FSFT Only Users Not Contributing to the Community - You Will Be Banned

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Like some others have mentioned, I mainly lurk and do research on the forum. I look at hardware reviews and discussion on new upcoming hardware, etc. I don't post much really outside of FS/T forums. So if you decide that I will be someone you will ban, can you please just ban me from FS/T? I can just sell my stuff on Craigslist or Fleabay. I still would like to read up on hardware reviews every now and then. And, I actually was interesting in signing up for the [H} Secret Santa this year, but I will hold off on that for now. Thanks.
 
I thought you guys were looking at the key re-sellers. Hell one poster has bumped his thread 130 some odd times with less than 1000 total posts on [H]. It is always on the first 2 pages too.

Not sure about Patron but I'd gladly sub to a yearly Gen-May, as long as you don't call me a douche-canoe again :D
 
Is there a way through the XenForo interface / software that you can set a FS/FT post time-out?
The idea being that if a user has posted less than 30 posts outside the FS/FT thread in the course of 30 days, that the user is blocked from using the FS/FT thread until that user posts an additional, say 50 posts, in other threads outside the FS/FT.
I don't know how labor intensive that would be to write or implement, but I think that would be a pretty good solution. It is like the 30 post limit that most forums have before a new user can use the FS/FT, but in this case for users who don't contribute to the rest of the forum.
Again, I do not know how labor intensive this would be to implement / how much resources this would take on the server side, but I think it is a decent idea.
 
commissioneranthony said:
Is there a way through the XenForo interface / software that you can set a FS/FT post time-out?
The idea being that if a user has posted less than 30 posts outside the FS/FT thread in the course of 30 days, that the user is blocked from using the FS/FT therad until that user posts an additional, say 50 posts in other threads outside the FS/FT.
I don't know how labor intensive that would be to write or implement, but I think that would be a pretty good solution. It is like the 30 post limit that most forums have before a new user can use the FS/FT, but in this case for users who don't contribute to the rest of the forum.
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The problem with that is that it tends to make post quality suffer. IOW, a guy in a hurry to sell his stuff would just go around saying "Good info" in 50 threads so that he could post in FS/T again, etc. Not saying that everyone would do that of course, but it's how many people try to get to the minimum number of posts needed to participate in FS/T on many forums.

I do feel kinda bad for the people who just lurk, as I get that some people just want to read and not post, but surely if you spend a lot of time here you can add something to a thread somewhere often enough to keep your account in good standing. Even if it's just once a month. Especially if you want to retain the ability to sell stuff. Am I wrong there?
 
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techdude01 said:
Like some others have mentioned, I mainly lurk and do research on the forum. I look at hardware reviews and discussion on new upcoming hardware, etc. I don't post much really outside of FS/T forums. So if you decide that I will be someone you will ban, can you please just ban me from FS/T? I can just sell my stuff on Craigslist or Fleabay. I still would like to read up on hardware reviews every now and then. And, I actually was interesting in signing up for the [H} Secret Santa this year, but I will hold off on that for now. Thanks.
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Yeah, I think I fall into this category too. Been here for almost 17 years and have really not contributed as much as I should. Will understand if I am banned. Would prefer the ban from FS/FT forum like techdude01--probably would prevent me from spending money anyway. If banned from all forums, so be it.
 
commissioneranthony said:
Is there a way through the XenForo interface / software that you can set a FS/FT post time-out?
The idea being that if a user has posted less than 30 posts outside the FS/FT thread in the course of 30 days, that the user is blocked from using the FS/FT thread until that user posts an additional, say 50 posts, in other threads outside the FS/FT.
I don't know how labor intensive that would be to write or implement, but I think that would be a pretty good solution. It is like the 30 post limit that most forums have before a new user can use the FS/FT, but in this case for users who don't contribute to the rest of the forum.
Again, I do not know how labor intensive this would be to implement / how much resources this would take on the server side, but I think it is a decent idea.
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I see this on other forums and have seen it abused on those forums. People post things like "I Agree!" or "Me too!" to meet the post count.

Not trying to be a debbie downer or anything, just wanted to point out what I have seen in the past with other forums and these conditions on them.

Perhaps doing a combination of of the above and then if they want to sell must have at least 'x' positive Heat?

I don't have a solution to this, just throwing out ideas to consider. Also in regards to those key re-sellers - I like those guys! For those that have multiple systems up in the house and are looking/considering doing another build (for-heaven-knows-what-purpose) having access to another W7/W10 within minutes is awesome.

Edit - Just had a thought, maybe make it so those who Fold for [H] that it would be considered part of the community bit. I don't currently fold for you guys, but wouldn't be opposed to setting up a little rig to fold on.
 
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Lateralus said:
The problem with that is that it tends to make post quality suffer. IOW, a guy in a hurry to sell his stuff would just go around saying "Good info" in 50 threads so that he could post in FS/T again, etc. Not saying that everyone would do that of course, but it's how many people try to get to the minimum number of posts needed to participate in FS/T on many forums.
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This is a very possible outcome unfortunately. I would hope that the recurring 30 per month post idea would just force the user to join in on the forum instead of just using FS/FT, but yeah I totally see your point.
 
Hrmmmm. I usually read a bit, but I would say 99% is on the FS FT. Keep us all posted. Thanks!
 
As proposed above, a ban from FSFT seems to make more sense... with an option to unlock by emailing you and/or donation...

EDIT: I meant only from FSFT, not the whole forum...
 
Cook_1 said:
Looks like people like me will be banned.

Probably have a combined 10+- posts in other forums.

Do I lurk in other forums - Yes
Do I read the [H] articles - Yes
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Damn, same here. I like looking at the networking sections, on occasion the gaming ones too, but for the most part, I like browsing the FS/T section to see if I can score anything. I'm hoping for at least a warning beforehand, but if I'm tossed, I'm tossed. I contribute via patreon (albeit not very much) and have a Genmay subscription, but I won't argue against the admins, it's their site.
 
But.....I like to lurk about. I can explain to my girlfriends why I have this giant hump on my back :D
 
MMitch said:
As proposed above, a ban from FSFT seems to make more sense... with an option to unlock by emailing you and/or donation...

EDIT: I meant only from FSFT, not the whole forum...
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Instead of a ban, how about just code it to remove the ability to start a new [FS] thread?

It would still be nice to be able to browse the sale posts and be able to buy stuff.

A PayPal donation button some place on the page to be able to contribute to the site is not a bad option either, as well as the annual subscription idea floated earlier.
 
When I post in the FSOT area and need actual help or interest in something, I tend to go to the place that is closer. This is why the few things I post outside this area even exists.
 
Cook_1 said:
One could say that s/he contributes by being a fair and honest seller/buyer that buys/sells to other members of this forum. There is a reason why people don't like using Ebay if they don't have to (and I'm not talking about just the fees from it).
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I really think this is worth considering too. People who come here just to trade still provide a benefit to the community simply by virtue of having more people to sell to and buy from, and they tend to be higher caliber traders than you find elsewhere - even if they aren't actively contributing to other parts of the forum. If there does end up being amnesty for those who were on the chopping block and show that they're willing to step up their activity, and I end up not getting booted as a result - I still wouldn't want other traders who DON'T start posting more to get banned. I like trading with those guys. Of course, as others have said, the decision is yours in the end, I'm just suggesting that there might be better solutions to solve the problems you're trying to solve that aren't as drastic. Something something babies and bathwater.

Also, I was self-consciously reviewing my post history and found this: https://hardforum.com/threads/wtb-c...-for-suicidal-nephew.1928270/#post-1042906996
I'd totally forgotten about this, but I sent the guy $50 to help buy a motherboard. Again, just trying to illustrate that traders might still be contributing to the greater good of the community in ways that might not be as obvious.
 
If people are only utilizing the FS/FT forum, is that an indictment on the rest of the forums, or proving how good the FS/FT is? You may think the latter, some might say the former, and perhaps the truth lies somewhere in the middle?
You're free to do as you please, but it wouldn't be the best of looks, and if the point is to get people posting in other forums, less people (and scaring people off all forums entirely) might have the opposite effect.
 
I'd like to provide a counter point if I may: I frequently take long breaks from contributing/posting here (as is obvious by my post history) followed by periods of activity. Most of the time this is around when I shop for new computer parts, etc.

When I do come back I often come to Hot Deals/FSFT FIRST before any other forums. To me, the active sellers are a great way for me to gauge the cost of used items that I almost always prefer buying. I like coming to here and /r/hardwareswap to get previous generation video cards and other things.

I'm not going to compare FS/FT users some kind bullshit "job creators" type thing but tbh in my case the very active FS/FT forums are a huge draw for me to come back.

I've actually had an account here MUCH longer than my current one. I went to genmay after it closed and Sanjay and others bought domains. I simply forgot my old account name twice now. Oh well. What drew me back every time was FS/FT.

Every system has freeloaders and perhaps rather than banning people a better tact would be allow sellers to donate and be recognized as "best seller" "seller since xxx" etc. Carrot rather than stick.
 
darrpara said:
I'm not going to compare FS/FT users some kind bullshit "job creators" type thing but tbh in my case the very active FS/FT forums are a huge draw for me to come back.
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Wanted to point out something darrpara mentioned. The FS/FT section of these forums is VERY active. In fact I have stopped selling in other forums because this place is so active and I'd prefer to just sell/buy from one forum instead of having 15 forums that I have to keep on checking to make sure I didn't get a PM or someone asking a question in one of my FS threads.

So, am I a user of [H] in some eyes because I am 99% of the time in the FS/FT section? Yes, yes I am. But as I mentioned in one of my above posts, some might consider me an asset to this community because I only sell/buy from here and when I sell an item you are buying something that is exactly as described in the post, buying it for a good price, will be packaged well and shipped out most cases the next day and I like to think of myself as a rather courteous and kind person when communicating with people. And when I buy something, if I'm online payment will be sent within minutes.
 
Cook_1 said:
Edit - Just had a thought, maybe make it so those who Fold for [H] that it would be considered part of the community bit. I don't currently fold for you guys, but wouldn't be opposed to setting up a little rig to fold on.
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Totally! I think those who Fold should get some form of pardon. I used to fold a lot before college. I should get back into it.
Crazy idea: maybe combine the if-no-post-in-30-days idea with folding X amount of packets? This way no shitty rushed posts from people trying to reach a post limit.
 
Cook_1 said:
Wanted to point out something darrpara mentioned. The FS/FT section of these forums is VERY active. In fact I have stopped selling in other forums because this place is so active and I'd prefer to just sell/buy from one forum instead of having 15 forums that I have to keep on checking to make sure I didn't get a PM or someone asking a question in one of my FS threads.

So, am I a user of [H] in some eyes because I am 99% of the time in the FS/FT section? Yes, yes I am. But as I mentioned in one of my above posts, some might consider me an asset to this community because I only sell/buy from here and when I sell an item you are buying something that is exactly as described in the post, buying it for a good price, will be packaged well and shipped out most cases the next day and I like to think of myself as a rather courteous and kind person when communicating with people. And when I buy something, if I'm online payment will be sent within minutes.
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Yeah, some of the key differences between hardwareswap and the [H] FS/FT is that this forum is much more enthusiast oriented and so if I am looking for a specific GPU or processor I am MUCH MUCH more likely to find a post here with specifics and overclocking limits so I can better gauge my interest. So I actually may pay a small price premium here vs hardwareswap where that info is less common.
 
Kyle, if you're looking to influence / modify users' behavior, everyone's going to have a different excuse why they aren't very active. FS/FT is a very straightforward activity with a low barrier to entry so it's easy for people to pop in, do some business, and move on. Finding, reading, and posting to a multi-page and time-delayed forum thread is significantly harder. If some sort of ban / restriction on FS/T gets put into place, it doesn't really seem like lurkers will magically start becoming more active elsewhere in the forums, they'll just sort of drift off, most of the forum will remain the same, and FS/T will be quieter.

If you're looking to mitigate the "free ride" that FS/T provides anyone that signs up, one of the local motorcycle forums I am part of asks for a 1% donation of every transaction for usage of the FS/T portion. Granted, the numbers there are much higher but it's an idea.
 
thelazyone22 said:
Kyle, if you're looking to influence / modify users' behavior, everyone's going to have a different excuse why they aren't very active. FS/FT is a very straightforward activity with a low barrier to entry so it's easy for people to pop in, do some business, and move on. Finding, reading, and posting to a multi-page and time-delayed forum thread is significantly harder. If some sort of ban / restriction on FS/T gets put into place, it doesn't really seem like lurkers will magically start becoming more active elsewhere in the forums, they'll just sort of drift off, most of the forum will remain the same, and FS/T will be quieter.

If you're looking to mitigate the "free ride" that FS/T provides anyone that signs up, one of the local motorcycle forums I am part of asks for a 1% donation of every transaction for usage of the FS/T portion. Granted, the numbers there are much higher but it's an idea.
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But that might also decrease FS/T activity. I realize that a 1% transaction fee is still far, far better than eBay etc. It also penalizes the people who contribute elsewhere (either through forum posts or Patreon) who previously had that selling privileges as a side benefit.

Just curious - how does that motorcycle forum enforce the fee? It it just based on the honor system, or...? The reason I ask is because I could see some people not paying the fee and just claiming that the item was "removed from sale" or otherwise trying to work around it.

I for one do not really want to pay yet another fee on top of PayPal and shipping, which already eats into profits enough that I sell a lot less than I used to, but that's just me. I *would* pay the fee if it was implemented as I'm obviously in favor of where the money would be going, but it might not be universally supported (thus the decrease in selling activity).

This forum has a ton of different subforums encompassing many varied topics and interests. I just find it difficult to believe that it's all that hard to find an occasional topic or thread to post in. But again, others may feel differently. Some good discussion in this thread regardless - will be interesting to see what the final result is.
 
Lateralus said:
WORDS
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They have a 30 day registration requirement and a checklist of FS/T rules like any other FS/T forum on the internet. The 1% is an ask, it's completely on the honor system from what I can tell, and the rationale is much more "help cover server / hosting costs" as opposed to "try to be active elsewhere".

I think most people will see the thread title / read Kyle's first post and immediately think ~ "Oh what a knee-jerk reaction, he's being ridiculous, FS/T is fine the way it is" but I'm sure he's not exactly having an easy time figure out what exactly to do and what exactly a change will result in, otherwise it would have been implemented already. I don't envy your dilemma with regards to this decision, Kyle.

My point is simply that implementing a way to cover the costs having FS/T available to all would potentially be a lot simpler than trying to "wall off" FS/T or H as a whole so that only the "right" percentage of its current users / lurkers / whatever are allowed to hang around.

All that being said, it seems like most of us will respect whatever decision Kyle makes. Will have to see how it plays out.
 
So is the ban mainly for people who sell out here,or are buyers included too?
 
Metformin said:
So is the ban mainly for people who sell out here,or are buyers included too?
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Going by what Kyle has posted, my guess would be anyone who hangs out in FS/T and doesn't contribute elsewhere.
 
so its matter of time im consider one of those, thank you for all.

in my case im not usually post other parrts of forum because english its not my first lenguague so i can make a mess.

usually i buy more than sell.
 
thelazyone22 said:
MORE WORDS
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Gotcha, thanks for clarifying.

I'm always up to support this site monetarily - and have - whether that be through turning off my ad blocker, purchasing merchandise, GenMay sub fees (I actually bought the lifetime sub and noticed that the option for the yearly sub was still available at some point later on, so I bought that too even though I was already subbed), and direct contributions via PP. Some have suggested there being a fee to access FS/T and I just think that the model that's been suggested is pretty reasonable: if you contribute to the community, you can sell here. But it's always good to see the feedback and suggestions from others as one size doesn't often fit all. It's been interesting to see the other perspectives from the non or infrequent posters.
 
I find it ironic, the amount of guys just ratting themselves out in this thread.
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would be easier to just add that everyone that wants to sell has to have a patron tag associated with their account. but I don't think this is about money
 
VoloxitySF said:
Can you also ban people who don't leave Heat feedback? ^_^
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or ban the ones who obnoxiously ask for it. ;)

There are many ways to establish credibility. Heat is just one of many. Why in the world would you ban someone for not using one arbitrary feedback mechanism over another?
 
Kyle - I paid the lifetime fee a while back because I use the FS/FT forum a lot and I like that the mods here do a good job keeping the forum clean (I also check the funny picture and vive threads). However, paying to help out was my choice. I don't think you should force it on everyone. it'll just scare potential buyers and sellers away to other forums and it'll only hurt those who already paid or are active in the other forums. Those of us who end up sticking around and/or surviving the ban will lose out the most.


PS- I personally hardly ever participate anymore in the other forums because there are still too many trolls or people who are just too extreme on the internet. It gets old to talk to people who don't filter themselves because they're hiding behind a computer and not talking to you in person.
 
Archaea said:
or ban the ones who obnoxiously ask for it. ;)

There are many ways to establish credibility. Heat is just one of many. Why in the world would you ban someone for not using one arbitrary feedback mechanism over another?
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Wasn't aware that "Please leave Heat, thank you for your business!" was considered obnoxious ;)
Also, what other feedback mechanism do people use on [H] ?????????
 
I used to post and contribute on GenMay, that went exclusive. I guess this was inevitable for me. I never really contributed to other parts of the forum because I had nothing useful to contribute. Not that well versed in computers to give great insight.... bummer.
 
VoloxitySF said:
Wasn't aware that "Please leave Heat, thank you for your business!" was considered obnoxious ;)
Also, what other feedback mechanism do people use on [H] ?????????
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That's not - but asking for people who don't use heat to be banned is obnoxious.

I personally never signed up for heat. I have forum feedback in my for sale threads here for years - or other forums where I use the same name (avsforum.com, corvetteforum.com, clubgp.com etc), or even just high post count inspires confidence. I'll also reference my ebay account that has several hundred score with 100% feedback with a very similar name, archaeantrader (pm me on ebay and I'll reply with a code word - etc).

If someone tells me they won't deal with me because I don't have heat - then I simply deal with someone else. When heat first started I thought it was a fad -- it hung around longer than I ever anticipated - but at this point I'd rather just point to one of my other feedback sources than to sign up for some random flavor of the day to suit a whim. It probably amounts to stubbornness on my part. But like anything else, how many of one specific functionality type things do you need?
 
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Archaea said:
That's not - but asking for people who don't use heat to be banned is obnoxious.

I personally never signed up for heat. I have forum feedback in my for sale threads here for years - or other forums where I use the same name (avsforum.com, corvetteforum.com, clubgp.com etc), or even just high post count inspires confidence. I'll also reference my ebay account that has several hundred score with 100% feedback with a very similar name, archaeantrader (pm me on ebay and I'll reply with a code word - etc).

If someone tells me they won't deal with me because I don't have heat - then I simply deal with someone else. When heat first started I thought it was a fad -- it hung around longer than I ever anticipated - but at this point I'd rather just point to one of my other feedback sources than to sign up for some random flavor of the day to suit a whim. It probably amounts to stubbornness on my part. But like anything else, how many of one specific functionality type things do you need?
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I was being sarcastic to begin with. Thanks for clearing all that up though.
 
I'm a page behind since coming home from work but I just wanted to say that while I understand the move I, personally, think the community benefits a lot from solid traders that are on here and keep the FS/FT moving. It's a snowball effect I think and the fewer people we have contributing to this specific section means fewer people will look which means people won't be as likely to list items, etc.

TLDR = I think FS/FT is a part of the community. It's the specific angle I've got several people to join over who have then become active members outside this specific section. I want to see the [H] stay relevant in this particular area for a very very long time.
 
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