Classifieds Forum?

[Greg]

This thread prompted this. A "Classifieds" forum could be a way of dealing with what some would consider advertising or SPAM, including the promotion other Web sites, services, products, etc. Any such posts could be moved from the original forum to this new "Classifieds" forum. It could also be used for selling used gear or offering services. My feeling is less is more though, and I don't want to create additional forums unless totally necessary. I know Snowjournal has a forum like this and it's dead. I would like to keep the overall number of forums to the absolute minimum required, but if a majority feels this would be useful, I'll consider it.

Regarding external "ads" or promotion: My view has generally been to allow them. I've always taken the approach that as long as the link is on topic, useful, or at least mildly interesting, it's fine. A new "Classifieds" forum would be a single place for these threads, and you can then choose whether or not to look. Threads promoting Web sites or related products or services would need to be Northeast outdoor-specific, or they will be deleted. Another concern is a forum like this would open the door for a bunch of junk to be posted here.

This poll will run for 7 days. Feel free to discuss here. Any other ideas for handling advertising are welcome too. Luckily, we've seen very little so far, but as the board grows, we may see more and more of this. Thoughts?

[Stephen]

I voted no.

If I want to buy equipment, I'll go to an appropriate site. Whereas 99% of my internet time has some associated advertising, I'm more than happy to have an area where it isn't present.

However, I could be convinved that regular members who have personal equipment to sell (ie, not their leftover inventory from their real life job), I think they should be allowed to post to the appropriate forum (ski or Hike).

While we're on the topic... about those banners Greg...

And before you ask, yes, I would donate a little $$$ to not have to see banners on an otherwise informative, interesting, or useful site. I do so with Where's George, but there's some other value-add features there as well.

My $0.02. And it only took 200 clicks to earn.

-T

[smitty77]

I have to agree with the8re. I see (and hear) enough junk mail and ads all day long. Now if you want to create a forum for board members to post used gear for sale, I would certainly approve of that.

My $0.02
Smitty

[Max]

I like the idea of trying to sell used gear (a bicycle, kayak, pair of skis, etc) to a fellow enthusiast on the board, and the fact that most of us are from New England gives the potential buyer a chance to check out the merchandise in person. Plus it avoids the hassles of trying to deal with Ebay and shipping. Conversely, I think it should be limited to personal items only and not become a vehicle for a commercial business to hawk its wares. Perhaps a disclaimer that you will be the sole judge as to whether or not the post meets the criteria you specify.

OTOH, I currently have nothing to sell...you can never hoard too much hiking gear!

Max

I vote yes. Nothing wrong with a little classifieds since this is somewhat localized. Just my two cents.

[Greg]

Well, luckily so far SPAM on this board has been pretty limited. Interesting to see that a few of you would prefer absolutely no advertising at all allowed. I also agree that a "Classifieds" forum would probably only promote it (I voted No, BTW). I also suspect it will be a forum that rarely gets used and that any used gear by members could be posted for sale in the appropriate forum (ski or hike) perhaps with a "FS:" in the subject. To that end, unless there's an overwhelming Yes vote here, I'm leaning to not creating a new forum for this. Let's see how it goes.

As for the advertising on this site, I've made every effort to keep it as limited as possible. The forums especially with advertising only on the top (in the form of predominantly ski resort banners) and bottom (Google ads) are pretty non-intrusive, IMO. Some of the other sections on the site include "right border" sponsorships which are also targeted and hopefully not too bothersome to look at. I think these limited ad locations benefit the visitors here as well as my advertisers as it's somewhat "exclusive" real estate. I don't have pop-ups and have tried to find a reasonable balance with the advertising.

Thanks for the donation offer the8re! If you want to help support the site, make an online lodging reservation, or buy something from the gear store or one of the books from the main page.

[SilentCal]

A classfied section would be a nice way to pick up some gear but I'd hate to buy something from someone and then there be a problem. A section I'd like to see is a Places to Stay and Places to eat Review page. It could deal with motels, campgrounds and resteraunts that people frequent and maybe some helpful advice to steer clear of some places.

[Greg]

Originally Posted by Greg

I also agree that a "Classifieds" forum would probably only promote it (I voted No, BTW). I also suspect it will be a forum that rarely gets used...

Talk about contradicting statements.... WTG, Greg!

[ChileMass]

Yeah - there might not be a whole lot of traffic on an AZ Classifieds forum, but if it makes you a few bucks and, as Max said, we can help out some neighbors in the process, I'm for it. As our network administrator and protector, you can keep all that nasty spam away from us, right, Greg - ??

[Greg]

Originally Posted by ChileMass

Yeah - there might not be a whole lot of traffic on an AZ Classifieds forum, but if it makes you a few bucks and, as Max said, we can help out some neighbors in the process, I'm for it.

I wouldn't make any money from it. It would just be a place to put it all. Also, it wouldn't contain any of the real junk (off topic blatant spam, pyramid schemes, etc.). That stuff simply gets deleted as soon as I see it now anyway.

Originally Posted by ChileMass

As our network administrator and protector, you can keep all that nasty spam away from us, right, Greg - ??

I'll do my best. This discussion will probably lead to defining the overall approach we'll adopt for handling advertising on the boards. Like I said, these are your forums and you all can help shape their future...