be handled effectively when it does happen. Simply BUMPING an ad to the top will get that ad deleted when this tactic is discovered.
Of course, I am willing to listen to both sides of this discussion, but having tried it both ways, I have yet to hear a strong enough argument to revert back to the non-reply method I used previously.
Thanks.
