Originally Posted by
Jimbo
It is a tricky one and good points have been made on both sides I think.
The problem is, SRP is becoming a victim of its own success, in a way. It is the biggest community of straight-related stuff anywhere that I know of (online or otherwise). That is going to attract people who are not interested in the community aspect of the site, and simply want to use it as a captive market.
In terms of protecting newbies from unscrupulous sellers and their shoddy wares, I'd just like to say the following, if I may:
I was a newbie once, and I managed to stay away from Zeepk, Pakistan, and most of the other shoddy brands. How did I achieve this apparent miracle? I kept my mouth shut and my eyes and ears open. I feel, with the wealth of information, and people willing to advise, available here, that you only have yourself to blame if you end up with rubbish.
I do not want to sound harsh here, but why are we wanting to nanny people? We are grown ups. I do not believe it is our role to swaddle the unwary in blankets of "good intention" and "we know best". Let people make their mistakes - I have found I learn better that way, when it actually costs me something.
As far as keeping blatant opportunists away from the Classifieds, I would have thought that is a moderation issue. By all means, implement some automatic controls like minimum post counts or time limits, but nothing really works 100%. Human intervention is required IMO. Charging money might do the trick, who knows?
James.