• Posted 12/19/2024.
    =====================

    I am still waiting on my developer to finish up on the Classifieds Control Panel so I can use it to encourage members into becoming paying members. Google Adsense has become a real burden on the viewing of this site, but honestly it is the ONLY source of income now that keeps it afloat. I tried offering disabling the ads being viewed by paying members, but apparently that is not enough incentive. Quite frankly, Google Adsense has dropped down to where it barely brings in enough daily to match even a single paid member per day. But it still gets the bills paid. But at what cost?

    So even without the classifieds control panel being complete, I believe I am going to have to disable those Google ads completely and likely disable some options here that have been free since going to the new platform. Like classified ad bumping, member name changes, and anything else I can use to encourage this site to be supported by the members instead of the Google Adsense ads.

    But there is risk involved. I will not pay out of pocket for very long during this last ditch experimental effort. If I find that the membership does not want to support this site with memberships, then I cannot support your being able to post your classified ads here for free. No, I am not intending to start charging for your posting ads here. I will just shut the site down and that will be it. I will be done with FaunaClassifieds. I certainly don't need this, and can live the rest of my life just fine without it. If I see that no one else really wants it to survive neither, then so be it. It goes away and you all can just go elsewhere to advertise your animals and merchandise.

    Not sure when this will take place, and I don't intend to give any further warning concerning the disabling of the Google Adsense. Just as there probably won't be any warning if I decide to close down this site. You will just come here and there will be some sort of message that the site is gone, and you have a nice day.

    I have been trying to make a go of this site for a very long time. And quite frankly, I am just tired of trying. I had hoped that enough people would be willing to help me help you all have a free outlet to offer your stuff for sale. But every year I see less and less people coming to this site, much less supporting it financially. That is fine. I tried. I retired the SerpenCo business about 14 years ago, so retiring out of this business completely is not that big if a step for me, nor will it be especially painful to do. When I was in Thailand, I did not check in here for three weeks. I didn't miss it even a little bit. So if you all want it to remain, it will be in your hands. I really don't care either way.

    =====================
    Some people have indicated that finding the method to contribute is rather difficult. And I have to admit, that it is not all that obvious. So to help, here is a thread to help as a quide. How to become a contributing member of FaunaClassifieds.

    And for the record, I will be shutting down the Google Adsense ads on January 1, 2025.
  • Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

Rep system

RachelSS

RachelSS

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I'm curious as to why the rep system is applicable to posts outside the BOI. I got neg repped over a petty post by someone childish enough to leave a stupid comment along with the neg rep.

The BOI should be the place to deal with neg reps. People can add their positive or negative reputation to a poster based on posts/issues/transactions that have played out in there.

To neg someone over a silly comment is so stupid to me. You should be able to see who neg repped you so you can at least send a message and get an explanation over the neg rep, not some childish comment left with the negative reputation.

The whole rep system is ridiculous anyway. If someone wants to see if the seller/buyer is worth dealing with, use the BOI.

my .02
 
The reputation/karma system has nothing to do with sales/transactions, and is wholly unrelated to the BOI*. People are given karma - positive or negative - by members of this site as a form of feedback about their posts. Make helpful, insightful, or funny posts, and you will get positive karma. Negative karma IS supposed to be used in the same way - meaning that, ideally, it is given when a reader thinks the post is exceptionally bad....obviously, there are a lot of ways that can be interpreted.

As far as seeing who left karma - paid members CAN see who left it. Registered members can only see the message (and the post it is attached to).

*Unrelated in that it is not transaction based...however, if one represents himself so poorly that he gets a lot of negative karma, many would question how they would be treated during a transaction; especially if there were some sort of problem/difficulty. It is sometimes difficult to imagine having a person treat you differently than they post - meaning if one represents himself professionally, it is easy to expect the same in a business relationship; but if one is inappropriate, judgemental, blaming, and/or hostile in the forums, right or wrong, most people would be concerned that they would be treated the same way in a business transaction and not want to bother.
 
Isn't the whole point of a forum to have discussions? People can post in reply and respond to someone else's posts. The rep thing is ridiculous to use. People who have 11tybillion positive reps can neg the crap out of someone just "because".

I really like this forum, I enjoy doing business on this forum and communicating via this forum, but the rep thing just... makes me want to use another site for business transactions :/
 
just to add, I've even abused the rep system on another site just to boost other peoples positive reps. Is there any regulation on the karma points given out to people?
 
RachelSS said:
Isn't the whole point of a forum to have discussions? People can post in reply and respond to someone else's posts. The rep thing is ridiculous to use. People who have 11tybillion positive reps can neg the crap out of someone just "because".

I really like this forum, I enjoy doing business on this forum and communicating via this forum, but the rep thing just... makes me want to use another site for business transactions :/
Click to expand...

RachelSS said:
just to add, I've even abused the rep system on another site just to boost other peoples positive reps. Is there any regulation on the karma points given out to people?
Click to expand...

:bandhead0 :bandhead0
 
So, out of curiosity... If someone knew you issued out a valid (to one's standard opinion) neg to a poster and that person who knew purposely gave good karma just to wipe out the neg karma you gave the person... And then tells you just to urk your jerk...

Would that be considered as karma abuse?

:uhh:
 
Sure it is...but your post count doesn't reflect that you've been very active here. You may have been lucky enough to have missed a lot of the posts that seem to be ideal examples of why negative karma exists. I don't know what post you got your first one for, but I saw a couple of possibilities when I scanned your history. Differences of opinion can be expressed without being overly negative toward the other person, and sarcastic shots in the classifieds are unwarranted & generally unappreciated.
If you want to use another site for business transactions - I apologize for being dismissive, but - go ahead. If people compare what they get here to what they get elsewhere, including the relative cost for those things, and they feel they are better served there, we certainly understand that.
While there are similarities, there are also differences between the numerous sites. I, for example, clicked with this one over several others early on, so this is where I stayed. Periodically, I visit other sites to read, or make a few posts - I certainly don't feel any need to disparage them because they don't have something I'm looking for, or because my words are not as well received as on other sites.

As far as restrictions on giving out karma - yes, there are...but I honestly couldn't lay them out clearly for you at this point. Perhaps somebody else can fill in those blanks
 
Once, I got a negative rep for making a dig at pet stores and the general awareness of their employees. Pet stores in general mind you, not any specific one. I can't see anything especially offensive in your post record so I can only assume it was something silly like that. If it really bothers you make posts with smart points or something funny and people will flash you some green, but honestly the positive rep system is more a guide to how often someone posts rather than how good their posts are. When you get a red dot below your name (or two), then you should worry.
 
WebSlave said:
:bandhead0 :bandhead0
Click to expand...

In the past I had (along with tons of other people) abused what the whole rep system stood for. I guess I thought the rep system was a way of validating people who are informative, helpful, and good business people, and neg reps are for people who have bad reviews in the BOI, etc. I didn't realize it was for "Hey, your snake isn't as pretty as my snake!" posts and BAM! Neg karma.
 
hhmoore said:
Sure it is...but your post count doesn't reflect that you've been very active here. You may have been lucky enough to have missed a lot of the posts that seem to be ideal examples of why negative karma exists. I don't know what post you got your first one for, but I saw a couple of possibilities when I scanned your history. Differences of opinion can be expressed without being overly negative toward the other person, and sarcastic shots in the classifieds are unwarranted & generally unappreciated.
If you want to use another site for business transactions - I apologize for being dismissive, but - go ahead. If people compare what they get here to what they get elsewhere, including the relative cost for those things, and they feel they are better served there, we certainly understand that.
While there are similarities, there are also differences between the numerous sites. I, for example, clicked with this one over several others early on, so this is where I stayed. Periodically, I visit other sites to read, or make a few posts - I certainly don't feel any need to disparage them because they don't have something I'm looking for, or because my words are not as well received as on other sites.

As far as restrictions on giving out karma - yes, there are...but I honestly couldn't lay them out clearly for you at this point. Perhaps somebody else can fill in those blanks
Click to expand...
just seems slightly discouraging and childish I guess. I was just voicing my opinion, not throwing a temper tantrum and slamming my foot down and saying I'm leaving. Just a little annoying is all. I know the post I made that got the neg rep was childish as well, but I didn't know you couldn't comment on a classified ad.

I know that now. So it won't be an issue from this point forward. Just irks me. *shrug*
 
Hey Rachel,

IMHO I think it's childish to complain about someone being given negative karma. Is the rep system that important? As you said in your earlier post

RachelSS said:
Isn't the whole point of a forum to have discussions? People can post in reply and respond to someone else's posts.
Click to expand...

If someone gives you some negative karma just walk it off...
 
Payara said:
Hey Rachel,

IMHO I think it's childish to complain about someone being given negative karma. Is the rep system that important? As you said in your earlier post



If someone gives you some negative karma just walk it off...
Click to expand...

I dunno, to me when I'm browsing the forum to buy something and I see someone with negative karma, I click out of their threads. I figured that the karma was reflected on BOI posts. So, I guess it could be important if other people are under the same impression of the rep system? :shrug01:

I'm not really complaining either, just discussing. You're entitled to your :shrug01: but no reason to say I'm being childish over raising a point over the rep system.
 
RachelSS said:
I'm not really complaining either, just discussing. You're entitled to your :shrug01: but no reason to say I'm being childish over raising a point over the rep system.
Click to expand...

The issue with the rep system and karma has been brought up and questioned ample of times prior... It's one of those topics that'll always get the same answer which always ends up not really a straight answer... More so point of views.

Footnote: I've had this discussion with my favoritest moderator recently :hehe:
 
Unfortunately, it is hard to give a straight answer when it is a peer based system. What one person thinks is a great post, another might think is awful. Yes, it is possible to get both positive and negative karma for a single post. Those differences in perception are part of why it can be difficult to define abuses, as well. We KNOW that some people abuse the system by giving retaliatory karma, and makeup karma...there are also people that will give negative karma to somebody that posts something which conflicts with their thoughts/feelings. Heck, there have been people that would give negative karma because they didn't like the way somebody did business, or even because someone bought from a seller that wasn't liked.
Some of those things are clear cut abuses, others are not. Take a look at each of the examples I listed, and consider whether you consider them an abuse. Then, consider each same example again, this time with the understanding that the karma giver honestly believes he's using the system appropriately. Is it still abuse? Or merely a misunderstanding?
This topic does get brought up frequently, and often we find that people think it is intended to be something different. Questions, and accusuation, of abuse come up regularly, as well. Speaking for myself, I do not regularly or randomly dig into people's karma - there isn't much point in it. I can see the posted comments, and who left them....but I can't link back to a specific post to even consider if it is justified. (If I'm curious enough, and lucky, I might come across a post that seems to match the comment...but that is fairly uncommon.) The easy thing to do is just look at who is giving karma. Seeing a person's name pop up multiple times in a short period often means they are working the system to be able to neg somebody frequently. The problem is, the mods can't click on a person's name and see what karma they have given to others (I believe that's an admin function).
The point of all that is to show that clear cut answers and definitions are not as easy as people would like. Obvious abuses are addressed...once they are noticed, found, or pointed out.
 
Is a registered user allowed to give neg rep? I dont see an option when I send some karma peoples way.
 
rcpreis3 said:
Is a registered user allowed to give neg rep? I dont see an option when I send some karma peoples way.
Click to expand...

Only coin-subscribed members can leave neg karma.

A thought about all of this.... Of course everyone is entitled to their opinion. And not everyone is going to like the karma system or understand how it works. That's just life. There is no single feature or element of this site (or any other) that EVERYone likes. And there is no single person that can look at a site like this and say there is NOTHING I would want to change if I could.

So yeah...everyone has their opinion. But is it always wise to express those opinions? :shrug01: Not saying it's bad in this case. But you expressed it...and so now others are going to express theirs in return...it's just the nature of the world. Opinions make the world go 'round. :p So maybe you think the karma system is silly....and then others are going to think you're whining or being unreasonable about your expectations. That's your opinion...and that is theirs. You can't say something like that here and not expect to get feedback in return.
 
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