MARK THINGS \"SOLD\"

[Pointer]

In the market place... is there a way to mark things "Sold"?
This way we all can tell what is and isn't currently available.

[Epictetus]

In the past I've seen sellers edit the topic headline and add 'sold,' or else put in a new post saying something has been sold. In this case it would be up to the seller to do it.

[Pointer]

Well with our technology... can't this be done by the moderators? Or put some type of "Update" on it? Like remove after 30 days? Sure would make things a bit easier.

[ANTONIVS MAGNVS]

I've said it before, this entire site needs to be cleaned up. It's very frustrating when searching for something and then finding broken links, missing pictures or completely empty posts or my favorite, sticky threads that are years old which have become completely useless...

[Vindex]

Whilst I can understand the frustrations of the Marketplace, I would like to ask you to bear in mind that Jasper has a "day" job and both he and the rest of the Moderators spend a considerable amount of time keeping the site free from spammers and internal wranglings to monitor the sale site as well. The quickest way would, of course, be to delete the thread when an item is sold but there are frequently interesting disussions within the threads, and it would be a shame to miss gems of research.

Likewise with the archive. If you search the site BEFORE posting what is possibly a new question (to you), you will be amazed by the amount of knowledge in seemlingly dead sites; and it is due to the search capacity that the site attracts new members, most of whom add something to the commnunity.

I'll highlight your concerns to the other Moderators and see what the consensus of opinion is.

[Pointer]

Vindex.... I appreciate your reply. Isn't there a way in the market place... not necessarily to moderate it, but to put a time line n "Things for sale". At least a timeline would end the post and the seller would have to "re-post" if it hasn't sold. That way, if the seller forgets to post a sold item as "Sold" then it saves us all time.

I am not trying to complain, just to streamline that area. This is a great forum and site to gain knowledge and ways to increase or upgrade a kit. I have no complaints.

Thanks... Patrick

[Vindex]

Vindex.... I appreciate your reply. Isn't there a way in the market place... not necessarily to moderate it, but to put a time line n "Things for sale". At least a timeline would end the post and the seller would have to "re-post" if it hasn't sold. That way, if the seller forgets to post a sold item as "Sold" then it saves us all time.

I am not trying to complain, just to streamline that area. This is a great forum and site to gain knowledge and ways to increase or upgrade a kit. I have no complaints.

Thanks... Patrick

No problem Patrick - it's with the other Moderators waiting for them to come on line ;-)

[Renatus]

I've said it before, this entire site needs to be cleaned up. It's very frustrating when searching for something and then finding broken links, missing pictures or completely empty posts or my favorite, sticky threads that are years old which have become completely useless...

I have made this point before. In the 'Round Table' category there is a whole section on 'Awards', the last post in which was three and a half years ago. We do not have awards any more. What is the purpose of this section (apart from historical interest) other than to clutter up the site with redundant material?

[M. Demetrius]

The task of "cleaning up this whole site" boggles the mind. RAT has been around a long time. Just consider how many threads would have to be individually checked by volunteers, scanned for relative merits of the conversations, decided upon whether to keep or delete them, etc. It would take a team of a dozen people probably two or three weeks of full time work. Most have other things that are required in their lives, like figuring out how to keep food on the table and other similarly banal tasks.

Then there's the issue of "who decides if a thread is useful" and "who chooses what is historically accurate" and there is a genuine certainty that many feathers would be ruffled by what would be called "blatant censorship".

Sellers ought to be responsible enough to put a SOLD tag on their own merchandise threads, then ask that the thread be locked. Some do, though not that boldly and visibly. A simple Item Sold would settle things. But sometimes sales fall through. Then what? Do we open the thread again? Lots of work would be piled on an already busy group.

[Renatus]

The task of "cleaning up this whole site" boggles the mind. RAT has been around a long time. Just consider how many threads would have to be individually checked by volunteers, scanned for relative merits of the conversations, decided upon whether to keep or delete them, etc. It would take a team of a dozen people probably two or three weeks of full time work. Most have other things that are required in their lives, like figuring out how to keep food on the table and other similarly banal tasks.

Then there's the issue of "who decides if a thread is useful" and "who chooses what is historically accurate" and there is a genuine certainty that many feathers would be ruffled by what would be called "blatant censorship".

Don't misunderstand me; I'm not asking for anything like that. I have simply pointed out an item that does not seem to serve any useful purpose anymore and which could, therefore, be pruned. I am assuming that this does not involve too much work. If it does, forget I spoke!