Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Equipment forum: Why can't people read the rules and follow them?

This is topic Equipment forum: Why can't people read the rules and follow them? in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Tony Bandiera Jr (Member # 2365) on 08-07-2012, 01:27 PM:

We have a very valuable asset here in the Equipment For Sale forum, but it seems that lately far too many people don't read and follow the rules.

For example, one recent poster didn't put his email addy in the posts (the one and ONLY place on FT where it is allowed) and his PM inbox is full.

Another needed a part and never returned multiple emails from myself and another FT member who tried to help out.

There have also been some posts where they don't have "Wanted" "For Sale" or other indicators as to what they want.

Those are just a few recent things I have noticed.

Part of the problem is in the way the gateway page is coded...one can click on the "yes, I read the rules" port even if they didn't read the rules. From the way so many bad posts have gotten through it is blindingly obvious that they didn't read the rules.

Some proposed solutions:

1: Change the gateway so that you MUST at least go to and scroll down the rules page before you can proceed to make a post (I have seen this on a lot of download user agreements.) Yes it would be annoying to those of us who know how to do it right..maybe it would be possible to code so that a user who has done say 5 proper postings doesn't have to go through the process.

2: If possible, code the forum software so that any subject line missing keywords (For Sale, WTB, Wanted, etc.) will result in the post being rejected. Same idea if possible for any post where the subject body does not contain the user's registered email addy in the text. Since the forum has the ability to block certain words I think this should be possible.

3: And the biggie: Remove the time limit for editing/deleting posts in that forum. I would imagine that there is a LOT of wasted server space taken up by dead/completed transactions. It would also make it easier to list multiple items in a single post and simply delete them as they are found or sold. As an adjunct to this, make it so that all posts over a certain age (6 months? one year?) automatically get deleted. Odds are if you haven't found or sold it by that much time it isn't gonna happen.

I do not know how to nor have I ever set up a forum so I don't know how difficult (or easy) the changes I propose would be, but I thought it is worthy of discussion.

Any thoughts from the masses or admin on all of this?

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 08-07-2012, 03:42 PM:

All of these seem to be good ideas! Louis

Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 08-07-2012, 04:45 PM:

Good ideas for sure, but once someone makes an account you no longer have to click the rules link you describe. Unless your logging off your account every time you leave the forum. Then I suppose you'd have to see that every time you wanted to go to the boards.

Posted by Tony Bandiera Jr (Member # 2365) on 08-07-2012, 04:50 PM:

Kurt, check again, I am talking about when you add a new topic to that forum, you most certainly get the gateway I describe. And I was logged in at the time. I just tried it before making this post. I think you are thinking of the main forum gatekeeper.

On the subject of wasted forum space, there are over 150 pages that go back to 1999!

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 08-07-2012, 06:16 PM:

When we get a break from the nonstop digital installs, we will revisit the forum software and see about an upgrade. For now, our entire staff is hammered with the digital conversions though.

BTW Tony, we typically just go in and delete any threads that don't follow the rules.

Posted by Tony Bandiera Jr (Member # 2365) on 08-07-2012, 08:01 PM:

Thank you Brad.... and I hope you didn't think that I was being critical of how you and the admin run the forum..quite to the contrary this is, bar none, the best forum I am a member of.

(And glad to hear you guys are keeping really busy with the installs. [Smile]

)

My point is more that if the forums' software took care of those issues without needing admin to step in it would reduce the workload and streamline that section.

It is just really annoying how there have been times when I have tried to help out some folks who need stuff in that forum and ran into the problems I mentioned.

Posted by Ron Funderburg (Member # 4561) on 08-07-2012, 09:15 PM:

Brad do you really want a break from Equipment Installs? LOL

Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 08-08-2012, 10:55 AM:

I miss read what you had said Tony, my apologies.

Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 08-08-2012, 03:40 PM:

Brad gets to have all the fun!

I'm not kidding either -- I love installs.

[Smile]

Posted by Tony Bandiera Jr (Member # 2365) on 08-08-2012, 06:38 PM:

Kurt, no problem sir. [Smile]

Manny: I agree, installs are the most fun I have in the biz!!