So Ive recently ran into a problem with a new member in the B/S/T and Auction forums. Is it possible to limit new users to using these forums until they reach maybe 25 posts or something in the discussion forums? I know a ton of sites that do this and its a great idea that really cuts back on scammers and flake outs!
It's my understanding that there are actually a number of users here with zero posts that have been good buyers, so I'm a bit hesitant to make such a limitation.
What does everyone else think?
Another forum that I frequent enforces a 30 post limit before trading - it seems to work reasonably well. It gives new users a chance to mingle and get to know the community a little bit, as well as giving the community an opportunity to get to know them.
It still doesn't stop trouble makers though, nor does it stop people who solely wish to trade and not participate in the community (not sure if this is frowned upon here?) It also introduces the possibility of people spamming their way to 30 posts, but this is obvious to spot and can be dealt with if necessary, though it's more work for the mods.
It can make new users feel a little isolated and left out, but generally most people that wish to be part of the community and do a little trading on the side don't mind. It's only the straight to business and nothing else people that complain.
I guess you should create a thread/poll with some of the experienced/trusted traders here and see how often they are experiencing problems. If it's happening at an alarming rate, then look into a plan of action. If it's only a rare occurrence, why bother with change?
Well there hasn't been much new member that scammed someone here, I think I got the only one.... (well that would be the second with Parodius)
Also I do not like much this idea. Sometimes some people spam all around to get those X posts and there's really few new members that do bad thing. Sometimes you can guess they are suspicious
Is it really a problem? I agree that users would probably feel left out. And, as was also said, this restriction would be easy to circumvent for anyone who wanted. Suppose you are a lurking guest (as i am writing, there are 35 guests on the forum), and you see something you want to buy. You have to register, throw out 30 posts?
If someone doesn't want to sell to a user with 0 posts, then don't sell. This isn't ebay. You can sell to whoever you want to sell to.
just imagine that you're the scammer. And what should stop you to post some comments in holywar/offtop threads? Really nothing. Even 100 posts, yeah it takes some additional time about a few weeks, but doesn't cure the scammer.
Quote from: Parodius Duh on May 26, 2012, 08:16:03 am
So Ive recently ran into a problem with a new member in the B/S/T and Auction forums. Is it possible to limit new users to using these forums until they reach maybe 25 posts or something in the discussion forums? I know a ton of sites that do this and its a great idea that really cuts back on scammers and flake outs!
Just expose the user name and location(ZIP code enough). We should know, who is that "hero".
I agree with UJ, that lots of "0 posts" people are normal, but still...
Making posts doesn't really mean much. If a person were going to scam you, they'd do whatever they had to... and making 25, 30, 100 posts isn't such a big deal. I made a purchase on here before even making a single post... but really like has been said before, if a seller doesn't want to sell to 0 post members then they should probably refrain from doing so. Of course even with a ton of posts... a person can just flake out and screw someone over.
Limit making new B/S/T topics, not only by New Users, but also by everyone else.
I don't know what the problem could be with a New User buying - he paid, you're clear. When such individual is selling something - you should ALWAYS stay alert.
Yeah, even though there are ways for the buyer to scam, selling is the only real problem. Limiting to posts doesn't do a whole lot, I guess trust still rules.
I didnt buy or sell, I made a trade and never received my end. Anyway, another point that has nothing to do with being scammed-
I think users should be required to post at least 25 times before being able to use the b/s/t and auction forums, that way they can become a somewhat established member, why should someone with 0 posts be able to come here, just sit back and watch the b/s/t forum and scoop up all the good deals from members with 600-700-800-1000+ posts without ever making a single attempt at being a member of this community? they should not be able to do that unless they are an established and active member. I lost out on a great deal on an awesome game I needed. Why? cause the username of the buyer that the seller told me was some guy thats never even posted once but has been registered for months. Thats not right and far from being acceptable in my book.
I disagree. That would change the forums atmosphere to something akin to a SUPER SECRET CLUB!!!1!11 that we all hate NA and AA for. FW is one of the most open forums, and has minimal problems between members.
Quote from: petik1 on May 27, 2012, 02:58:12 pm
I disagree. That would change the forums atmosphere to something akin to a SUPER SECRET CLUB!!!1!11 that we all hate NA and AA for. FW is one of the most open forums, and has minimal problems between members.
I dont feel that way and if nothing changes Ill be leaving sooner than later, or at least not come here as frequently. On top of already getting burned, Nothing pisses me off more than when users that dont even participate in the forum have the ability to swipe items out from under you, seriously, F*CK THAT!
And it would not be "SUPER SECRET CLUB" seriously how frickin' hard is it to post 25 times?
If this forum remains to open of an atmosphere than its going to cause problems.
Im not trying to be bitter, heck I was fine with how this forum was. Wait until it happens to you, then you will have a different outlook.
The thing is, your solution doesn't solve the problem. You said it yourself.
Quote from: Parodius Duh on May 27, 2012, 03:45:49 pm
how frickin' hard is it to post 25 times?
I can go write 25 three-word posts in a few days. It would just place an annoying barrier on those who just wish to buy a certain item. Just because someone's a member on a forum longer than another doesn't mean they're entitled to dibs on marketplace items.
Quote from: petik1 on May 27, 2012, 05:42:09 pm
The thing is, your solution doesn't solve the problem. You said it yourself.
Quote from: Parodius Duh on May 27, 2012, 03:45:49 pm
how frickin' hard is it to post 25 times?
I can go write 25 three-word posts in a few days. It would just place an annoying barrier on those who just wish to buy a certain item. Just because someone's a member on a forum longer than another doesn't mean they're entitled to dibs on marketplace items.
Exactly, its annoying and will deter those who have no desire to be a part of the actual community and will make those who want to buy something that bad, work for it.
if this isnt an option than how about making a sub forum to the b/s/t forum that only members with 100+ feedback can post their rare items for sale and trade with each other, without the worry of being scammed by noobs.
Quote from: Parodius Duh on May 27, 2012, 06:29:16 pm
if this isnt an option than how about making a sub forum to the b/s/t forum that only members with 100+ feedback can post their rare items for sale and trade with each other, without the worry of being scammed by noobs.
100+ feedback? I've been a member since '09 and I have a feedback of
4.
Quote from: petik1 on May 27, 2012, 06:53:08 pm
Quote from: Parodius Duh on May 27, 2012, 06:29:16 pm
if this isnt an option than how about making a sub forum to the b/s/t forum that only members with 100+ feedback can post their rare items for sale and trade with each other, without the worry of being scammed by noobs.
100+ feedback? I've been a member since '09 and I have a feedback of 2.
I meant posts, 100+
POSTS.
Oh, well, i never recieved my end twice, so what? As result i can say "Wanna trade? No prob, send me your stuff first, when i will recieve it, i will send mine". And i don't do much trades only because can not see much interesting stuff for me to trade-in.
I would vote against limiting new users for B/S/T threads. In my experience for each active(posting) user you can count about 10 registered users, who would ask questions in PM or buy ocassionally. And for each registered user(include posting) is about 10 "guests", who just reading messageboard.
25+ posts? It's just nothing - go to "Off topic" and you will gain this amount in about 1 hour.
If you don't feel secure about deal, just don't do it or secure payment/goods.
P.S. can you send me PM with details of that member?
Why limit new users? If you don't wanna do business with them it's simple: don't. As for the whole "n00b bought something that I wanted, not fair" argument, my only advice is to check the forum more often. Either that or just stop bitching, that works too.
On a slightly different note, I still think it would be useful to have another B/S section under "Misc"....
We've had a very small amount of problems when it comes to scamming in the BST forum, and I really don't think it's a big enough problem to have any significant correlation to new members joining and not posting just to scam people, so I don't think this small problem would necessarily be solved by making a minimum post requirement.
I don't agree with adding a post limit, this is not Assembler or even NintendoAge. People are not whoring up the thread with sale posts and most famicom games are not in the $100+ range.
As for losing out on great deals, you need to be quick and there will always be lurkers, or those that don't oblige to post. They shouldn't be forced.
I don't think barriers should be put up, I don't there should be rules in the B/S/T forums other than reading the rules and not over-bumping threads.
When you start talking about community like that - it becomes insular and represents another barrier to newcomers, I'm not for that.
The golden rule is, be quick and check back every day (I log on multiple times a day). If someone replied to a PM before you, I can't help but feel that's fair as first come, first serve I'm afraid.
I agree with what L___E___T dais 100%.
I've made many good deals with 0 post members.
Never had a problem with them (yet).
I did have some problems with members who have a lot of posts, though. :-[
I think it should be up to the customer whether to do business with a 0 feedback member after all.
I only chipped in because I really like the friendly tone of this site, it's what makes it special and why this is the only real forum I frequent.
I'm just thinking of situations where a long time member of Assembler or NA might want to plug something here, but therefore can't becauise of this rule.
It just seems limiting to me and I think the great thing about this forum is that it is not strict and tense but calm and friendly, despite the lack of rules.
Anything that pushes new users away generally wouldn't get my vote anyway though, I'd lovethe famicom scene to be bigger in the west generally.
Quote from: son_ov_hades on May 29, 2012, 03:07:23 pm
Why limit new users? If you don't wanna do business with them it's simple: don't. As for the whole "n00b bought something that I wanted, not fair" argument, my only advice is to check the forum more often. Either that or just stop bitching, that works too.
Did you read my other points? obviously not, if youre going to reply in my posts, Id appreciate it that you actually read all of my replies. Below:
Getting ripped off once for my RARE carts via
TRADE is enough for me.
Quote from: Parodius Duh on June 02, 2012, 08:58:44 pm
Getting ripped off once for my RARE carts via TRADE is enough for me.
An unwritten rule that I've noticed is common on many BST forums is that the person with the lower post count, time active on the forum, etc, sends their item first. You can't really blame anyone except yourself for trusting that an anonymous person who has no reputation at all here is going to hold up their end of the deal. If I were you, I would have told them to send their item first, and if they ask why, tell them what I just said, and there's really no reason they should argue with you about it. If they argue at all, there's a good chance they were planning on scamming you.
I had already sold him items with no problem, so i figured nothing would go wrong with trading.
If you already had made a sale to him with no problem, he had earned your trust exclusive from post count. The sale was presumably a good sale, so how would a post count limit have changed the outcome of the later trade? Some people just end up being forgetful or dishonest, and no amount of transaction rules can prevent some wacko from doing something crazy. Use the feedback threads, protect yourself, insure your packages.
Setting a post count barrier only limits the effectiveness of the B/S/T section, and when it comes to something as niche as Famicom games and hardware, any single user that faces a barrier to entry they don't care to get through is more likely not to return than to participate.
Quote from: Parodius Duh on June 02, 2012, 08:58:44 pm
Quote from: son_ov_hades on May 29, 2012, 03:07:23 pm
Why limit new users? If you don't wanna do business with them it's simple: don't. As for the whole "n00b bought something that I wanted, not fair" argument, my only advice is to check the forum more often. Either that or just stop bitching, that works too.
Did you read my other points? obviously not, if youre going to reply in my posts, Id appreciate it that you actually read all of my replies. Below:
Getting ripped off once for my RARE carts via TRADE is enough for me.
I read the whole thread. My point still stands if you don't want to do business(buy, sell or trade) with someone who is risky then don't. No one forces you to deal with anyone. Limiting the BST board would not magically take away the risk in do business on a forum.
Quote from: Parodius Duh on June 02, 2012, 11:17:38 pm
I had already sold him items with no problem, so i figured nothing would go wrong with trading.
The guy that scammed me here had bought bunch items here before I did the trade with him.
Nothing stop a scammer to scam people.
As someone who is just now posting for the first time, let me say that what I love about this forum is when I first joined and started messaging people who had had items I was interested in purchasing, everyone was very kind and inviting and all of our transactions went smoothly. I know if there was a 25 post minimum I don't know if I would of joined in the first place. Not because I don't like to contribute, but because if I do post on a message board of any type I like to have something worthwhile to say, or answer a question, or add something new to the conversation. I used to be a moderator of a message board and one of my pet peeves used to be people spamming the boards just to get their post counts up with one word replies. If you imposed a rule like this you would surely be inundated with posts of this type. I myself am still new to the whole Famicom world so I rather read the posts of more knowledgeable members and if I do have something to add I would.
Like I did just now. ;D
This is just my opinion, but I'm happier when I see deals go to forum members who actually contribute.
Quote from: Servoisnaked on September 12, 2012, 02:39:27 am
I know if there was a 25 post minimum I don't know if I would of joined in the first place.
Absolutely no offence intended, but you joined this forum a year ago and have made 2 posts since. How is this forum losing out by you not being here?
Don't take that the wrong way, it's not meant to sound as harsh as it comes across, but do you see my point? You're basically saying 'I don't contribute to this forum, I just swoop in and buy all the good deals, and if you had a post limitation I would have never joined these forums'. -Where's the loss in you not joining if you don't intend to contribute anyhow and are only here for your own personal gain? Make sense?
Actually I understand why users don't post much.
I am a member of forums where I really can't contribute other than useless posts, and I don't want that. I am glad if I can make a few relevant posts here, every now and then.
What sort of posts would a user make if he doesn't have much to contribute?
*First* he should buy a famicom, *then* he may ask questions about his problems, *then* he may make some other contributions to the forum. That's a natural development, in my opinion.
Quote from: Frank_fjs on September 12, 2012, 03:16:57 am
You're basically saying 'I don't contribute to this forum, I just swoop in and buy all the good deals, and if you had a post limitation I would have never joined these forums'. -Where's the loss in you not joining if you don't intend to contribute anyhow and are only here for your own personal gain?
Well said, Frank.
Quote from: Frank_fjs on September 12, 2012, 03:16:57 am
This is just my opinion, but I'm happier when I see deals go to forum members who actually contribute.
Quote from: Servoisnaked on September 12, 2012, 02:39:27 am
I know if there was a 25 post minimum I don't know if I would of joined in the first place.
Absolutely no offence intended, but you joined this forum a year ago and have made 2 posts since. How is this forum losing out by you not being here?
Don't take that the wrong way, it's not meant to sound as harsh as it comes across, but do you see my point? You're basically saying 'I don't contribute to this forum, I just swoop in and buy all the good deals, and if you had a post limitation I would have never joined these forums'. -Where's the loss in you not joining if you don't intend to contribute anyhow and are only here for your own personal gain? Make sense?
All members who are part of this site have an equal chance of getting a good deal. First come first serve. Having a 25 posts or 1000 posts is not going to change that. The same applies to scammers. People who rip you off are going to regardless of their post count.
As a moderator I would more annoyed by people who made useless posts that I would have to moderate later. It's true that I don't contribute but I do read the other sections of the forums or else I would have not said anything here.
There is no loss or gain for you if I joined or not. That's true. But I have been a good buyer on these forums and the people who I have purchased items from may have lost out on my business.
Quote from: fredJ on September 12, 2012, 03:40:24 am
What sort of posts would a user make if he doesn't have much to contribute?
You can check my first 2,000 or so posts here for the answer to that question. Even when I was super interested in Famicom (I'm really not that much anymore), I never really had much to contribute here. Somehow I became a moderator though. :P
As a relative newcomer here, I can tell you that if I couldn't have used the trading forums as a noob, I probably wouldn't still be around.
I joined the forum and was looking around trying to determine if I wanted to get into the Famicom or not, and I bought a system and some games from two different sellers with maybe 3 posts under my belt. I probably would not have bought a Famicom at ebay prices, so I probably would have moved on after a couple of weeks.
As it is, I now have a Famicom, FDS, a ton of games for each, and working on repros, none of which I would have done if I had moved on. I don't post all that much, but I'm reading the forum pretty much every day.
Quote from: JC on September 23, 2010, 08:00:12 pm
I think Nintendodork would understand we're not too strict but like to keep things orderly and courteous.
*shrug*
Lurkers are an inherent part of a forum model, I don't think scaring them away has benefits - more can be done to turn lurkers into posters, then in turn those posters becomes super posters over time. I think if people get annoyed that get pipped to the post on deals by lurkers, they've got to be quicker or suck it up.
Put it this way, if someone doesn't post but checks the site every single day and reads just part of one thread, isn't that still worthwhile? People are enjoying the site.
Hello. I just joined this site because of the B/S/T area. There are a couple of projects I am working on, and need to find some good pirated games. (I understand good is relative but you know what I mean.) This site has been a great resource, and the people who post here seem to be honest and polite. I'm not the most active poster on any forum, but I hope the B/S/T area will remain open.