Sell forum requirement

[honeybakedhammock]

I see that there was already a thread on this that had been closed, but I personally have a problem related to this issue. Today I made a VERY large amount of posts. The reason I did this had a lot to do with the fact that I have been meaning to get my post count up. I will not deny that one bit. My problem is not the requirement itself though. It is how I have been treated on this forum site. I have been a member for close to a year now and have viewed many threads and received loads of info that has helped me on both trips and research for buying gear. So my knowledge is fairly decent in a few categories. Today I spent MULTIPLE hours going through and reading forums, researching topics, and then using my knowledge to produce a legitimate answer in hopes of helping out whoever had posted the thread. I had maybe at most 2 threads that were as simple as "Thats a neat hammock pic or setup". The rest were my personal opinions and my input to try and post to the thread as best as I can. I was NOT aware that there was a rule section that stated I shouldn't post too much in one day. In fact I still have not seen such a page and I have gone through a very fair amount of digging to look for one.

So my problem is that an Admin who I will keep anonymous of course, messaged me and apparently closed my acct to viewing the buy/sell/trade forums. His message simply stated that he had hoped I was not spamming random messages JUST to get my count up. I was not. It was a motivation to get involved and look through some of the 500 something forums on this site. So I still do not see what was wrong about posting so much in one day. Just because I was willing to sit down and take the time to read through posts and TRY and add my input doesn't mean I don't care about the posts I made. SO I tried to reply to the admin and apologize if I misinterpreted what I though was a rule that is suppose to encourage members to become more involved. I also explained my case with complete honesty and respect toward the admin, but I have received no response and instead have a closed acct. So I decided to message another admin to get his input and so I could understand what was wrong about my actions, why my acct has been blocked, and what I can do to make the forums a better place. Again, no response. So I wanted to create this forum NOT TO BASH on admins who are extremely helpful and donate their time and knowledge, but instead to try and discuss with respect so that we can move toward making a better forum site. Maybe we ought to have a forum rules page somewhere, because I have looked for one and I assume either we don't have one or it is too difficult to find. Thanks everyone for adding your input.

[bootstick]

I can see your point, but I think they are looking for members to contribute over time, even though you may be actually contributing, they might mistake this as a way to just post only to be able to use the market section and than stop contributing. I had the same problem a couple of days ago, I decided not to actively peruse it and just contribute when and where I can but not take it over the top.

[honeybakedhammock]

Thanks for your response. I think you are most likely correct and I had not even considered the possibility that I could simply become inactive after selling something. I do think they should have explained to me what was wrong before they blocked my account though.

[bootstick]

I think the 50 post requirement is put into place to avoid scammers, but it might just do the opposite and create honest users who come to the site and perhaps they have a product to sell or maybe they make their own line of products but have never been on the forum before and they want to sell, They then might post a lot just in order to have access to the marketplace. I'd recommend that they get rid of the post requirement and add a reputation system, You can only rep someone if you have bought something from them and you must include a sales thread url in the rep, both partys must take a picture of the item , once one the seller has it,and then the buyer must take a picture once he recieves it. SO people don't make a bunch of fake sales threads. But I don't know how hard it would be to implement it

[WV]

Thanks for explaining your actions. I'm sure it's frustrating. Just remember that the mods are unpaid volunteers. All the "donations" are actually fees that go into the owner's pocket. It's a business, after all.

[honeybakedhammock]

I agree, I really like your reputation idea. I am currently studying computer science and one thing we have been discussing in my classes is the problem with scams and security. I think a reputation system would be fantastic. I was reading through some other forums earlier and an admin mentioned that this site has a main priority of spreading knowledge about all things hammock and not a priority in selling items though. So maybe they really want to keep it a knowledge based site which I can understand.

[honeybakedhammock]

Thanks for explaining your actions. I'm sure it's frustrating. Just remember that the mods are unpaid volunteers. All the "donations" are actually fees that go into the owner's pocket. It's a business, after all.

Thank You! I have noticed and I did try to hint at that in my post. I very much appreciate them and the help and knowledge they have spread. I have viewed plenty of forums and whenever I need to know something about hammocks this site is the perfect place to get answers. And you are absolutely right, the admins deserve the upmost respect. I only decided to post because this forum really belongs to the whole community and I personally thought it might be a good idea to discuss this and maybe come up with some rules that everyone can view.

[canoe]

I have not seen the rule you speek of either. I am a rules guy. I follow them. but if there is not a stated rule, I think you have been treated unfairly. Now what I find on other sites is you must make minimum posts and be a member for 1 month.

[SilvrSurfr]

I'm sorry, but your explanation is very weak. Why would anyone post 47 times in one day if not to sell something? You expect anyone to believe that your sole motivation was to get your post count up? For what purpose? It makes no sense that today was the day you decided to get over 50 posts, for a reason you can't even adequately explain. If you weren't trying to sell something, then you shouldn't care at all that you were banned from viewing the buy/sell/trade forums.

I personally support the mods for policing these kinds of things. In fact, I report anyone who inflates their post count randomly because they are obviously trying to game the system: they think the rules don't apply to them or they just don't care about the intention of the rule. Such behavior sounds somewhat sociopathic to me, and I personally would be very uncomfortable buying anything from someone who is so manipulative. And I would vocally and publicly urge others to avoid dealing with such characters.

But I don't want to be too quick to judge - what was your reason for 47 posts in one day? Or do I have my facts wrong?

[OCDave]

honeybakedhammock,

48 posts today...just to get your post count up? While there may not be a written rule, your activity betrays the spirit of the post-count requirement.

The moderators do a better job than anyone should expect from a volunteer staff. I will give them the benefit of the doubt and assume their action is rational in this scenario.

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