Thread: The rules regarding classified ads in regional sections need reconciling. Please vote

It has come to the staff's attention recently that a rule we thought we put in place back in 2010 regarding the prohibition of classified ads in the regional sections was not actually applied properly.
That discussion starts here: http://www.sr20-forum.com/server-news/41067-rules-classifieds-discussion-9.html#post1024126

Without going into too much history, the rules regarding buying and selling on the forum got a lot stricter in 2010 due to the perceived frequency of sales gone wrong, scamming, etc.
To gain some control over the situation, sales were required to contain much more information on the item and the seller. They were also strictly limited to the classified sections. This helps keep things organized and facilitates nice filters, protections, and controls that we have for the classifieds that would otherwise not be possible.

To make posting all of the required information easier on everyone, the For Sale template was created and applied to the For Sale sections to facilitate this.

At the time, it was very clear that no sales were to happen outside of the classified sections, including but not limited to the prohibition of these threads in the regional sections.
Regional sections later got a really awesome link that would show you classified ads only in your area. This was great, but broke a few years back and needs to be repaired. There is a thread on that here: http://www.sr20-forum.com/server-news/75156-regional-classified-sections-missing.html


As the years have passed, no one noticed that the rule requiring classified ads to existi only in the classified sections never actually got written down clearly, nor anywhere useful. Adding to this, the Terms of Service (which I've been meaning to update since this past February) are grossly out of date and explicitly state that classified ads in regional sections ARE allowed.



This brings us to a situation where the rule we all wanted in 2010 never really got applied, and is in an unenforceable state right now. I'd like you to vote on how we should proceed. I've given us two weeks to collect votes. I'd prefer to settle this much sooner if possible.

There are two options. Disallow classified ads in the regional sections, or allow them.
If you chose that you'd prefer to disallow sales in the classifieds sections, that does not prevent us from temporarily lifting that ban while the regional classified search feature gets fixed. That is still an option.

My vote is to allow sales in the regional sections, as long as the sales template is used.

Post in your "home" regional section (with template) - Yes
Crosspost in multiple regional sections - No
Post a link in your home regional section to your thread in the Classified section - Yes

C

@Chriscar, I'm not sure we have the ability to provide the For Sale Template in the regional sections without it being "ON" all the time. It is either applied to a section or not. It is all or nothing...

I like the idea of posting fs ads in the regional section, but making people adhere to the posting rules...ugh! I couldn't imagine.

Kind of pointless to have rules & regulations in one section and not the other though. Certainly if you wind up doing the transaction face to face, then it's one thing, but even if we can't use the sales template, we should expect regional FS ads to be complete.

C

I think Chriscar has the best idea for this.

Chris might have missed the sarcasm, but I got it.


@Chriscar, what if we got the regional classified search feature working again? Wouldn't that solve all of the problems?

In a perfect world...I would like to be able to post regionally for larger items that need to be picked up...as this keeps the people who dont read first from asking about shipping.

But a link in the regionals to the classifieds post is not a bad idea either....or being able to cross/post or double post for maximun exposure.

Here's hoping you get the regional classifieds fixed but I really like being able to have regional classifieds (makes it so much easier for bigger items or fragile items you just dont' want to deal with paying for or buying with shipping involved)

You could have a Sticky in the regional rules that says ads must contain 'X' Do we really have to have a template? Arent' we adult enough to read and follow rules? Personally I'd like to see 'city' AND 'state' as a requirement for regional rules. For example, I saw a set of wheels and tires I wanted but they were an 8 hour drive away (still regional but not close enough for my comfort zone).

Good one Chris.

Take a look at any sale in the regional section and tell me the majority of people will include the information we require without the use of the template. Go ahead, I'll wait.


That is already required. Please report those that don't and we'll get things straightened out around here.