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Problematic Buy/Sell/Trade Areas...

Discussion in 'Support & Feedback' started by digitalpoint, Jan 14, 2014.

  1. dcristo

    dcristo Illustrious Member

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    #21
    The number of link exchange threads would be minuscule in comparison to link sales threads.
     
    dcristo, Jan 15, 2014 IP
  2. digitalpoint

    digitalpoint Overlord of no one Staff

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    #22
    So I had an idea about what to do with the areas within the "Other" section of Buy/Sell/Trade (and it's sub-sections)...

    The threads in those areas are already only viewable if you are logged in (meaning search engines aren't going to index them).

    That area consists of the sections that I would (personally) like to see die off (Link Exchange, Link Sales, Vouchers and Adult). I know some people might find use in those areas even if I personally don't, so rather than just shut those sections down completely/abruptly, I'm thinking of two things here...
    • Making it so you can only post new threads in those areas if you are a premium member (adding a barrier of entry to those areas will definitely slow the areas down).
    • Make "Buying" threads in those areas only VIEWABLE by established members (this would help with a massive spam problem we have where if you post a Buying thread in those areas, you have a zillion low-quality users blindly spamming you). If a user is serious about selling you something you WANT (and not just wanting to blast you with spam, then I would assume the cost of premium membership is a pittance for them since they are making money from it).
    And yes... I know I'd have to deal with people complaining that we are doing it for the premium membership revenue, but the reality is that premium membership is a real barrier of entry and the goal is to wind those areas down without doing it abruptly.

    Still open for discussion/ideas...
     
    digitalpoint, Jan 15, 2014 IP
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  3. sundaybrew

    sundaybrew Numerati

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    #23
    Can I have a free membership?
     
    sundaybrew, Jan 15, 2014 IP
  4. digitalpoint

    digitalpoint Overlord of no one Staff

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    #24
    Why, do you need to buy some crappy stuff?
     
    digitalpoint, Jan 15, 2014 IP
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  5. Owen.P

    Owen.P Member

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    #25
    Hi,

    I've not been here for long but I think I can offer some decent ideas on ways to go. You said you'd already made those threads viewable only to logged in members which solves the problem of search engines indexing.

    Personally, I believe the Adult section should be left as is. I'm not, and won't be, a user of it at all myself, but this seems to be a good forum with adults present, and adult websites are a massive part of the internet now so a BST area seems applicable.

    I do believe that the Vouchers forum should be completely closed and/or deleted because, as you said, I think you'll find that almost every company has their Terms of Service violated by the selling of these vouchers, and, unfortunately, with the way this site is currently setup it would seem to *some* that Digital Point is condoning those ToS breaches.

    I don't really have any opinion on the Link Sales forum. It's an area that I'll never use, and quite frankly know so little about that I really don't feel qualified in the slightest to talk about it.

    My main part I wanted to make was to do with the Buying threads you refer to. I very much agree that they are very annoying threads, and in a lot of cases too are used to give buyers a way for sellers to come to them, which doesn't seem like good marketing etiquette. It also gives con artists and dodgy people a lot of room to offer things to people that they otherwise wouldn't be able too... it gives buyers too much opportunity to be ripped off. However, I do think that they do serve some useful purpose within the forum, so I don't believe a complete removal would be fair. I think they should be limited, much like the "Bump" feature I read about is. Possibly the ability to create only one buying thread every 2-4 weeks would slightly do away with the threads and stop timewasters too. And maybe Premium members could create one buying thread per 1-2 weeks.

    Just some ideas.
     
    Owen.P, Jan 16, 2014 IP
  6. dcristo

    dcristo Illustrious Member

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    #26
    I know the link sales forum is problematic but I think it's a mistake to close it. Considering this is an internet advertising forum, there should be a marketplace that facilitates the buying/selling of links (advertising). There are always issues with managing a forum. Close this form and another issue will popup the next day.
     
    dcristo, Jan 16, 2014 IP
  7. sundaybrew

    sundaybrew Numerati

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    #27

    Yeah, I wanted to download some of those free scripts and spam the shit out of google so I could make some money :)
     
    sundaybrew, Jan 16, 2014 IP
  8. speedyarticle

    speedyarticle Well-Known Member

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    #28
    Only make the Premium Users use Links Buy/sell forum afterall Linkbuilding is the backbone of a Website with some filters like for buying, increase the amount of infraction points if the thread if found to be duplicated and for selling you already have to verify membership so there should not be a issues in that part.........

    The Premium user part can be neglected :p afterall that's what DP drives People here....

    Though terminate or eliminate any selling content older than 2 months as the buying content is already very low and don't close any section afterall it could be bread and butter for someone working here for years............

    Thanks.
    Speed
     
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2014
    speedyarticle, Jan 16, 2014 IP
  9. kontakt

    kontakt Active Member

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    #29
    Honestly, I come here purely for the BTS section.

    In my opinion shutting the area down will only drive them away and that might prove a consequence to DP.

    If the concern is that content is of low standard, I guess my suggestions are:

    1. Prune posts older than 3 months.
    2. Set to noindex, nofollow for all posts in BTC

    Please do not set any premium membership, as what someone posted above, the open market is what drives people here.
     
    kontakt, Jan 16, 2014 IP
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  10. hope2life

    hope2life Active Member

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    #30
    why don't you put meta tag as "noindex nofollow" for all buying and selling threads so that they are not even indexed by google and there won't be any issue of duplicate threads and also users can buy and sell more freely without worrying about duplicate entries.
     
    hope2life, Jan 16, 2014 IP
  11. digitalpoint

    digitalpoint Overlord of no one Staff

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    #31
    Well, let the flood of link buyers/sellers coming to this thread begin thanks to @sarahk... lol

    There isn't an issue of duplicate threads in Google, it's an issue of duplicate threads on HERE. Making threads not indexable is going to prevent users from posting duplicate threads how?
     
    digitalpoint, Jan 16, 2014 IP
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  12. hope2life

    hope2life Active Member

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    #32
    You are already sending warnings and banning people for duplicate threads. They should learn this over time. Also I have a problem with selling here. Some sites I don't own but I work as a contributor on those sites and want to sell new posts. Since I cannot verify the site here on DP (as I am not admin) than how can I sell posts on such sites?
     
    hope2life, Jan 16, 2014 IP
  13. Nigel Lew

    Nigel Lew Notable Member

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    #33
    The link related boards can certainly go post haste. Vouchers are pretty shifty as well.

    I don't think I have ever read the adult board but I would tend to agree with the fellow who posted above.

    Just my 2 cents.
    Nigel
     
    Nigel Lew, Jan 16, 2014 IP
  14. masterB

    masterB Well-Known Member

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    #34
    In my opinion, the BST forum is not for creating "high standard content" or advicing users with questions/answers...is for the money and services changes hands. I think BST section have shown a decline after iTrader system was removed because you dont know with who you are dealing (no real feedback, so less mutual trust ).

    Totally agree. This is the most rational thought I read in this thread. Closing sections and restricting areas not necessary will keep away spammers and help users or forums. Some regulation will be fine, as: 2 buying thread per month and delete them after 1 month.

    If I have to choose a section to delete is Vouchers....as some people say is not considered a good practice at the present.
     
    masterB, Jan 16, 2014 IP
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  15. digitalpoint

    digitalpoint Overlord of no one Staff

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    #35
    You can't.

    Actually the whole reason we got rid of iTrader was *because* it wan't real feedback, and the system that replaced it IS.
     
    digitalpoint, Jan 16, 2014 IP
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  16. sarahk

    sarahk iTamer Staff

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    #36
    Oh you still get quite a good idea.

    I can look at your profile and see that in 5+ years you've only made 181 posts - and a third of those were in the Sites for sale section, but that your interest waned in 2011. I can see that you make genuinely helpful posts and you seem to have some experience with WordPress. I can see that when you joined you didn't instantly pad your post count to 25 by posting inane comments about cricket and Beyonce. From a 3 minute glance at your account I'd conclude that you are probably a straight up guy.

    Now... depending on how much money I'm going to risk with you (either sending to you, or expecting you to pay me) I will spend more time and dig a bit deeper and once I have skype and email details I'll search offsite as well.
     
    sarahk, Jan 16, 2014 IP
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  17. masterB

    masterB Well-Known Member

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    #37
    With respect, I do not agree. I believe a lot of the new transactions are not registered for this system so a lot of feedback too, maybe I am wrong.

    Anyway the Legacy iTrader should be more visible in the BTS. There are old users with really bad reputation still posting here and vice-versa(honest people)..so it may be another factor to consider when its time to choose someone for doing business.
     
    masterB, Jan 16, 2014 IP
  18. digitalpoint

    digitalpoint Overlord of no one Staff

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    #38
    Well, it's been 3 1/2 years since the iTrader replacement was rolled out. See original thread here: https://forums.digitalpoint.com/threads/transition-away-from-itrader.1942652/

    Now if people chose not to use it, well... obviously we can't make them. But there definitely are users that have... some are up into the hundreds of transactions (each one validated as a transaction that ACTUALLY happened). You get a better view of what's going on... are they a buyer that doesn't pay (or pays late), are they a seller that has their transactions disputed/refunded or not, etc.

    Check the "Marketplace" tabs on users that use it...

    https://forums.digitalpoint.com/members/unclesam555.242396/
    https://forums.digitalpoint.com/members/kevinrb.443547/
    https://forums.digitalpoint.com/members/junajwan.481963/
    https://forums.digitalpoint.com/members/chenting.341609/
    https://forums.digitalpoint.com/members/jess-english.408142/
    etc...
     
    digitalpoint, Jan 17, 2014 IP
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  19. sundaybrew

    sundaybrew Numerati

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    #39
    sundaybrew, Jan 17, 2014 IP
  20. 1234nasir

    1234nasir Well-Known Member

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    #40
    Sometimes Seller verify their high PR but low quality and dropped Sites and waste the valuable time of buyers. Is there any solution ? :rolleyes:

     
    1234nasir, Jan 17, 2014 IP