Should adverts be banned?

Hi,
In the MZ50 for sale thread in the SLR section Kimbo said "Perhaps we should have a classified ads. section!"

IMHO we don't need a classified section here, there is already a classified section freely available to members on the main PentaxUser Website. This is a discussion board not a sales site. I would be quite happy for incidental sales/wants along the lines of:

"Does anybody know where to get a x" and then a reply "I've got one for sale, send a PM"

Beyond this I feel that if we start to get adverts like the one for the MZ50 which is cross posted in 3 columns by an unregistered users who has ignored a request not to cross post from Matt, then all adverts should be banned and any apearing should be deleted. If not I think we are likely to get more and more ads and the main purpose of the board could become lost.

What does everyone think? I know that DaveH would agree by his comment in the MZ-s thread. At least Gordan had the decency to register!

Regards
Kim

If certain posts are to be banned, then the forum will probably need to be moderated, but I'm sure Peter Bargh will be watching the situation closely.

I sent in a classified ad to sell some MF lenses 2 weeks ago, but it has not yet appeared on the classified section. If it doesnt appear soon I will post my ad on the forum

Personally, I don't object to "ads" in the forum, but I do think they should be between friends, so to speak. In other words, between registered members exchanging useful infornmation.

For example, I have been searching for a mint SMC Pentax-A 35-70mm f4 lens for some while. I have now found one, but an enquiry on this forum could have found one sooner! I don't think that sort of buying/selling would be a problem.

Any other opinions out there?

Personally I don't mind the adverts that much... I just dislike it when they appear in a completely inappropriate place (like under Announcements for the site).

Helping others find Pentax gear is a good thing, but I would like to be able to ignore them (ie have them in one place - "Off Topic", or "Buy/Sell" whatever). I wouldn't want to have to skip over half a dozen blatant adverts to find a genuine question

Matt

Some good points here. It is a pain to find cross postings, particularly for adverts, however as has been intimated an area where 'sales / wants' could be posted should go some way to reducing the problem. Forum users could choose to visit or ignore the area - it may also get over Kevin's frustration about the time delay in an advert appearing in the classifieds.

I can understand that Peter may not wish to introduce such a section as he has already provided the facility within the classifieds area, but it may reduce the moderation tasks required if users are not to get frustrated by the 'fly posting' of adds randomly over the forums.

I don't think the problem has yet reached the proportions of an epidemic.

There have in fact been very few advertisements appearing here; although the one from Gordon did attract a number of responses.

The addition of a section within the forum specifically for ads would surely solve whatever problem there is, and in fact it would be an improvement on the existing classified ads section of the site because it would:

a) be more visible, with no need to visit the ad section to see if there was a new ad
b) allow sellers to post answers to questions
c) result (possibly) in more ads, which would generate more traffic to the forum.

Glad to see my somewhat half-hearted comment has sparked off a constructive conversation.
Personally, I would like to see a dedicated section for sales as I would prefer to sell to a site regular.
Irrespective of an item's monetary value, at least I would feel that it has gone to a good home.

I like the general consensus here. I feel a dedicated ads section would be a good idea. If such existed, then it would be reasonable to ban ads on any other forum. Restricting the entry of ads to registered users would preserve the cameraderie and feeling that we are benefitting each other. However, this could have the desadvantage of dissuading casual visitors.

Having ads in the other sections definitely detracts from their appeal, but it is interesting to note that the ads which we have seem to have the greatest number of view hits of any of the topics.

Taliety

I think it would be impracticable to restrict access to ads to registered members only. If no registered member wanted something, that would mean no sale, even if a non-registered visitor was ready to stump up the readies.

However, in the case of both a visitor and a regular contending to buy, there would be nothing to stop a seller from selling to the regular if he so wished.

Hi again,
I must admit that despite the way my question was worded, I am not in favour of a ban on ads and feel the best way forward would be a separate ads section. This might prevent some crossposting right across the board and can be ignored by those with no interest. To take Georges point one step forward, I agree that such a section should be visible to all. However, it might be better if only registered members could post. After all it doesn't take long and at least you might have some idea of whose ad you were looking at.

Kim

I have a vested interest here. I am a member of several other forums, all of which have separate sales'n'wants adds, all open to "guests". Check; scuonline.org as an example (Scottish Cycle Racing)

Anonymity is a problem faced by many forums. A buyer can purchase from whoever they like - perhaps the forum may face a legal obligation if it tries to vouch for sellers? If in doubt about how genuine a sale is, just walk away.

Forums in general can be off putting sometimes for newcomers. This one seems a bit better than most though. Anyone could join this forum, use a pseudonym, and still be dishonest. Buyer beware!

GG