MR Marketplace Upgrade

[michaelrjohnson]

Greetings!

I am an active MR member, and one who utilizes the MR Marketplace on a semi-regular basis. Recently, I have spent quite a bit of time in the Marketplace and have come to a few conclusions. I feel that there is not enough consideration for the users of the Marketplace in its structure. It is a very complex place with quite a few unique situations.

There have been some rather heated discussions in recent days on how appropriate it is for a thread-starter to bump their Marketplace threads. The crux of the issue is how quickly items get buried, so users want to bring their items/requests back to the top. This situation is understandable, but I feel the issue is that there are too many items for the current structure to handle. I propose that there be several sub-forums created within the 'Marketplace'.

• Want to Buy
• Want to Sell
• Want to Trade

I understand that this structure may not completely address the issue (as there are people who WTS/WTT or WTB/WTT). However, I feel that some form of subdivision needs to take place. Suggestions?

PS: Enough with the 'Feeler' threads that are just WTS threads but you couldn't commit to a sale before you started the thread.

 

[StarbucksSam]

I've been trying to figure out how to reply to this thread intelligently for at least 24 hours as I can't really argue with any of your points directly but I just kind of like it how it is.

I am not somebody that fears change or likes to keep things "the old way" but I just... like the current bizarre setup. It makes things interesting. I know that there is some bumping but I think we have great moderators here and the site members kind of moderate themselves... we have very few problems. if people (I do it once in a while) feel the need to bump a thread once in a while that's okay. If someone is bumping every hour and a half, that's another story, but it seems like the site is set up to deal with that in due course.

You make great points... I just don't know that a change is necessary. I like sites with as few separate forum categories as make sense, and I think adding all of these subforums would confuse people and just generally ruin the feng shui.

 

[michaelrjohnson]

I like sites with as few separate forum categories as make sense, and I think adding all of these subforums would confuse people and just generally ruin the feng shui.

I definitly agree with you on this point.

If what I had proposed was a solution to categorize posts to avoid them being buried, putting them in a sub-forum just buries them even more. It's a catch 22.

...I can't really argue with any of your points directly but I just kind of like it how it is.

That's a very good articulation of how I feel (in the reverse). It's hard to articulate my feelings toward the current structure; I don't necessarily feel that what I put in the first post is a/the good idea, but there is something about the current structure that just doesn't work as well as it could.

I was hoping that a discussion (this thread) on the topic would shed some light on how to make the MR Marketplace better.

---------------------------------------------------
PS Thanks for giving the issue such careful thought! I was surprised that nobody had replied yet!

 

[ScottDodson]

Well, I'm all for seperate sections for each group. I mean, if I have a specific reason to go to the Marketplace (ex. looking for a powerbook to buy), I wouldn't need to sift through the tons of other items on the market that people are looking to buy or wanting to trade or trade for. It would speed things up in my mind as far as looking for a specific product. Topic descriptions could simply be: "Powerbook 867, 512 Ram - $600" in it's respective section. Much easier...

Marketplace and Classified:
-For Sale
-Looking to Buy
-Trading Block

Maybe I'm just lazy

and I think adding all of these subforums would confuse people and just generally ruin the feng shui.

I don't think the above sections are confusing at all...actually, it would be the exact opposite. Additionally, I don't know how much "feng shui" the mac rumors forums really have anyhow