Its not though is it. If a members first post is to sell they get bombarded with snide comments about joining just to sell or they should say hello first.
Z4 cars for sale section and new sign-ups. Poll.
- Thread starter Pondy
- Start date
Nah they’re not snide comments they’re leg pulling poking comments which are totally justified if the ‘Member’ has joined purely for a free advert. Personally I don’t see a problem as some nice cars could make their way to genuine members, but a few comments and fun comments at the seller’s expense are completely justified if thats their only intention of joining and then never to be seen again.
It’s hardly hysteria making after all and some people are wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy too touchy and over sensitive.
Derby
Personally not seen that many snide comments and to be honest, if someone is getting value from the post then there's no harm in 'validation' (aka piss taking!) - it actually generates interest when there's more comments on a thread so... no such thing as bad publicity and all that?
There’s a simple conclusion anyway; Spectre obvs hasn’t got a problem with folk looking for a freebie, otherwise he’d have said something.
Likewise he hasn’t a problem with a bit of banter otherwise he’d have said something.
You could always put a sub heading in the For sale section: Free sales but if you’re a whiney snowflake open your handbag and purse and pop off to Autotrader, this is a forum.
And let’s not forget that aside from a freebie, anyone that sells on here has a much greater chance of selling to a decent buyer rather than dealing with tyre kickers and wombats, so they’re not doing too badly are they.
Likewise he hasn’t a problem with a bit of banter otherwise he’d have said something.
You could always put a sub heading in the For sale section: Free sales but if you’re a whiney snowflake open your handbag and purse and pop off to Autotrader, this is a forum.
And let’s not forget that aside from a freebie, anyone that sells on here has a much greater chance of selling to a decent buyer rather than dealing with tyre kickers and wombats, so they’re not doing too badly are they.
I think we're missing the important point that most (vehicle) For Sale listings on here are kind of pointless anyway.
99% of cars listed on here seem to be on Autotrader anyway.
99.99% of people looking to buy a Z4 will be looking on Autotrader anyway.
99% of members already own a Z4 and don't want to buy another one.
Unless, of course, it's a "forum car" in which case advertising on here will provide a benefit to buyer and seller... but that doesn't usually apply to new members who have just joined to sell.
99% of cars listed on here seem to be on Autotrader anyway.
99.99% of people looking to buy a Z4 will be looking on Autotrader anyway.
99% of members already own a Z4 and don't want to buy another one.
Unless, of course, it's a "forum car" in which case advertising on here will provide a benefit to buyer and seller... but that doesn't usually apply to new members who have just joined to sell.
At the summit of the picturesque fens
That's a very good point TBF.
Like most people I tend to go on AT, car and classic and PistonHeads for cars. I wouldn’t go on a forum to buy but I would go to a forum (usually subsequently lol) to find out what I had bought. When I bought my E89 I had no idea about the difference between SE and MSport. Or anything else fit that matter!
I found my MC on here, and while it was also on Autotrader I might not have seen it on there as I wasn't actively looking for one.
Also sold both my previous Coupes on here so I'm definitely a fan of the classifieds.
FWIW I'm in favour of leaving things as they are - it has worked for longer than I've been on here so if it ain't broke why fix it?
Also sold both my previous Coupes on here so I'm definitely a fan of the classifieds.
FWIW I'm in favour of leaving things as they are - it has worked for longer than I've been on here so if it ain't broke why fix it?
Mr T, what happened to your post yesterday about why Pondy was even interested or cared much about about z4 sales given he's never owned one and why does he keep on hanging around here as such? One of the more succinct posts I've seen but mysteriously disappeared?!
Guess you moderated yourself, bit weird
Guess you moderated yourself, bit weird
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I think this might be the one you meant Tom.
Having never actually owned a Z4 why are you that bothered, and what is it about this forum that keeps you visiting it? And for the avoidance of any doubt that's a serious question.
Off topic I know, but I'm gutted you buggered off somewhere else instead of going to Zedfest as I was really looking forward to seeing your labour of love.
That's missing the point, a moderator needs to be moderate by definition!
Having never actually owned a Z4 why are you that bothered, and what is it about this forum that keeps you visiting it? And for the avoidance of any doubt that's a serious question.
Off topic I know, but I'm gutted you buggered off somewhere else instead of going to Zedfest as I was really looking forward to seeing your labour of love.
Kylos
Member
As a newer member who had been half-looking for a Z4 for the past year or so, one of the reasons I came to this forum was because I’ve always felt that forum cars tend to be better known and, in many cases, more genuine than something you find through Auto Trader or similar sites.
For me, a big part of that comes from the seller having some history on the forum. You can often look back through previous posts, see what they’ve done with the car, what problems they’ve had, how they’ve maintained it, and generally get a “feel” for both the car and the person selling it.
If people can join purely to sell or buy with no other interaction, I think that starts to dilute the community a bit. The forum risks becoming another place to advertise cars rather than somewhere people actually talk, share knowledge and help each other.
Even something as simple as introducing yourself and explaining why you’re here starts a conversation. That person might then come back for advice, contribute to other discussions, share what they’ve done with the car, or simply join in with the general chat.
I’m still fairly new here myself, so I’m still finding my way around. I’ve been a member of other owners’ forums though, such as Cliosport, where the cars for sale section was behind the paid membership. Plenty of people, including traders and people who bought and sold cars regularly, were happy to pay because the forum was seen as a valuable place to advertise.
It also meant there was a bit of accountability. If someone posted a terrible advert,missing/hiding details , gave no information, or clearly hadn’t put any effort into it, they were likely to get called out for it usually with a fair amount of banter as well.
I suppose my main question is: what is the overall aim behind asking this?
Are you trying to encourage more people to interact with the forum, increase membership numbers, reduce the amount of admin/moderation required, improve the quality of sales adverts, or make the classifieds more active?
(AI rewrite as it was a scramble of thoughts and ideas).
For me, a big part of that comes from the seller having some history on the forum. You can often look back through previous posts, see what they’ve done with the car, what problems they’ve had, how they’ve maintained it, and generally get a “feel” for both the car and the person selling it.
If people can join purely to sell or buy with no other interaction, I think that starts to dilute the community a bit. The forum risks becoming another place to advertise cars rather than somewhere people actually talk, share knowledge and help each other.
Even something as simple as introducing yourself and explaining why you’re here starts a conversation. That person might then come back for advice, contribute to other discussions, share what they’ve done with the car, or simply join in with the general chat.
I’m still fairly new here myself, so I’m still finding my way around. I’ve been a member of other owners’ forums though, such as Cliosport, where the cars for sale section was behind the paid membership. Plenty of people, including traders and people who bought and sold cars regularly, were happy to pay because the forum was seen as a valuable place to advertise.
It also meant there was a bit of accountability. If someone posted a terrible advert,missing/hiding details , gave no information, or clearly hadn’t put any effort into it, they were likely to get called out for it usually with a fair amount of banter as well.
I suppose my main question is: what is the overall aim behind asking this?
Are you trying to encourage more people to interact with the forum, increase membership numbers, reduce the amount of admin/moderation required, improve the quality of sales adverts, or make the classifieds more active?
(AI rewrite as it was a scramble of thoughts and ideas).
Personally Id doubt there was ever any ‘aim’ as such Kylos, just a free opportunity for members to buy and sell Zed’s when the forum was introduced. Of course as with anything free its open to being abused and not purely what it was intended for, but as we’ve seen through the years it’s pretty much self regulated by members calling out bullshit where necessary so no intervention has been needed by the forum owner.
That’s purely my take on it of course, for clarity you’d need to ask Spectre the owner or Mr Tidy the day to day moderator.
That’s purely my take on it of course, for clarity you’d need to ask Spectre the owner or Mr Tidy the day to day moderator.
I think thats the opposite of what I'm talking about. I meant if the ability to post a for sale ad was say 50 posts that people joining only to sell would spam the 50 posts to meet the criteria. The situation you cite is to allow newly joined members to have the ability to contact an existing member selling a vehicle privately via the PM system.
That's what I did almost 5 years ago, I still have the car, it's a good car that had loads of paperwork and necessary work completed. Having looked through AT for over a year and looking on the forum at the advice of what to buy, joined the forum put on an add and bingo, got one from a long standing forum member. I doubt I would have got a better one on AT with the spec I was after.What about someone joining up and posting a Z4 wanted add
Should be "a minimum number of meaningful posts" or alternatively get them to pay a few quid.
