Pat and Susan Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Hola I notice that you cannot reply to the Classified Ads. I tried to reply to Dottie's question in the Miscellaneous section but there is no reply feature. Then I started looking at some of the other ads, ads where people were selling items, and there is no reply feature in these posts either. Is this by design? Thanks Susan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 (edited) Under Rules, there is a topic called Forum Specific Rules for Classified Ads. The answer to your question is that you cannot reply to ads on the forum. The ad must contain contact information. See http://www.chiriqui.life/topic/247-forum-specific-rules-for-classified-ads/ Edited December 12, 2015 by Bonnie 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Admin_01 Posted December 12, 2015 Administrators Share Posted December 12, 2015 Bonnie's reply hit the nail on the head. The description of each and every forum within the classified ads category has not only a short statement as to what should be posted in that forum, but also the "rules" about how classified ads are configured. The inability to reply to a topic is mentioned. This is not a software fault; it is by design. A little bit of history is relevant here. Originally CL did permit replies to classified ads. But then members complained because they did not want to see transaction details or back-and-forth negotiations or conversations that many felt should be private business transactions being conducted in public. One member stated the consensus very succinctly when he said words to the effect that if someone advertised a used car, for example, in the classified ads of a newspaper that anyone interested should contact the seller directly, in private, rather than taking out another classified ad requesting information (e.g., has the car been involved in a collision), or clarification (e.g., did they mean to say four-wheel drive or all-wheel drive), or negotiating for a better price. In general, members liked being made aware of something being sold or wanted, but not to repeatedly see additional related postings in the activity stream. (The activity stream is highly used on CL.) The decision to disallow replies and make the classified ads on CL function similar to a newspaper was not done quickly or to say that the other viewpoint of replying was invalid. It simply was a case of the majority feedback was to make the classified ads on CL function like a newspaper. We think of the two styles as being "classified ads" (no replies, no edits, no self removals) and "buy/sell" (allow replies, allow edits, allow self removals). [Note on CL that members cannot delete/remove their postings; that won't change.] Further, classified ads typically could include products and services, either offered or desired. Buy/sell typically involves only products (generally not including services), and more typically from an offered perspective. Few people would consider taking out and ad saying they wanti to buy a used car; they would look for used car ads and start there. Can you see some of the subtle (and not so subtle) differences between classified ads and buy/sell? Either style results in complaints. It is a no-win situation. We have opted for classified ads, but only because it results in fewer complaints, and is consistent with the inability of members to delete their postings. The management of CL is expending a good deal of energy on this subject, trying to find a better solution. It is our belief that the ability to handle these kinds of information needs has a large pent up demand in our part if the world. Our current think is not to implement an eBay or Amazon style buy/sell, in which the transaction is actually consummated online. Rather the announcement of a product or service being available or desired, along with the questions and clarifications being posted online. And the clincher is then to allow the originator of the posting to edit and close or remove their posting once the item is no longer available or desired. If something comes of that research, then it will be announced here on CL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat and Susan Posted December 12, 2015 Author Share Posted December 12, 2015 Thanks for your replies. I can understand not wanting to read the banter for someone selling an item but it seems to me that there are instances when dialogue within the classifieds would be be helpful to the membership. And sometimes rules are made and then a situation arises which may require a revisit to the rules. I can answer Dottie's questions but I cannot reply to her post. I can send her a private email but then that info is not shared with the members. I have collected many resources over the years that I am willing to share, but my past experience is that someone will ask me a specific question about the resource and the answer is of benefit to all of the members. In the current system I can only reply to individual. When I created the Rolodex in Ning, with some posts but not all, someone would post a question or an additional comment supporting the reference and this contributed to the overall quality of the post. If the only option in this situation is to reply privately, then information gets fragmented. Just my observation mind you. Thanks again. Susan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Admin_01 Posted December 12, 2015 Administrators Share Posted December 12, 2015 Your observation and your experiences are valid, and actually parallel my personal view on this subject. As stated earlier, this is a no-win situation. That is the reason we are looking for a better solution. Feedback such as yours only raises the priority of that research on our part to find that better solution. Thank you for those comments. Duly noted, and appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Woolford Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Guilty. I griped when I posted a Classified Ad for some of Dave's cars for sale and Lynnie jumped all over it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris McCall Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Pat and Susan also asked about dotties question in miscellaneous about directions to the pork and beef place. I under stand no replies in classified but it seems you should be able to reply in miscellaneous category. I could give Dottie excellent directions which others may like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat and Susan Posted December 12, 2015 Author Share Posted December 12, 2015 (edited) 2 hours ago, Keith Woolford said: Guilty. I griped when I posted a Classified Ad for some of Dave's cars for sale and Lynnie jumped all over it. If someone attacks you on your post, does not contribute anything positive but so disagrees with the content or the person that they cannot reply in a constructive manner, then it would seem that the person who attacked you should have been reprimanded and the posts removed but not remove the ability of others to reply. I am still learning this site, but what I am seeing is the ability to customize your feeds. Is this similar to News Boquete discussion and the suggestions offered by Bonnie on how to avoid those posts in your feeds? Can this be done with the classified posts if someone does not wish to see the replies? And it appears that all of the topics in the Classifieds are not the "same". Some posts will be generated by the person selling an item or the business and some posts will be made by those trying to share resources. For example, I would like to post about Boquete Gardening Services and I am sure that when others see the post about Nemesio and his group, they will also comment on the services he provided to them. Here is where you build the credibility of the business or service. Edited December 12, 2015 by Pat and Susan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Admin_01 Posted December 12, 2015 Administrators Share Posted December 12, 2015 3 hours ago, Chris McCall said: Pat and Susan also asked about dotties question in miscellaneous about directions to the pork and beef place. I under stand no replies in classified but it seems you should be able to reply in miscellaneous category. I could give Dottie excellent directions which others may like. Chris, There are multiple forums that have the word 'miscellenous' in them. Replies in miscellenous type forums IS allowed, except in the classified ads category. There is a blanket prohibition to posting replies in the classified ads category -- with one exception. That one exception is the Concierge Services/Help Desk forum. See http://www.chiriqui.life/forum/66-concierge-services-help-desk/. That forum is precisely where the kind of question that is being asked should be posted. It could also go in the miscellaneous topical forum -- whichever suits the poster. But that kind of question in a classified ad forum (other than the Concierge forum) will be moved to a more appropriate forum. All questions, including directions, should be put in the appropriate topical forum (possibly the miscellaneous topical forum) or the Concierge forum. Your choice. If you need more help, please ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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