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[Black wallnut]

Fellow members it seems that some have been joining our forum for the sole reason of posting a want add. This is not the purpose of either this site or this sub forum! I strongly advise all members to not nibble on the bait. If a member has a very low post count consider not responding to their for sale thread. The difference between spam and members whom only purpose for membership is to sell one or two items is barely discernible IMHO.

Should we not approve posts for those new members in this forum? I'm including a short term poll in this thread so that the members can vote.

[sweensdv]

I for one think the members here are plenty smart enough to figure out for themselves whether or not they want to respond to one of these postings.

[dbhost]

IMHO, I think the Classified / For Sale section would be better if it were opened up to users after they have reached a post count of at least 25. At least show SOME involvement...

I think for the most part, if the seller is reasonably local to you though... It might not be a bad way to get BT specific deals out and available to our users...

[LCHIEN]

your poll is tricky in its wording - a negative question followed by yes/no, an easy situation for mistakenly clicking the opposite answer.

And by want ads, do you meant WTB only or FS ads, too?
Are you refering to BT3-related, WW-related items or all items?
I think the (parting out a BT3000 in Sandiego) ad by the Rolof fellow seems quite innocent. And the reply you posted to him seems kind of harsh.

For the reason that we concentrate BT3 users in greater numbers than any other place, this makes BT3 central the obvious place for buying and selling BT3 related items. Similar statement could be made fr WW-related. If I had an acquaintance I knew that wanted to buy, sell, or trade BT3 parts or accessories, I would point him to this forum. To me it appears to be an obvious benefit to forum members and also a way of attracting new members.

I agree with Davee (Sweensv), let the members figure it out, maybe just weed out the obvious spammers.

[LinuxRandal]

When I see a very low post count, posting in the classifieds, I think high chance of fraud, if not local (nothing ever is). I think most people believe that, as they haven't established themselves.

Since below a certain post count, the posts are delayed anyway, could you drop any that are posting directly, to classifieds, automatically?

[poolhound]

I must admit I dont want this site to become another CL but as Loring says it is a logical place for folks with BT related items to come.

I also agree that most folks here know how to watch out for "dodgy" deals and will be potentially reserved when responding to folks with low post counts but should we limit the opportunity for members to find potenetially totally kosher deals on stuff they want.

Maybe a minimum post count should be considered but for somebody who is intent on getting their add on here it wouldnet be too tough to just reply to a bunch of threads sell their stuff and dissappear.

It seems that we have been attracting a good stream of real new members lately and I wouldnt want to do anything to discourage that trend.

[JR]

I don't have any problem with people coming here to sell their BT3x stuff. People who have a desire for a BT3x, or its accessories, would naturally come here, so why wouldn't/shouldn't sellers?

I might view a sale offer differently if it was posted by Black Wallnut, as opposed to a brand new member. But if I was in San Diego and in need of a BT3x, it sure wouild be nice to know when one became available.

JR

[sparkeyjames]

Give a want ad a 5 day limit if they have less than say 25 posts. Let them scroll off into the bit bucket (no archiving). If that is possible. I rarely look at the ads here unless it comes up on the new posts page and catches my eye.

[JoeyGee]

I would not want to see such a limitation. As others have mentioned, we are all pretty well seasoned enough to know who to purchase from and who not to. This site has had fairly light moderation (at least to my eye) and that is one of the reasons I favor this site over others.

You would also be limiting the WTB people as well as already mentioned. I would hate to throw a whole bunch of limitations on new members. I felt as welcomed on post #1 as I do now, with however many I have.

I second Loring's comment on the wording of the question, it could be tricky.

[BerniePA]

I think Loring has a pretty good handle on the subject. I see nothing wrong with someone trying to come here and sell a BT, since we are primarily about BT's. I know that I have been a member for many years, although my Logonid does not reflect that. That is because when I lived in AZ, I was mostly a lurker, and when I moved, I had no time for the forum for quite a while and then I forgot my password, so I had to rejoin, which happened to be shortly before my BT3100 had it's fatal heart attack and needed to enter the organ donor plan (which in spite of a low post count, went very well, thank you all).

So, yes, weed out the obvious spammers, but let the members decide what to do with some new who has some thing of interest to sell. IMHO

[gary]

What do I vote to allow them to post "yes" or "no"? I still can't tell from reading the question a few times.

[sweensdv]

What do I vote to allow them to post "yes" or "no"? I still can't tell from reading the question a few times.

Vote "No" to allow and "Yes" to deny.

ADDENDUM:
Vote "False" to allow and "True" to deny.

[cgallery]

I would like to allow new members to post in classifieds. Let's face it, parts aren't going to get any easier to find. I'd rather keep the avenue open than close it.

[Tom Slick]

Could the new members' classified ads be subject to moderators' approval? that seems like it would be the best of both worlds. protect from spam and still allow legitimate classified posts.

[Black wallnut]

Poll edited in an effort to make it clearer. A true means that you do not want new users to be able to post in this section.