Am I the only one who misses the old B/S/T forum?

Kyle76 · 08-14-2008, 08:12 PM

I just can't get into these new classifieds (though I have made a purchase or two there). I think the old forum format was much better. For one thing, it allowed the experienced members to point out great deals to the newbies. I know there were occasional problems with these types of comments, but I think we pretty much policed ourselves in that regard. If anyone cares, I say bring back the old B/S/T.

Chris L · 08-14-2008, 08:45 PM

The classifieds as far as I can tell allow for making a comment. I've done so in a few ads.

It's taken some getting used to, but at this point I like the new system.

Chris L

gssixgun · 08-14-2008, 09:05 PM

The new system is cleaner, neater, and very accessible!!!!!!

The old BST was cluttered, full of old listings, and bulky in the forum and new post sections...

Soooooooooo Why did I like the old system better

I guess it had a more human element that is the only reason I can think of at the momment.......

vgod · 08-14-2008, 11:19 PM

i used to go into the B/S/T forum quite a bit. at least multiple times daily. i have not looked at the classifieds in going on 2 weeks. just don't care for it much.

vgod

jnich67 · 08-14-2008, 11:32 PM

I agree with Jim and Vgod. I used to browse through the BST forum as I did all the others - often using the "new post" button. Now, I rarely remember to look in the classifieds. I liked it the old way. Hmmm, that sounds familiar

Jordan

JimmyHAD · 08-15-2008, 01:03 AM

The new system took some getting used to. My only complaint is the old listings are deleted too soon, I used to be able to go back and look at sold items a week or two later to get an idea of what the market is doing on specific items.

Churchill · 08-15-2008, 01:09 AM

I have to agree with the above sentiments.It also seemed to me that the razors and other items actually sold a little quicker in the old B/S/T.

OLD_SCHOOL · 08-15-2008, 01:30 AM

In a way, the classifieds is good for those who suffer RAD, coz new listings don't show up under new posts.

I think I looked at the classifieds all of two times when they first started. Haven't looked there since.

Sandcounty · 08-15-2008, 01:42 AM

+1, it's not quite the same. I feel bad even saying such a thing, knowing how much work has likely gone into the new format. But, I have been wondering when this thread was going to appear.

Firebox · 08-15-2008, 01:46 AM

The previous format was easier

Chris L · 08-15-2008, 03:54 AM

FWIW, the classifieds do work better for items that are multiples (services, identical products, etc). Example: I would never consider myself the level of a vendor for offering the small packets of chromium oxide and I was told by management some time ago (prior to the classifieds) that it is unacceptable to advertise anything in the user's signature line and to promptly remove what I had in the signature line. Just an observation.

Chris L

kaptain_zero · 08-15-2008, 04:26 AM

I have to agree with those who miss the old ways.... I can't remember checking out the new version since it was enabled. Oh well, at least I have some money in the bank again. I do miss it but this way I never see all those for sale posts when I hit the "New Posts" link and that saves me money but on the other hand the sellers aren't getting the exposure they deserve.

Regards

Kaptain "Blissfully ignorant of razors for sale" Zero

JimmyHAD · 08-15-2008, 05:10 AM

Even if the classifieds remain I would love to see the "supersize" photos be larger. They are little better then thumbnails now.

English · 08-15-2008, 01:06 PM

I think that the classifieds are superior in every way. They don't however feel so friendly and they are bit more sterile and business like.

Is it my imagination or are the numbers of razors that are up for sale increasing?
I know I have seen some razors that have been bought off E bay and put onto this sight unaltered but at inflated prices.

That worries me.

I also worry that I am the only one to advertise a razor as "poor" and the word "excellent" is clearly not understood by many. Also what does "Great" mean. Is it I want a lot of money for this but I don't want to use a truthfull word. I mean all of my razors are fabulous, great, wonderful etc, but if it has pitting, it's "POOR".

Anyway, that's my moan for the day.

Milton Man · 08-15-2008, 01:31 PM

My biggest gripe about the classifieds is that I was so used to the B/S/T threads coming up in my "new posts" that I almost never remember to go to the Classifieds section, until I think to myself "hey, how come I haven't seen any razors for sale lately?"

If there were an option to have the classfieds show up in your "new posts" with a link or something, then I'd say the classifieds are better, hands down...although not quite as friendly (but I think that's a product of less people just popping by to see what's doing - because it isn't in the "new posts").

Just my $.02

Mark

sicboater · 08-15-2008, 02:48 PM

Advantages as I see them:
-Cleaner Design (listings organized into catagories, Thumbnails for faster loading)
-Buy it Now button
-Some standardization of postings
-Thumbnails in the post listings (when you are quick browsing)
-RSS FEED!!! If you don't know what RSS is, look it up and watch your life get more interesting. It is likely the reason some guys are beating you out of razors or stuff that you wanted.
-Feedback capability
-FREE BOOZE (Whoops that's weddings!)

Cons as I see them:
-Some bugs (white text here and there, can't log in from the Classifieds,)
-Isolation, It does feel as though it is separate from the forum and in a lot of ways it is (Separate PM system, Separate profiles etc) I think this allows non members to buy stuff which might be good, might be bad

.

The indifferent as I see it:
Some room for improvement (abilty to filter all sold ads, bigger supersize pics, Free Booze)

As far as it being less personal, as I see it, that is up to us! Start commenting and listing things they way you think they should be listed and you will be creating the classifieds that you want. On the other end, it would seem that integrating the classifieds back into the forum a little more might help alleviate that feeling of isolation.

I am for progress and am confident that David will do everything he can to better the site in any way possible. That being said, I like the new classifieds

I think with some tweaks, we could all be appeased...Just my ramblings as always.

v/r
-Rob

freebird · 08-15-2008, 05:53 PM

Not meaning to complain really, just expressing my thoughts here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyle76

I just can't get into these new classifieds (though I have made a purchase or two there). I think the old forum format was much better. For one thing, it allowed the experienced members to point out great deals to the newbies. I know there were occasional problems with these types of comments, but I think we pretty much policed ourselves in that regard. If anyone cares, I say bring back the old B/S/T.

+1 on this one. I really don't care for the classified section. The b/s/t thread was much more fun to look at, everything lumped together....soaps, razors,strops,hones, cr02 etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by English

Is it my imagination or are the numbers of razors that are up for sale increasing?
I know I have seen some razors that have been bought off E bay and put onto this sight unaltered but at inflated prices.

I've noticed this too, not so much the ebay buys showing up, but the prices going up. Most are well beyond my budget anymore, not so many priced in the "newbie" budget range.

BeBerlin · 08-15-2008, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sicboater

Advantages as I see them:
[...]
-RSS FEED!!! If you don't know what RSS is, look it up and watch your life get more interesting. It is likely the reason some guys are beating you out of razors or stuff that you wanted.

Fully agreed on all your pro arguments. Maybe the RSS feed one needs a short explanation. I have already commented on RSS feeds in another thread ("Adding more joy to the SRP experience with RSS, IRC, and other useful stuff") but here are two more screen shots that show how the Classifieds's RSS feed can be efficiently accessed through specialised software. In this case, Mozilla Firefox with Sage, and Mozilla Thunderbird. Using an RSS reader, you can have your computer watch the listings in the background, and even notify you of new ones. Arguably, the same could have been achieved with the old BST system, but in my humble opinion, far less efficiently.

My main gripe with the new classifieds is that the comments are too far towards the bottom of each post. I believe that the lack of interaction perceived by some members is due to this fact. Not much one can do, unless Mr Wessell could magically link the Classifieds's comments with a sub forum.

Any road, enough rambling. Here are the two screen shots (click to enlarge) with a short explanation. Both pieces of software can be obtained here: Mozilla | Firefox web browser & Thunderbird email client.

Mozilla Thunderbird is a free, open source, cross-platform e-mail and news client developed by the Mozilla Foundation. The below screenshot shows how to use it as an RSS reader. Sorting, searching and scoring articles is very easy, and much faster than going through SRP's web interface.

Mozilla Firefox is a web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite, managed by the Mozilla Corporation. The below screenshot shows it with the Sage RSS reader extension (Sage: a feed reader for Firefox). Unlike with Thunderbird, you can use your webbrowser to access both SRP and the RSS feed with one tool. Also, you get a nice, quick overview of all new listings. The benefit, however, is mainly speed.

Kees · 08-15-2008, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vgod

i used to go into the B/S/T forum quite a bit. at least multiple times daily. i have not looked at the classifieds in going on 2 weeks. just don't care for it much.

vgod

+ 1. although I have bought two razros already that had been displayed in the classifieds forum.

Blackstangal · 08-28-2008, 05:59 AM

+1 I miss the old BST was way more interesting reading thru the comments learnig a lot mor info.Clasifieds suck IMO[quote=freebird;248659]Not meaning to complain really, just expressing my thoughts here.

+1 on this one. I really don't care for the classified section. The b/s/t thread was much more fun to look at, everything lumped together....soaps, razors,strops,hones, cr02 etc.

I've noticed this too, not so much the ebay buys showing up, but the prices going up. Most are well beyond my budget anymore, not so many priced in the "newbie" budget range.[/quote+1 ]I like the old B/S/T also.