Member to Member crickets

[thallidguy]

Whenever I look at the Home Page, I can't help but notice how many threads there are in the Member to Member forums and how many of them have no responses.

I understand the theory behind the Member to Member forums, I think. And if I'm right about the theory, I agree that it sounds like a good idea in principle to limit the people who can respond there, to keep down the signal-to-noise ratio.

But it also looks like there aren't enough people answering questions there. So a lot of multiple/duplicate threads get started by posters who didn't get their questions answered.

[chrysylys]

That's the board (one of them) that is severely limited in who can reply.  I went there a few times then stopped going there altogether because I didn't like the format, or understand it.

Seems like it should be abolished and rolled in to the main boards.

[thallidguy]

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@chrysylys wrote:

Seems like it should be abolished and rolled in to the main boards.

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Yeah, seems like that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, considering how things are going. A whole lot of people not getting their questions answered right now.

Just curious whether or not the blues are paying attention.

[alan@ebay]

Hi @thallidguy, 

We do pay close attention to the responsiveness of all the boards in our Community, especially the member to member Q&A board. 

Our Community Mentors spend a lot of time helping out users that post questions there, and we appreciate that a ton! 

We do encourage users to apply to join the Community Mentor program if they wish, you've probably seen the messaging that mentions this at the top of the board. We don't have a lot of information on the program published in the Community right now, but we will soon be creating a new page that gives an overview of the program. Keep an eye out for that! 

Thanks. 

[thallidguy]

Thanks, Alan! I'm glad that you guys are keeping an eye on things.

I had thought about applying for access to Member to Member and might join up if asked. But I spend too much time on the boards for my own good as it is. Plus, if the Lithium mods are as trigger-happy as they were several years ago when I got banned, more opportunities to post probably just means more opportunities to get into trouble through my colorful way of expressing myself. I like to think that I've done some good here over the years, but I don't seem to be much appreciated under the current regime.

[chrysylys]

I really don't understand the duplication.  I see sections on Selling in at least three different sections.  Same for buying.  The Member to Member board seems to be a mishmash of both, plus a few other topics that are already covered on boards like My Account.

It seems there would be far better chance of those posters getting better answers faster by reducing the duplication and directing those questions to the main boards.

And as I said, I don't like the format there so I wouldn't apply based on that alone. 

[alan@ebay]

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@thallidguy wrote:

Thanks, Alan! I'm glad that you guys are keeping an eye on things.

I had thought about applying for access to Member to Member and might join up if asked. But I spend too much time on the boards for my own good as it is. Plus, if the Lithium mods are as trigger-happy as they were several years ago when I got banned, more opportunities to post probably just means more opportunities to get into trouble through my colorful way of expressing myself. I like to think that I've done some good here over the years, but I don't seem to be much appreciated under the current regime.

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I appreciate the "spending too much time on the boards" they can be addictive! We've changed our moderation strategy over the last year or so and we are always looking for ways to improve it. If you were to be issued a ban you can always chat with the eBay Community team to have us review it. 

Thanks! 

[berserkerplanet]

That is good news. (uh, good for a friend that is...)

[alan@ebay]

[thallidguy]

I agree about the duplication; it really complicates the structure of the forum.

So does the distinction between "Knowledge Base" and "Discussions." I kinda understand the theory behind it. But the problem is that the vast majority (99.9% it seems like) don't care and they're just going to post wherever. I'm guessing that the distinction broke down the instant it was unveiled.

[thallidguy]

Alan:

I'm wrapping my head around what you guys had in mind with this current version of the boards, and I think I get it. I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I also think that in a very short time, the farm animals have trampled the fences and it's getting to be a mess.

I think I understand that Knowledge Base is for factual questions and Discussions is for issues that are more about back-and-forth. I appreciate the distinction. But I don't think the same can be said for 99.9% of the other posters, especially the ones who are not forum regulars and who come here for the first time to ask a question. So they don't pay attention, they post wherever, and the distinctions you want to maintain just dissolve.

This also affects the Member-to-Member boards. Like I said, I sympathize with wanting to maintain this space where only experts are allowed to answer — there have been many times over the years when dealing with all the stupid that gets posted feels like a game of Whack-a-Mole that will never, ever end. But it's not clear when or why you should start a thread there and not in the less exclusive sections of the community.

I'm not sure what the answer is, but there are aspects of the community that feel jumbled right now.

[*coins]

@thallidguy

If you go to Settings > Preferences > Home Page, you can checkmark all of the boards that you want to see on the homepage. I find it really helpful, because I don't have to sort out all of the member to member threads.

You just checkmark each 'category' that you want to see, and when you go to the homepage, you click "Latest Discussions," which is a dropdown menu, and change that to "My discussion feed." It is actually pretty simple. 🙂

Good luck!

[thallidguy]

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@vintige wrote:

@thallidguy

If you go to Settings > Preferences > Home Page, you can checkmark all of the boards that you want to see on the homepage. I find it really helpful, because I don't have to sort out all of the member to member threads.

You just checkmark each 'category' that you want to see, and when you go to the homepage, you click "Latest Discussions," which is a dropdown menu, and change that to "My discussion feed." It is actually pretty simple. 🙂

Good luck!

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For me, it's not about isolating certain kinds of information, because I'm potentially interested in everything and I like to browse. My concern is much more general, that the boards are not working as designed, and it's a shame because I think the theory behind the design is reasonable and sound.

[*coins]

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@thallidguy wrote:

This also affects the Member-to-Member boards. Like I said, I sympathize with wanting to maintain this space where only experts are allowed to answer — there have been many times over the years when dealing with all the stupid that gets posted feels like a game of Whack-a-Mole that will never, ever end. But it's not clear when or why you should start a thread there and not in the less exclusive sections of the community.

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I missed this post of yours, @thallidguy, and I think that I know the answer...

All of the people who post a new thread on the M2M board or knowledge base were redirected tp that board from the help and contact page (see the link at the top of any eBay page). If you look at that board from the community, there is no button to start a new thread there. That's why all of the people who are posting questions on the M2M board are not posting them on the regular boards. They just post it on the one they are set to.

[chrysylys]

Yes, and that's why that board needs to go away and those questions be directed to the main boards.