★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

[kythri]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

I'd like to see the Hot Deals forum restricted to logged-in members who have 100+ posts in the technical forums (i.e. not in Free Parking).

 

[LXCam]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

I'd like to see the Hot Deals forum restricted to logged-in members who have 100+ posts in the technical forums (i.e. not in Free Parking).

Prior to recent events I honestly didn't have any comments/complaints about the depot thread. But recently after seeing a certain someone, but by no means the only one taking total advantage of the goodness of our little community here for his own personal financial gain am in full agreement with this statement ^^^^^. I know it won't stop this abuse, but I think/hope it might help.

 

[potato]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

doesnt matter

 

[grathan]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

Another idea, an option to only display posts with hyperlinks in them.

 

[pendragon1998]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

I vote to close the parallel AWD thread and include that stuff in the main thread. It's absurd to have a 'non-tools' thread that includes tools.

 

[a52-830]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

I vote to close the parallel AWD thread and include that stuff in the main thread. It's absurd to have a 'non-tools' thread that includes tools.

i didnt start the second thread, but it does deal neatly with the issue people complained about when they did not agree about the appropriateness of postings to the main line thread.

i think that if it is time to start making changes, it is time to start the Big Changes that have been discussed here, instead of nibbling around the edges.

besides, if you are looking to clean up the AWD swamp, you should concentrate on the people who are posting amazon deals directly into hot-deals, and ignoring the threads entirely.

 

[Hillyard]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

There should be sub-threads as others have mentioned for the major sellers. I hate how everything is compiled into one thread of endless pages.

Some discussion about the item specifically stated should be okay because sometimes fellow garage reviews are better than the thrill of the deal.

I'd like to see the Hot Deals forum restricted to logged-in members who have 100+ posts in the technical forums (i.e. not in Free Parking).

Why? I've been on here for a long time but don't always feel the need to comment.

 

[kythri]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

Why? I've been on here for a long time but don't always feel the need to comment.

One, to keep out the deals poachers who don't participate in the forum.

Two, as an incentive to participate in the forum. You already can't post in the classified if you have under 100 posts. I'd like to see something similar extended to the Hot Deals forum.

 

[speedpro]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

One, to keep out the deals poachers who don't participate in the forum.

Two, as an incentive to participate in the forum. You already can't post in the classified if you have under 100 posts. I'd like to see something similar extended to the Hot Deals forum.

Why, so you can make it some exclusive club? The entire purpose of the Hot Deals sub-forum is to publicly share deals with others. You act as if some guy two states away is going to run to your HD and "steal" your deal. The only people who care about that garbage are those who want to buy everything and re-sell on eBay, and those who think their somehow morally superior in deserving a deal than others. If you don't want to help others find deals, that's completely fine. But don't get all pissy because the forum is doing what it's intended to do; to help others find deals.

 

[kythri]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

The only exclusivity I'd be seeking is to members who join the forum and participate to a minimal extent. Something that is free, and incredibly easy.

Ideally, my suggestion would weed out a few of those that are only seeking to buy up a good deal and re-sell on eBay.

The only person getting pissy is you, with your little "it's past my bedtime!" temper tantrum. I made a suggestion and voiced my opinion in a thread, oddly enought, entitled "voice your opinion". Maybe it's time for your nap?

 

[four.cycle]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

Ryan:
I was not aware that there was a problem, but then, I've been away for some time so I must have missed all the excitement.
The only thread in the "Hot Deals" forum I've ever posted in or looked at is the "Ebay" thread, which (understandably) generated some discussion.
There are always going to be members who might have a question about an item, or know of a better deal on the same item, or have something of value to offer in the way of knowledge about a particular item from hands-on experience.
Not allowing those kinds of comments would result in a net loss to the members reading that particular thread.
On the flip side, members whose purpose is only to snipe at other members about a particular product or item, contribute nothing of value to the thread, just take up space and waste other members' time.

Somewhere in there is a happy medium. In a perfect world, people would stop before they hit the "submit" button and ask themselves "Am I contributing something of value to the site?"
If the answer is yes, hit "submit". If not, hit the back arrow.

(FTR: I did not vote in this poll because I do not believe internet discussion forums should be run as democracies. )

 

[Strouty]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

One requirement of a "hot deals" thread should be a date in the title. I keep seeing all these "hot deals" but they are from last year or even older. At some point they should be locked and used only as reference. I think that is the biggest issue, even the mega threads should get restarted every 3 months, then they don't become ridiculously long.

 

[kythri]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

^^^ GREAT idea!

 

[beelsr]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

got fooled by the cripe sale, huh?

me too...

 

[RogueFab]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

I see a bunch of comments about limiting hot deals posting to only allow users who have 100 or more posts. This is a great idea. Keeps the trolls out. I hope you guys don't think I am a troll :/

 

[Strouty]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

got fooled by the cripe sale, huh?

me too...

I have been fooled before, with no date in the title, the only way to find out is to click on it. Almost click bait.

 

[a52-830]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

I see a bunch of comments about limiting hot deals posting to only allow users who have 100 or more posts. This is a great idea. Keeps the trolls out. I hope you guys don't think I am a troll :/

ok, this is a non-starter.

this makes sense in the classified section. it stops people from joining and just selling stuff, and making money off gj, without otherwise contributing to the system. arguments about them contributing by selling stuff is not really part of this conversation, because this is for hot deals, not classifieds.

but, people posting to the hot deals section tends to generate money for the board. for amazon postings, there is the referral fee, as an example.

limiting people who post deals, or people who click on those deals, will interfere with the revenue stream that keeps the board running.

as an aside, i think you mean "free loaders" rather than trolls. trolls are looking for attention for various reasons, usually by posting, and posting a lot. free loaders are just here to scoop up deals, without otherwise contributing. they are the ones who "beat you to the deal", buying everything available, and selling it at a profit on ebay (or the classified section).

 

[beelsr]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

Not that I'm in favor of it, and I don't even know it can be done in the forum software but how would you feel about 100 posts to reply?

 

[a52-830]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

Not that I'm in favor of it, and I don't even know it can be done in the forum software but how would you feel about 100 posts to reply?

well, i will admit that the comments in the deal threads dont bother me. at this point, i skim the threads i am interested in, and when i dont see a URL, i usually dont read the posting. i am probably missing out on a considerable amount of exceptionally useful information about the deals, but i have consistently never been rewarded for reading all the chatter, so now i just ignore it.


i guess my opinion is that if an individual thinks that there is too much chatter in a deals thread, they can:

1) stop reading it, and thereby not get upset anymore.

2) contribute deals to the thread, thereby helping to decrease the chatter as a percentage of the postings, and also setting a good example.

i think that people who complain in the deals threads about the chatter are just contributing to the problem, since they dont seem to be posting deals themselves.

i have noticed that the chatter in the amazon deal threads seems to be a lot lighter than it was a few months ago, while some other threads seem to primarily be chatter. i still skim them, though . . . .

 

[71goldss]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

I'm not a big fan of the store specific permathreads, such as Home Depot, Lowes, Sears, etc... I much prefer specific deals in the thread title that I can either click on or pass on. Permathreads require too much researching through the last page or two just to see if there is a post with something that catches my interest. Then to add even more frustration to the mix, with permathreads such as Sears, I have to read through all the Sears bashing on top of it. Item specific threads are what catch my eye. I'm sure I've missed out on a lot of great deals because of my skipping over the permathreads, but oh well! Just my 2 cents.

 

[woodturner9]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

One requirement of a "hot deals" thread should be a date in the title.

It's already there - every post is time-stamped, just need to read it.

No need to add it to the title, and a huge burden on the mods to enforce such a rule.

 

[woodturner9]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

I'm not a big fan of the store specific permathreads, such as Home Depot, Lowes, Sears, etc... I much prefer specific deals in the thread title that I can either click on or pass on.

The benefit of the store specific threads is that all the info is in one thread - so you can subscribe to the thread and get updates emailed as often as you like. The permathreads help us not miss deals.

If every deal were posted separately, you would miss deals in the tens to hundreds of new daily posts, and would have to go to the site to search for them rather than get an instant notification on your phone.

That's why the permathreads are so much better than individual deal threads.

edit: re "Permathreads require too much researching through the last page or two just to see if there is a post with something that catches my interest. "

The daily updates only send you the new posts, and if you subscribe to the thread, you can still go to your CP on the site and click a button to see only the new posts. Sounds like you might not have learned all the site features and are missing the easy ways to do what you want.

 

[a52-830]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

It's already there - every post is time-stamped, just need to read it.

No need to add it to the title, and a huge burden on the mods to enforce such a rule.

his point is that if an "old" thread, like the Cripe BF deal thread from last year gets bumped, you might assume that it is a new deal. you read the first post, and run off all primed for a big deal, which isn't there.

it would be smart for threads like those to have dates in the title, but i think that, in reality, it will still cause 90 percent of the problem, since a lot (most) of the readers won't notice the date . . . . . .

or maybe it is just me . . . . .

whatever. . . . . .

 

[71goldss]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

The benefit of the store specific threads is that all the info is in one thread - so you can subscribe to the thread and get updates emailed as often as you like. The permathreads help us not miss deals.

If every deal were posted separately, you would miss deals in the tens to hundreds of new daily posts, and would have to go to the site to search for them rather than get an instant notification on your phone.

That's why the permathreads are so much better than individual deal threads.

edit: re "Permathreads require too much researching through the last page or two just to see if there is a post with something that catches my interest. "

The daily updates only send you the new posts, and if you subscribe to the thread, you can still go to your CP on the site and click a button to see only the new posts. Sounds like you might not have learned all the site features and are missing the easy ways to do what you want.

You are correct. I wasn’t aware of these features. Thanks for the info.

 

[woodturner9]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

his point is that if an "old" thread, like the Cripe BF deal thread from last year gets bumped, you might assume that it is a new deal. you read the first post, and run off all primed for a big deal, which isn't there.

But why would you read the first post instead of the new posts? If you read the new posts that would be clear, and then if you looked at the first post the date would suggest the deal was not current.

 

[kythri]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

ok, this is a non-starter.

this makes sense in the classified section. it stops people from joining and just selling stuff, and making money off gj, without otherwise contributing to the system. arguments about them contributing by selling stuff is not really part of this conversation, because this is for hot deals, not classifieds.

but, people posting to the hot deals section tends to generate money for the board. for amazon postings, there is the referral fee, as an example.

limiting people who post deals, or people who click on those deals, will interfere with the revenue stream that keeps the board running.

1> Most deals aren't being posted by the people who would be temporarily excluded by my suggestion.

2> Lots of forum regulars are being turned off because of those same people who would be temporarily excluded by my suggestion.

3> I can't speculate on what referral revenue is earned by the board, so I can't comment directly on that, but what I can say is that catering to freeloaders at the expense of participating members of your board has the potential to drive off those participating members, thereby potentially affecting traditional ad revenues. Further, if the freeloaders keep snapping up deals at the expense of general membership, then general membership has the potential to stop visiting the deals section, representing a potential drop in click-through revenue as well. Which is preferred?

 

[Vinko]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

I favor discussion. I found a "Does Zero have any 30% off deals thread" to have useful info but it was closed.

One person mentioned some of the "regular" pricing that zero had (considerably higher than list elsewhere for items) and it reminded me of a few times this was also the case at MSC vs McMaster and I would've liked to have contributed to that thread with some examples which I think could've been informative and helped some people.

 

[softailgarage]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

18 pages of discussion, where discussion is not allowed, discussing not discussing, hmmmm. Just vote damnit.

 

[Socket Pounder]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

Forums can't participate in Amazon Affiliate so that isn't a concern. I don't know why, it's dumb, but Amazon makes the rules.

 

[flylow7f39]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

Forums can't participate in Amazon Affiliate so that isn't a concern. I don't know why, it's dumb, but Amazon makes the rules.

Link to that information please?

Appears that this and other forums do.

From another forum:

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

From this forum:

Hey fellas, we've found three users stealing our affiliate links by using the shortened URL trick... I have to make a living somehow and affiliate links are part of that. As such, just know - if you are caught doing this, you won't be on the forum long. I mean, it's theft - pure and simple.

(If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you are good... Don't sweat it.)

Thanks for understanding and carry on,

Ryan

 

[Fbmoose48]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

The amount of off topic, "bought one", "you ****", etc. posts make the thread length unwieldy and not at all user friendly for people here to share and scan hot deals. Want to discuss, start a thread somewhere appropriate. Want to thank a deal poster, use your PM.

I've wanted to post something like this to hot deals for quite some time, but realized the catch 22 of the post itself disparaging off topic posts cluttering the forum is off topic.

 

[woodturner9]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

Want to discuss, start a thread somewhere appropriate. Want to thank a deal poster, use your PM.

There are some discussion threads, but some people prefer to gloat in the deal thread rather than use the discussion thread. Most of the posts in the Lowes thread don't comply with the rules, many gloats and few posting links and location.

The problem is likely that enforcing the rules becomes very time consuming for the mods, when so many people are breaking them. If they ban people, we lose the deals they were posting, so it becomes a question of whether the "cost" outweighs the "benefit".

 

[8mpg]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

So people are just complaining they have to scroll through pages of text to find deals? Whats the harm in discussing stuff that has to do with the deals?

 

[a52-830]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

So people are just complaining they have to scroll through pages of text to find deals? Whats the harm in discussing stuff that has to do with the deals?

i would imagine that they are only there for the deals, and "chatter" both slows them down, and might make them miss something.

 

[kythri]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

i would imagine that they are only there for the deals, and "chatter" both slows them down, and might make them miss something.

Makes me cry myself to sleep every night...

 

[tarbellb]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

Looks like both threads have... whiners.

 

[ineedtools]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

Banning a user because they didn't tick every box just posting a deal right is a bit extreme, and in turn that user won't ever come back or post any other good finds again.

I'd like to see it more like the classifieds, just post the deal and done, lock the post and let the users and lurkers take it for what it is.

If said poster continues to post the wrong way let the users take care of it with PMs, I'm sure if I posted a deal incorrectly a few times and was deluged with PM's about it I'd eventually get it right!

 

[Mohawk Dave]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

But why would you read the first post instead of the new posts? If you read the new posts that would be clear, and then if you looked at the first post the date would suggest the deal was not current.

I wonder if part of the problem is people don't know HOW to use a forum, i.e. the little blue triangle that takes you to the newest post that you haven't read. (My dad for example: when I watch him try to navigate "the web" it is excruciating, bless his heart.)

 

[All]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

I posted info in a store thread on the Hot Deals forum... and the info wasn't about a hot deal, it was about a hot steal. Literally. At the time it happened, I was blinded by the importance of warning everyone so the same misfortune (getting ripped off) wouldn't happen to them. Some members and the moderator felt differently, and deleted the post. I understand. I can see it both ways. Relevance, and irrelevance.

Managing these judgment calls on a day to day basis, for thousands of members and tens of thousands of posts, has to be a pretty big burden to bear as a site administrator.

 

[brokeboater]

Re: ★★★ voice your opinion on the hot deals forum ★★★

New to the game here. I've occasionally stumbled into GJ while researching a particular tool and liked what I found. I recently joined for what reason I don't know. I'm an Amazon type and found the Amazon Deal thread much to my liking. As far as how the site and the deal section is run, I have no complaints. Seems to me there's enough leniency to allow some input without things getting out of hand. I don't suppose moderation of any type is an easy task with folks of my ilk making matters worse. So I say let it be.