Closed thread

[jrnannery]

Hey mods, why was this thread closed?
http://www.maast.org/showthread.php?64209-Entire-setup-for-sale-starting-first-with-the-Coral&p=815823#post815823

Just wondering. I didn't see anything that looked like an infraction, or seller saying everything was gone.

[jroescher]

Web member For Sale Post. It was an old post, before the rules changed. When someone posted on it and bumped it back up, it was then outside the rules, so it was closed. There was a grace period for the old posts, but that has since expired also.

[jrnannery]

Seems like existing posts should have been grandfathered till notified by original poster that items had been sold. Alright, just wondering. Gonna be interesting to see how many threads are going to be closed after people go back and look through old posts started by people who were charters at the time, but have rolled back to web members, to see whether items are still available, or if new frags can be made. Hopefully it is an automated thread close.

[The Butcher]

I agree.
Seems like existing posts should have been grandfathered till notified by original poster that items had been sold. Alright, just wondering. Gonna be interesting to see how many threads are going to be closed after people go back and look through old posts started by people who were charters at the time, but have rolled back to web members, to see whether items are still available, or if new frags can be made. Hopefully it is an automated thread close.

[Europhyllia]

look through old posts started by people who were charters at the time, but have rolled back to web members, to see whether items are still available, or if new frags can be made.
The thread is closed, not deleted. So in a way it is grandfathered in as it is still visible and still searchable.Closed just means the thread can't be bumped anymore but if you find something old and are interested in buying it you could just PM that person. In fact you will find that a lot of deals are done via PM rather than just by responding to a thread

[jrnannery]

When the new post was made on this thread, that got it selected for "closed" status, whether it was spotted by a mod, or whether it was done automatically. It will be the same for the next post. Say, for example, you didn't re-up next year. You would be dropped down to Web member. That would automatically make all of your posts appear as Web Member, no matter when they were posted, just as if I change my signature today, all of my previous posts would show that signature. I could be wrong on that, but I suspect I am not. Take this post, for example: http://www.maast.org/showthread.php?60938-Lunar-Eclipse-7-polyps-30-AND-a-FREE-Shirt!

Now, assuming the above, where you failed to re-up as a charter, all of your posts, including this one, would show as web member. Further, assuming that I really wanted some Lunar Eclipse pallys, and maybe even a free t-shirt, I might post a response on this thread. Or, i could PM, you are exactly right. I usually go back to an old thread, as that seems to stir up interest by the other members. When I post, "Hey Karin, you got any of these palys ready to frag?" That would trigger the post to be closed, same as the one in question.

You are right to say that it doesn't really matter because it isn't deleted, just locked for future posts, I assume until the member's status goes back to Charter, or the rules change. That's true. My initial point, however, was not about whether you could go back in time and inquire about an item previously offered for sale. My initial point was that I feel it would be only fair to leave open posts started by web members before the rules change until that offering had run its course, and the web member was either asked or volunteered that the offering was no longer valid. Again, yes, it could be handled by PM, but shouldn't the original poster have the flexibility to decide how his/her business is handled?

I don't really have a dog in the hunt either way, so the rules change doesn't really affect me personally. I just think that in the interest of fairness, old posts should remain open to posting until the business is concluded.

Thanks
Richard

[justahobby]

We are trying to take the guessing game out of moderating and make it fair across the board. I personally don't want to be the one to decide if someone is being honest when they say that the corals didn't all sell vs. Someone fragging more. Because then it would be unfair for web members that follow the rules. I understand this rule (as with any rule) isn't a one size fits all.

Actually, it wasn't that long ago that charters were upset because we opened up the photography forum to webbies. They wanted more perks for chattering up. That didn't even cross outer minds when choosing this for sale option, but it goes to show that not everyone can always be happy at the same time. So far I truly believe this has been the best way to keep everyone on the same level playing field as far as selling goes.

[allan]

Richard, I feel your frustration brother.

Perhaps a more accurate way to show availability is to say that selling items on MAAST is a privilege of current charter members. The 'current' clears up a bit.

But Justin is absolutely on target. It's a nightmare to distinguish between who can at what post count not to exceed a certain dollar amount with or without a tax ID yadda yadda.

Then to couple that wit the sponsors who perceived individuals buying colonies and then splitting it up for an obvious mark up... There was a rather lengthy discussion regarding someone buying a frag and fragging the frag into smaller frags to offset the cost.

At some point we just have to say stop. Perhaps it's not the best choice or maybe it is. I'm a noob here myself but I've seen things go back and forth a few times.

The BOD has nothing to gain by this, in fact they don't participate in any of the raffles to remain objective. It was done solely to make moderating easier for the volunteers on the mod team and in an attempt to keep everyone (most everyone) happy.

[jrnannery]

I understand that it can be a nightmare, and I am definitely not new to the site. This falls into the category of "growing pain" I guess.