What does this mean in English?

351LX said:

What is the logic behind requiring someone to link their local ad to the national classifieds?I was selling some $5 items and giving some parts away so I certainly have no interest in shipping said items, so why should I be required to advertise them nationally?I thought that was the whole point of having a regional classified section, to sell local.

Click to expand...

And in cases such as local sales, exceptions to the rule can be made (which if you’ll re-read the Classifieds Forum rules, is implied). But all other pertinent details still need to be made apparent in the body of your text and in cases where local advertising, or no ship sales are the case, it still needs to be cleared with SN Staff ahead of time regardless. Our job here is to moderate the forums to ensure they adhere to board standards and that’s what we’re going to do. Regardless of where you're selling the item, it still makes sense to advertise it in the National Classifieds. A person could easily state within the body of their advertisement that the item(s) are limited to local pick up only if that in fact is the case and still reap the benefit of double the exposure.

351LX said:

There have been about 6 ads on the Western classifieds since Christmas and the last ad on the Canadian classifieds was Nov.9 so how is spamming an issue?

Click to expand...

Ahhh, but those are only the legitimate ads you’ve seen. We make attempts to remove Spam Ads right away, so that members aren’t subjected to them. It’s not a Canada thing specifically, but trust me the spammers keep us busy on a daily basis and the Classifieds sections get their share. I can tell you right now there have been a lot more ads than the ones you’ve seen in the classifieds. We just filter out spam, so you don’t have to.

351LX said:

Previously when I included an email address in any Stangnet classified ad I was flooded with Nigerian scam emails so I would prefer to have someone PM me rather than including an email address in my ad.This used to be a popular forum but it has pretty much died and as far as I can see this just another nail in the coffin.

Click to expand...

Nowhere does it state in the rules you need to provide your Email address in open forum. Asking to have the person contact you via PM is perfectly acceptable.

The rules were put in place for a reason. We’ve been quite lax with them for quite a while now and I suspect that is one of the major reasons for poor performance in the forum. To keep things from getting out of hand, we’ve got to start cracking down. We’re not asking a lot from our members, only that the rules that we've already had in place since the beginning be followed. Allowing things to continue the way the have been is only going to open the door for scammers to come in and disrupt the forum for everybody. If everyone does their part, things will continue to run smoothly and quality will improve. I’m quite aware that activity within this forum has slowed over the last few months. The sales forums have been a mess for months now and this is the exact reasoning that reaffirmation of the rules needs to be applied and things need to get back on track! You may look at it as another nail in the coffin, but as a consumer, when I scan though the Forum and come across a post that has no contact info, no price, no photograph, no location of the item and a limited description, I skip right on by to the next one and don't give it a second thought.

We’re doing this to help you sell your item, not screw with your Karma. There’s no sense having a post sit around taking up space for god knows how long, if it’s not likely to generate any interest and become a stale post cluttering up the masses, or have it still floating around long after the item has been sold. Why should you the member have to trip over and filter though someone else’s crap in the forum in order to find what you’re looking for? Think of me as your own personal content filter in order to ensure your ad and the ads of others are properly advertised in order to keep the forum running smoothly.

So there you have it. If SN Management decides to alter the rules in the future, we’ll deal with it and make changes to accommodate as necessary, but for the time being this is how the rules are written and this is how they must be followed.

If anyone needs clarification, or has questions and/or concerns how to alter a current ad, or place one in the future, feel free to PM me. But don’t bother to do so if it’s just to argue against the format that has already been put into place. The Forum rules are as old as the forum itself, so let’s again starting playing by them to ensure we all have a pleasant experience.