Suggestion about posting email address

[leec]

I was just reading the sticky about not responding to/starting a FS/WTB ad by posting your email addy as contact, and that's a good point.
But I was just browsing some ads, and there are quite a few threads where people have to reply with email addresses to have pictures posted to. This pretty much leaves you as open to conmen as much as any other time you post your email address.
Would it not be a good idea to make FS/FT ad's have to link to pictures? It's obviously much easier for everyone to see pics in the post, and it's not hard to host pictures for free these days.
I'm happy to give webspace for people to host images if they need it.

[Rich]

It should be required that anybody posting a classified also have an email address linked in their profile so instead of having to post in the thread interested parties could simply email the seller using the drop down menu at their ID. The benefit is that only members of the site can use the email feature after they log in so scammers surfing looking for victims could be minimized.

[ibanezcollector]

I agree with the MUST HAVE pictures in the post idea.. I hate having to email someone only to find out its been sold. Just post them in the thread.

Like said above by leec, picture hosting is not rocket science or hard to come by these days.

[jemsite]

good suggestions... the biggest problem is the extra moderation required.

if you say "don't post an email addy" there will always be someone posting an ad without it or a reply with it.

if you require links to pics, do you want to delete any ad without the pics? more moderation and PMs ("why did you delete my ad?").

all comments welcome... we just need to factor time of moderation and handling the ads.

if you post an EMAIL ADDY you are very foolish, but of course anyone reading here already knows that... glen

[jim777]

I would personally rather see links to pics than pics themselves in the ads, unless they are of the less than 200K variety jpgs. Somebody out there is still desperately waiting for broadband, and some of the big pics kill dial up.

jim

[leec]

Well if you guys are too busy already then I guess that's fair enough. I imagine this place takes some moderating, too. It's super-busy. Sounds like the only solution would be to "deputise" some users you guys know and trust, maybe.
I was only suggesting it as another measure in the crusade to make the place a little safer, so I hope it didn't come across as a gripe or in a complaining tone.

[jemsite]

i just disabled IMG tags in the classifieds forum (i wasn't aware that was an option easily configurable in vBulletin).

any IMG will be a click-thru URL link

this will help users on slower connections as well as moderators in loading/reading/closing the thread... glen

[jim777]

You rock Glen!