The Classifieds section was specifically set up for classifieds. There are a number of reasons that I put it there... things like auto expiration of ads, parts categorization, standard image management, ad history, sorting etc.
I have never really restricted what goes in there, personal, commercial or otherwise as long as it is remotely MX5 related it will benefit this community. I ask commercial advertisers to talk to me if there are more than one or two of their ads in there... but really I don't care how many go in at this stage.
In saying this however, there are a number of benefits to having a 'standard Forum topic' to discuss classifieds as many other (plainly inferior
) car sites have.- Users can discuss cool bits and maybe negotiate prices in an open forum
- Users can bump old discussions about ads to the top if they are interested
- Users can be a bit looser or less formal about there questions such as 'hey has anyone got one of those blah things I can have'
So I hereby announce the "MX5 Forum Classifieds" Topic.
http://www.mx5forum.co.nz/viewforum.php?f=32
This system I am currently calling BETA (no idea if it will work well)... and way it works is thus:
1. Users MUST post a classified (Forsale or Wanted) in the Classifieds section.
2. This ad will AUTOMATICALLY appear in this Classifieds topic
3. users are then free to start discussin' anything about the ad
Please do not try to post an ad directly in the Classifieds section... permissions should prevent this anyway (but more testing needed).
The rules around discussions in this forum are the same as others... discuss what you like, but try and keep it on topic and nice. Also try and discuss each advert in the right topic where you can.
I will need to tidy up the way a new ad is displayed when it is posted. It is pretty basic at present, and not very helpful. It works though.
I have turned off the classifieds commenting section... it wasn't really used anyway, and was pretty basic. This will replace it. Be aware that ad owners aren't guaranteed to see comments on their ads... unless they subscribe to or look at this classifieds topic (previously comments were automatically sent to the ad owner.
Lets see how it works.
cheers
