How about this, new rule: Don’t edit/delete sales threads, ask for a mod to lock them when they’re done.
If the community sees this happen, they flag the post, and a moderator can come restore it and talk to the user.
That would address the issue without causing impact on a large number of new users. We should also be encouraging moderation action through community flags, as that’s how the system is built to reduce moderator time spent.
Side note: Sometimes I post big garage sale threads, and clean it up as it progresses just so people don’t have to scroll through a bunch of SOLD stuff. Is that a no-no as well or am I granted that right as a level 3 user? Don’t we still have record of edits regardless?
When I go on to create a new for sale post, I see this default template. Why not add a line asking people not to delete post once done and that this post is meant to stay.
Discourse is built entirely around community-generated flags, which can then be addressed by moderator action.
The response to community flags are based on rules. So long as we have these rules clearly defined, we have an entire forum moderation system built around this escalation chain via flagging, and this keeps things super simple by design.
Rather than make changes that impact every single new user whether or not they’re even interested in buying/selling here, why not just set rules that reinforce the behavior we want to see from users?
This is also probably a great example of why it would be nice to have these kinds of conversations before rule changes are made. I’ve asked for this a few times and it doesn’t seem to be in the cards as of yet, and is also one of the reasons I chose to withdraw Patreon support.
If the community doesn’t actually have a say in the rules that define our engagement, this is not a “community-driven” forum, it’s a “community-funded” forum directed by a few folks. Given that there are also no clear avenues towards voting in moderators or accountability for when moderators break rules, it doesn’t feel like users have a ton of say here if I’m speaking frankly.
Meaning that if the community wants more of a voice in decisions, which I wholeheartedly support, then the community should start by figuring out how to share those opinions.
I’m still quite new here, but I would like to say that, I agree to allow only edit function for specific level user, but since edit history is no longer an option, maybe we can have a strike system? If a user keep deleting their sales thread, then after how many strikes will result in a soft ban in sales section? Not sure if that’s possible either.
It might be a lot of work for mods, but just my 2c
I guess its kinda hard for members to start any specific discussions in regard to ‘decisions’ because we aren’t privy to any of the decision making process.
I would suggest that things like this edit function thing and any other ‘decision’ that significantly affects the average user’s forum experience, should be discussed either with regulars, or at least a larger group of forum members other than mods/admin.
As a whole, I think this place is managed pretty damn well. But it’s obvious that this latest decision has ruffled a few feathers.
Maybe its good to have a poll system or something in place. Im not very much affected by this change but it would be good for people to see the issue and make a vote in a thread somewhere.
For example @mmaner had the problem with people selling and bailing so he compiles info, puts his story about this in a thread and proposing a (temporary) solution wirh a yay-nay voting for lets say 2 days, once its closed results, maybe also good to see for people where the mods stand or do it anonymous.
I don’t like commenting on issues like this simply because I don’t feel like I post enough for my opinions to hold enough weight, but I’ve been in and out of various gaming forums for years. Never have participated in one that didn’t have an edit button. It’s always a base functionality that I’ve until it was taken away for a bit, I just assumed was part of any functional forum.
This is probably not gonna be a popular opinion, but if the forum software lacks a decent option for restricting edits to certain categories without just removing it from entire ranks, maybe sales threads out to be removed entirely from the main forum. Maybe a market.esk8.news subdomain ought to be used with a more comprehensive buy/sell/trade system. Imo, traditional forum formatting doesn’t lend itself particularly well to buying and selling. I regularly participate over on the r/hardwareswap subreddit which isn’t laid out as a fantastic marketplace, but they’ve got a bot powered reputation system, set guidelines for post titles, and rule systems with moderators in place for disputes. A similar system should really be considered if post editing and deletion are a serious concern here.
Subreddits like /entexchange use a system where people can validate the trades / sales / etc that they do through moderators, and it’s a decent system.
Unfortunately it won’t stop major vendors from pulling a Hyperion, since they’ll have built up a reputation before ‘cashing out’, but itll certainly add a layer of protection for the users who sell a few used / unwanted parts.
