Since it was brought up recently, I wanted to voice my opinion on the rule requiring pictures in For Sale threads. I've discussed it in PMs with people but it seems appropriate to put here too. This specifically relates to Andreas Miko and possibly other highly trusted forum members who sell items often. Obviously there is little need to require them to post pictures from a "we require pictures to help weed out scammers" point of view. However, that is how the rule is written right now. Not requiring Andreas Miko to follow the rule wouldn't be fair or prudent. It creates an image of the moderators being above the rules, which they are not. It is also very easy for the moderation staff to create and stand behind bad or inconvenient rules if they themselves don't have to follow them and suffer under them and never experience what it is really like to follow them.
There's an easy answer to this problem. Just change the rule so that whatever it is about Andreas Miko that makes him special can be obtained by any other member. Dre is a trusted member and seller. If he doesn't want to go through the hassle of taking, hosting, and posting pictures (I agree it is a bitch) then I don't think he should have to since we know he's trustworthy. Neither should anyone else we consider trustworthy. Simply change the rule to reflect that. Here would be some suggestions with my favorite first.
- -You MUST include a picture of your item. At this point pretty much everybody's got a digital camera or a phone with camera, or you can borrow one. Therefore, no more 'Email for pics.' If you have pics of the items you're selling, put them online and link to them or hotlink them in the thread. Exceptions to this rule are anyone with an iTrader rating above 30. (Or some suitably high, but obtainable number.)
- -You MUST include a picture of your item. At this point pretty much everybody's got a digital camera or a phone with camera, or you can borrow one. Therefore, no more 'Email for pics.' If you have pics of the items you're selling, put them online and link to them or hotlink them in the thread. Exceptions to this rule are anyone cleared by the moderation staff as exempt based on length of time in the community, track record of trustworthiness, submission of personal details, and/or other factors. A list of these exempt people can be found here: *link*
- -You MUST include a picture of your item. At this point pretty much everybody's got a digital camera or a phone with camera, or you can borrow one. Therefore, no more 'Email for pics.' If you have pics of the items you're selling, put them online and link to them or hotlink them in the thread. Exceptions to this rule are anyone with a username starting with "A", "B", or "C".
While pictures are
very nice to have, I don't think we have to make them mandatory for trusted members; do we?