Sell your used non-astro items here!

[acc]

The mods and admins discussed the pros and cons of this new sub-forum before it was introduced. What Andrew and Rich wrote pretty much sums up our considerations. Thanks for the support!

As for spam, we already receive our fair share of it though you may not realise this: Our mods have for a long time been hard at work keeping this site clean and wholesome.

[weixing]

Hi,

I think the above will open a pandora's box to different people, especially spammers.

If spammers want to spam your forum, I don't think they'll look for the "correct" sub-forum to post... they'll basically spam your whole forum. So I don't think there'll be an increase of spammers due to this new sub-forum.

Anyway, I think we should try to reduce waste by selling/giving away the usable items that we don't need instead of just throwing them away. At the moment, there is only one Earth (I think everyone here know this ) and we have limited resources, so I think we should just do our "mirco" part here in saving our Earth.

Anyway, as what Tachyon had mentioned, the admin/mod will monitor the sub-forum to make sure no one abuse it.

Have a nice day.

[rcj]

wrote a reply....wonder where is it? anyone knows?

[acc]

Hi
I deleted an anonymous posting here... if you are the poster and would like your post to be re-instated, please PM me. I will then attribute the post to you and restore your message. Thanks.

[rcj]

it was me, and was written while logging in. what is happening?

[acc]

Oh Remus you did not log in when posting. So I deleted it since there wasn't any name. I have since restricted all posts here to only registered members, as is the norm for all the other sub-forums. Here goes your original:

Hi all,

Here are my thoughts about the Pasar Malam and the whole forum:

1) The original intention of the astronomy forum was to promote astronomy and educate the public. It is not a place for anyone to dispose of their items. They can do it elsewhere like Ebay. There is a rating system that one can judge on whether to buy/sell is a good move and whether the person is reliable or not. You reach a larger audience as well. There are several other buy/sell sites that one can do.

2) Secondly, let's face it, the volume of active membership posting has dwindled over the several months. Perhaps the push in having a Pasar Malam might bring back active posters, but only time will tell. And there are many other ways one could promote this, and the management has to work on this. It is good to look at other forums and study how they have managed their content.

3) Having the allowance of a buy/sell section for non-astro related items will attract and put off two groups of people: the first is quite obvious as in previously stated posts, the second group would be those who look upon the forum as a true astronomy forum that seeks to educate and learn, and unfortunately, this number has gone down, whether we want to believe or not, time has spoken for itself here if one observes.

4) The Masar Palam might invite oppotunities for sharing and social bonding, but it is the same likewise for other social forums, and if one would like to do so, it is better in these specialised forums.

5) With regards to spammers misusing this buy/sell entity, nowadays, especially those on hard-sell, will do whatever they can to get their wares to the people. If they see a legitimate avenue to sell, they will do so intelligently. Example: cell phones, laptop sellers, etc.

6) There are more important issues to address at this moment. And again, one should observe and learn from the other forums, if we truly would like singastro to flourish. Many ideas come into mind, some already implemented, and is up to the management to initiate this: greater interactivity with members through live chats, interviews, more articles, graphic-based celestial events announcements, animation, greater user-friendly features, bigger image uploads, RSS feeds, and many more.

Lastly, if all else being said, the management has already made up their minds and decide the Pasar Malam is indeed a good idea, please ignore this post.

[rcj]

i did log in.

[acc]

Maybe there was a time-out. Anyway, your post has been restored.

[rcj]

ok thanks.

[Sam Lee]

Spammers i refer to here are users who just join for the sake of selling non astronomy related items and have no tiniest bit of interest in the hobby.
Yes , the community may be small , but that doesn't makes having a pasar malam right . Long time members will obviously see a benefit of this because they personally knew the members here and that they can be trusted , but on the far side , what will the newcomers think ? What makes you think that they will see the same out of this ?

What will they think if they just joined this forum , and sees more non-astronomy related posting instead of the real stuff they wanted to see when they joined the forum ? Immediately they will either be disappointed OR they can join in the non astronomy chit chats in the hope of getting into the real stuff. The enthusiastic mindset will gradually dwindle to the fact that that is all they will get , and soon after will start dropping into the 'inactive' members region.

And yes, we see more posting being generated due to the new 'pasar malam' column but that doesn't mean we are successful .
Like what RCJ has mentioned , there are other ways to increase actions and content to the forum.

Regards,
Sam