Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms One for the 'Moderators... For Sale advertisements

Simon.
I don't know if it is possible but can the for sale section be setup in such a way that only the OP and those with admin privileges can reply? All response to the OP would then have to go by PM but the OP could reply to revise the ad or let people know that the item has been sold.

I have looked at this before but was concerned that it promotes speed-posting of rubbish. I have seen it time and time again on other forums.

I've looked at this Peter but the concern was that by allowing that I still have to approve the post or we'll end up with spam central and people joining just to sell bits.

Time and time again I come back to the simplest route being: people being understanding that it is a manual process AND respecting, and following, the rules of that section of the forum. That, in my view, protects the feel of the site and the community.

PS - I should also state that new registrations are also manually vetted because although there is a system in place to flag known spammers, it isn't fool proof (neither is my way!) but although slow, I do a better job of keeping the numpties out.

Putting my money where my mouth is - if you need any additional help with any of the more mundane tasks on the for sale section, I am happy to help. As I said, I have some experience with the background stuff.

Fair point. Well, if you need any help for anything, just gissa shout.

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the comments... interesting thread.

From my perspective...

I joined TM to participate in a forum with like minded enthusiasts about all to do with Morgan ownership.

I had previously been a 'serial' Lotus owner, having been on various Lotus forums for over 20 years. The biggest one in the UK, the somewhat controversial 'SELOC' has various 'levels' of membership clearly spelled out... such as 'Club Member' or 'Club Supporter' etc... the latter being defined with an 'annual fee' of £15.00 which will help the site administrators run the forum for the benefit of all. Different 'levels' of membership give different benefits and have different annual 'subscriptions'.

With this comes added 'benefits' such as reduced 'pop up' advertising, discounts to insurance and other business discounts, plus the ability to advertise freely in the 'For Sale' section.

As far as I can see, this is not clearly spelt out on the TM website... so when I placed an advertisement, having been a member on here for a couple of years with circa 450 posts, I did not know that my 'innocent' advertisement would then be subject to whatever 'approvals' that the mods see fit. I simply advertised my car on her, thinking that perhaps a fellow TM member may be looking for such an example... it would surely be better to sell it to a fellow enthusiast! I was surprised therefore when I found out my advertisement then had to be 'approved'... (what actually IS being approved anyway?)

Once I subsequently found out that those members who had made a 'financial contribution' (not specified how much) had 'access' to being able to have adverts 'approved' without delay from moderators, I decided to make a contribution of £25.00 to the TM website. I guess I had hoped that in doing so, my advertisement would now move into the area of not requiring approval and would now be 'live' for others to see. I observe however that despite this, it's still not visible which is a little disappointing... :<((

In the picture of Covid 19... in fact life, I am not going to get wound up by this! It is what it is and I am grateful to have been part of a forum, provided to us all by some great people who clearly support the Morgan brand and all this who enjoy the marque.

As a suggestion to the admin guys and the mods, as this is indeed an 'often asked' question, perhaps consideration could be given to indeed formalising levels of membership, some of which could include a fee which enabled the ability to advertise as an individual. And if someone on a no fee paying membership level decided to place an non-business advertisement, perhaps they could simply 'pay' a nominal fee for the ability to place an ad... in this way situations like this would be avoided.

Anyway! My car is now advertised with Uncle Melvyn :>)

Take care one and all.

Pete :>))

Hi Pete,

There are two main issues at play:

Post were lost in the past 4-6 weeks - these were Sales & Wanted, and a whole load of banter in the For Sale & Wanted forum. Nothing else was lost from the site. Generally, things are approved in about seven days but is dependent on how much banter I have to wade through. As I have mentioned on numerous occasions, if people didn't fill that section of the forum with chatter, and followed the rules, I would sort things out a lot sooner and this would benefit all members and expedite the posting of For Sale & Wanted ads. There is zero need to post on that forum unless you are the original poster of the ad; all questions should be asked via Private Message.

Secondly, I have never asked for donations and won't start. Some very kind members asked if they could contribute to the running costs and the donation tab was borne. I do not expect people to donate and it is very kind when they do; however, I have no plans to put a formal scheme in place. TM was started as non-commercial and currently remains that way (no advertising, no support from MMC, Dealers or suppliers); this allows for honest conversations without the belief that opposing views will be censored (the rules of the site still apply as does common sense and courteous behaviour).

There are really only two bug-bears for TM - new registrations (those who have been here awhile will remember both spam attacks and the server being taken down by a virus attack - one was a nuisance, the other added to my grey hair) and the FS&W section. The community can't help with new registrations but they can help with the later.

I am sorry I could not get your ad up for you; I apologise for that.

I hope that explains things in a little more detail.

I appreciate the offer and it has been voiced previously. Unfortunately, it has to be done from the back-end of the site, which is not segmented, so requires full access.

I am trying to find work-arounds and will gladly offer the task up, for volunteers, if I can find a way to compartmentalise the job.

Thank you

Cheers. Just shout.

Thank you for taking the time to explain Simon.

As an observation based using my experience with other car forums, most 'users' are happy and think it quite reasonable to make a small 'voluntary' contribution to help towards the inevitable running costs of the forum websites. Note, because it's voluntary, this never precludes anyone joining and participating on the forum.

As a matter of interest and having now made a financial contribution, if I re-do and submit my "For Sale" advertisement, will it now get posted?

Cheers,

Peter.