fed up with stupid blog posts & ebay listings.

[Steve F]

Is there any way that threads such as the Bazar of Obscurities can be eliminated from the "unread posts since last visit?" Perhaps as an option in the User Profile?

Go to the Bazaar page first and click on the link "mark read" at the top right of the thread listing.  Then hit "unread posts" and none of the Bazaar items will show up.  (But you have to do this each time.)

[Silent Invader]

.... nobody has complained that I advocated shooting some of the culprits

Too make it more interesting couldn't the culling be in theme with the board where the offence has occured?


PS: That's a joke :-)

[Blue in vt]

All I can add is my support to the idea that links to blogs with nothing else is terribly annoying...a couple of teasers pics and a summary go a long way to peaking my interest...but I never click on a link with no context....anyone could be putting that in...Ie. hackers... and hoping you click on it.

That said I find the eBay link thing even MORE annoying...I personally dislike eBay and only use it as a final resort for things I can't find and purchase from reasonable folks here and on other forums....so I would fully support a rule that requires the word eBay in any listing that leads off site for sales.

As to the amount of traffic in the bazaar right now....I think that there is a seasonal flow to these things....lots of people sell off stuff toward the end of summer (here in the N. hemisphere)....and then spend the cold months building up their lead pile again...like a chipmunk and his seed stash...

But above all... I Would like to say that despite the few bum members who only are here to sell things or post links to their blog...this is still the best place on the web for informative and supportive discussion about the things that we all love....little toy men and the battles they fight...

Thanks to Prof and staff for making it the great place it is and thinking about ways to make it even better!

Cheers,

Blue

[Gibby]

I must admit I find it annoying that certain users have the cheek to use the forum as a way to farm traffic for their eBay auctions. Especially if those threads account for 90% of their posts. I've used the Bazaar a few times but I do so to offer good deals to members here while at the same time clearing out unwanted stuff or generating a bit of spare cash for new projects (that I can later sell when they fail :-)). Linking to eBay just seems a bit cynical as it's an attempt to bump up the price through traffic.

[Dave Knight]

I quite often post a link to my blog with only a sentance or two explaining what the content is.  It does generate blog traffic, some people leave comments on the blog but most do so on the forum

I don't think that I have ever had a comment criticising the practice

I also post fairly regularly on the various boards

I very rarely follow links to ebay auctions but I can't say that they bother me at all

[gnomehome]

It would seem almost half of my posts are in the Bazaar, which I do use a  lot. Mostly for buying stuff, lately I also sold some things.

I agree that a mention of 'EBAY' in the topic title would reduce the annoyance a bit, if I want to use Ebay, I'll go through Ebay. I never, ever click through to Ebay and I'm actively avoiding some post in the bazaar from people who frequently list things which turn out to be Ebay listings. Especially those users who exactly post the same on *every* miniatures board you care to visit.

'Bumping' own post on items that don't sell, also can be a tad annoying as are flooding the Bazaar with consecutive posts instead of posting all items together at once. I try to avoid doing that, and I hope I haven't annoyed people with my listings.

For me a ban on ebay listing shouldn't be imposed, but a gentle reminder to list 'Ebay' in the title should do the trick.

The blog posts haven't bothered me, but I'm sure they will from now on  .

[Froggy the Great]

For me it's not so much the sales threads - I'm fine with the ebay links.  I'd prefer the meat of a show-off post to be in the actual post, rather than necessitating a click-through.

That said, I'm sure my 20-image batreps annoy some as well.

[Dr. The Viking]

Well we all have our pet peeves I guess.

Mine is 'posts without pictures of nicely or at least partly painted miniatures. '

Whether they be blog posts, film posts, swinger club posts, computer game posts  or board game review posts or similar. It all goes in the bin for me. 

[OSHIROmodels]

swinger club posts

Now I'm starting to understand... 

cheers

James

[Ray Rivers]

Go to the Bazaar page first and click on the link "mark read" at the top right of the thread listing.  Then hit "unread posts" and none of the Bazaar items will show up.  (But you have to do this each time.)

Cheers!

An excellent idea. 

[Hammers]

Posts that are just a link to a blog add nothing to LAF IMHO, and take traffic away from the site.

I agree that posters should have the courtesy to post at least a teaser photo.

This.

Other than that, who is really keen to police the suggested rules. Not me...

[myincubliss]

Admittedly, I post to my blog more than I post here, but whenever I post with a link to the blog I try to post the grist of what I've done with a link along the lines of 'for more waffle, look at the blog' so that you can see what I've done without neccesarily having to follow a link...
I can see the annoyance with the ebay links though (especially when they're posted in multiple boards and clog up your 'unread posts since your last visit' link), but it's easy enough to close the tab and move onto something else...

[Commander Vyper]

Empty blog posts are a particular pisser offer for me too.

Especially as, a it detracts from laf primarily and b, once bitten twice shy re blogs and viruses. And my thoughts on 'members' who do bugger all other than sell their wares to a captive audience are well known .

The Commander

[beefcake]

I've only just started a blog. I have it in my signature. I haven't, until now, ever referred to it but anything that I post in there I generally post it in it's entirety here and elsewhere too. Copy and paste is quite handy

[matakishi]

Blog posts have been discussed ad infinitum on the moderators' board. I used to delete them on the boards I moderated because they annoyed me so much but this was apparently wrong so now I let them go.
Ebay posters are just scum, filthy leeching scum who should be banned.
There's too much crap on this forum now, films, books, tv, pets, family, holidays, music; most of it without the slightest connection to the main focus of the board.
I read LAF less and less now, the noise to content ratio is almost as bad as TMP which I don't visit at all anymore.

The Prof is against having rules about too much stuff and I agree with him but, when the people coming here refuse to use their common sense to keep within the subject boundaries of the forum or worse, blatantly use the place as nothing more than a big free shop window, I begin to wonder if more rules aren't actually a necessity.

Content free posts are spam.
Spammers should be choked to death on their own severed toes.