This is just not true. I sold out the links on one thread well into the 2nd and 3rd weeks of starting it with fewer sold in the 1st week. Most of the sales would probably have not gone ahead if my thread wasn't occasionaly made visible again. I think 1 bump per 24 hours should be allowed.
Not all threads are the same or require bumping. Some sales complete fairly quickly. Ultimately though, the links forum for example is too busy for both buyers and sellers to get full benefit from. Realistically, a 24 hour window for your thread to get seen and then you're finished is inadequate. I don't believe a majority use Search. Some kind of solution is needed. Maybe forums that are so busy such as link sales need to be split into "buy" and "sell" and possibly even "signature sales" and then maybe allow a weekly bump.
Another suggestion!! We are currently showing say 30 threads on each page. Why not increase this value to 50? This way, new sales thread will get little more impression on first page before going to second. This is not AS good suggestion, because ultimately the number 50 will seems to be low again. But its acceptable, may be.
Having read through this thread, I guess pretty much everything has been covered, and I tend to agree that bumping will do nothing for anyone, even "controlled" bumping. If I post a thread, of course I feel slightly annoyed if within a few hours it has been lost in the depths of the DP ranks, but that is something that affects everyone. Surely the problem really is, how do you get users to see the most relevant content to them, in an environment where so much content is constantly being added? How about, for example, changing the focus of the forums front page to a search engine type interface, to encourage users to search rather than browse? In my opinion, DP has almost outgrown the traditional forum layout. The "bump or not to bump" question is probably a mute one, just because if you allow it, many will bump their threads, leaving you in the same position as you started.
No. They are just mods. The "Bump Police" get to wear cyber blue clothes and cyber hats with badges on them. They might even get to own a cyber gun and a cyber stun-gun. Can't see any of the mods wearing this type of stuff. Well, maybe Rob Col