New BST Policy -- questions

[farmergal]

I was just reading through terrielacy's new guidelines for posting to BST... and had a couple of questions.

1) Is feedback on a seller considered "chatter"? I think it can be really useful when someone chimes in "I just hatched out some of these eggs, and the fertility rate and packing job was excellent..." I know there's a thread on this on the Everything Else BST page, but it's kind of slow to wade through a 63-page thread and it's really useful to have feedback on the seller's actual thread.

2) Is there a point at which it's okay to bump? Say you posted something 5 days ago, and didn't get any responses because it happened to be a really high-volume day and you ended up on page 2 after just a few hours. Is it okay then to re-post?

Anyone else have questions (or answers)? Thought it might be interesting to discuss the new policy. I think all the ideas are good, but if it's TOO strict then we lose some of the fun of the BST forums... where people post pics of their grown birds hatched from a seller's eggs... etc.

 

[Buster]

Hard to catch anyone's eye when the BST stuff gets pushed off the screen so quickly. I am assuming that any kind of posting on the BST posts other than to say sold or update is no longer allowed?

 

[shortcake1806]

I'm wondering is it necessary for admin to post to every thread about the new "tips". It seems as if we're being scolded like children.

 

[DuckLady]

Quote:
Great questions!! For the record, these new rules and guidelines are the result of the entire staff discussing and making them workable. It has been a work in progress for several months.

1) Is feedback on a seller considered "chatter"? I think it can be really useful when someone chimes in "I just hatched out some of these eggs, and the fertility rate and packing job was excellent..." I know there's a thread on this on the Everything Else BST page, but it's kind of slow to wade through a 63-page thread and it's really useful to have feedback on the seller's actual thread.

The seller should post SOLD on the thread subject line and it will be locked. Otherwise you can have pages of back and forth which will knock new threads off the main page and not give anyone else a chance. Once you have sold your product, there is not reason to keep chatting in it. There is a thread at the top of the Everything Else BST section for feedback. However if you want to show off your hatch, you can post pics in the "Pictures and Stories of My Chickens" forum.

2) Is there a point at which it's okay to bump? Say you posted something 5 days ago, and didn't get any responses because it happened to be a really high-volume day and you ended up on page 2 after just a few hours. Is it okay then to re-post?

Not really. Again, it knocks someone new off the main page. I look at it this way from experience. If I don't get replies, then in most cases, no one is interested in my item. We feel that by placing the rules into effect, like no bumping and editing new info into your first post and limiting the chatter, everyone will get a more fair chance.

Anyone else have questions (or answers)? Thought it might be interesting to discuss the new policy. I think all the ideas are good, but if it's TOO strict then we lose some of the fun of the BST forums... where people post pics of their grown birds hatched from a seller's eggs... etc.

Please feel free to ask questions about understanding the rules. However, they are not really up for discussion as far as does everyone agree. They are the result of months of work by the staff as a team and are fair for everyone.
Again, post pics of your grown birds in the appropriate forum. The BST forums are for buying, selling and trading, not for socialization. We feel that the new rules and guidelines will benefit everyone who sells, buys and trades here.

Hard to catch anyone's eye when the BST stuff gets pushed off the screen so quickly. I am assuming that any kind of posting on the BST posts other than to say sold or update is no longer allowed?

If everyone follows the guidelines then the posts wont fall off so fast. If the first post is edited with new info and the subject line is edited to reflect same and that the item sold, then it will be fair for everyone.

Thanks!​

 

[DuckLady]

Quote:
Not at all. It was easier for me to post in every thread than to send out a hundred PMs to the OP.

We want everyone to see and go by the new rules. We know from experience that the stickies that are posted by staff don't get read.

 

[sara]

I have a question. I've seen people use the buy/sell/trade section here to advertise auctions on other sites. I personally don't think that should be allowed. My reasoning is if that if sites with other forums can't be linked because of competition, isn't linking auctions on other sites the same thing? Plus those listings push people selling something here down the list.

I agree with all the other rules, and think it will be very helpful.

 

[shortcake1806]

Thanks for the answer Terri. I think that having it posted to every thread makes people hesitant to post anymore. They're afraid what they're posting is against the rules.

 

[Buster]

I guess what makes it hard is that many of us just read the recent posts. I rarely am specifically looking to buy something but if I see something that is a good deal and I want it, I'll buy it. Many people almost never check out the BST section. So the BST posts that may catch someone's eye are often bumped off the recent posts screen by all of the MAAN threads.

 

[monarc23]

I completley understand the new rules and im happy I noticed them last night normally I'm not very observant hahaha

I think that these new rules are actually very reasonable, and will give everyone a fair chance at selling their eggies

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Thanks for the discussion everyone. We do appreciate helpful and friendly feedback.

Behind the scenes we deal with a LOT of reports and PMs from members that are bothered by their posts getting pushed to the bottom of BST so quickly. Here is what we're seeing happening and we're trying to nip in the bud:

1) Member1 posts a BST item
2) Members2-10 post a BST item and then so does member11
3) Member1 bumps their item because they don't like being below members2-10.
4) Members2-10 bump their items for the same reason.
5) Member1 starts a new thread about the same item and the cycle restarts.
6) Member11 tries to keep the rules and never bumps a thread but their item quickly falls out of sight because of all the other members constant bumping and re-posting.

Multiply this by 500 active posters in BST and you see where this is heading.

Like every other decision the staff mulls it over for a VERY long time and weighs the pro's and con's and tweak for every situation. We don't expect everything we do to be perfect out of the gate, but we've got a great track record for being right the vast majority of the time.

We're also working on a program to give frequent sellers an opportunity to get more exposure in the BST sections and will post more info about that soon.