Regards,
Simply-the-best-for-you Volunteer Community Mentor
Loved that last post and am looking forward to replying, this has been a great exchange but we have some plans and I will be out of pocket part or most of the evening ... but did not want you to think I was ignoring it by a delay in response.
I want to reply to that but we have some plans and will be out of pocket part or most of the evening. So a delay in response is not intentional ... good post and discussion in my mind.
@mr_lincoln wrote:@valueaddedresource , @my-cottage-books-and-antiques , @dhbookds , @wastingtime101 , @12345jamesstamps
I suspect that there might be some internal reorganizing and restructuring with regard to the eBay Support Team for The Community pursuant to the group that has been let go from the company.
February may wind up being a wash for some things ... we're still waiting for confirmation on the February Mentors meeting. It may wind up getting pushed to March, who knows.
@mr_lincoln @valueaddedresource The last couple of Mentors meetings have had a whole 1 day notice. Then last month's, the notice was sent out DAY OF the meeting with approx 2 hours notice. I'm sorry, but people have lives, ya know? I know you do 😉 Granted, I have missed many meetings due to the death in my family & subsequent hell I've been in since, but I actually could have made last month, if only the announcement had not come out that morning, while I was still asleep & the meeting was over before I woke up. Had I known, I would have been there.
I do realize they are supposed to be on a regular day & time, but between the holidays & the changing of the TOD for various reasons, it's hard to know if/when they are happening. Honestly, it's just feeling like an afterthought for eBay these days 😞 It's hard to feel valued, when you feel like an afterthought & I think we can all relate to that, Mentor or not 😞
@valueaddedresource Thank you, that is very sweet of you! I hope so too, I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy.
@valueaddedresource wrote:@mr_lincoln I don't disagree...I think I just have a slightly different take on whether the chicken or the egg came first. 😉
Would there naturally have been a thinning of the herd or at least some turnover around here over the years just due to the nature of forums falling out of favor vs other social media, less users overall and other reasons? Sure, I think that's fair.
But is the shrinking number of once very active users who are no longer active also very much the obvious and possibly even intended outcome of choices eBay has made about how to run this place? I also think that is more than fair.
Long ago perma-ban purges to more recent (last few years) changes including chat schedules, official staff interactions, moderation activities and more have set the tone and course for what this community has become.
I absolutely agree the opportunity for this forum to influence policy these days is slim, but I don't believe that's a "sheer numbers" game. While the active and engaged sellers here may be a small percentage of total user base, what we lack in numbers we more than make up for in knowledge, experience, diverse backgrounds and most importantly caring, concern and desire/willingness to engage with each other and with eBay to help improve the platform for all users.
eBay had/has 100s or even 1000s of highly engaged sellers here they could have viewed as "valuable resources" and used them exactly like the influencer focus group you suggested earlier in this thread. The fact that the community holds little to no influence at eBay is 100% the result of choices eBay leadership has made and continues to make.
I see it a lot like much of the criticism a certain occasional world's richest man gets for what has become of Twitter - that platform (for better or worse) is largely a reflection of decisions current ownership has made just as this forum, any influence it may or may not have, and eBay's seller engagement overall is reflective of eBay management's priorities, internal policies, and strategic decision-making - or lack thereof.
Key points and spot on in many regards. I have read quite a few suggestions from members here that would absolutely improve both Buying and Selling experiences and subsequently allow growth for both Sellers and eBay. So it does beg the question as to the relevance of the community of members here, both Buyers and Sellers.
My view is that the company is still in a state of flux with many internal uncertainties on levels below upper management. What will emerge on the other side of this latest change is also uncertain.
@zamo-zuan wrote:
@mr_lincoln wrote:
I think with the advent of other avenues to interact with eBay, like Facebook and others, The Community involvement has shrunk. While I haven't taken down a count of names (IDs to be more specific) that post most often here the number of actively engaged members is small in comparison to the total eBay account membership of Sellers and Buyers. So I think by shear numbers the opportunity to influence policy is slim.
This raises another question, though. How much has activity decreased on these forums *by design*?
For awhile they were guiding sellers to the forums here when CS couldn't help. But as sellers came here and tried to participate, they begun being given the run-around, having their posts moved to impossible to find subforums, and a lack of enforcement of the board rules allowed those posting their honest experiences to be harassed or have their experiences diminished.
I know quite a few people who stopped coming here simply because it never does any good, and by posting any factual evidence on here, you have to deal with an unreasonable about of flak for telling the truth.
I also know quite a few people who have been banned for speaking the truth, without any way to appeal, especially as new leadership came in. Many of these were unfair, such as them responding to someone who was clearly trying to get a rise out of them/baiting, and of course that (which is against the rules) was allowed but the ones being harassed being the ones to get punished.
Truthfully, out of everyone I spoke to on here directly over the years, more than 75% of them have been banned. Which is insane. Especially since most of the few major rulebreakers that push the boundaries I've seen over the years are *still* here.
This place used to be good for getting help and making a change. But it slowly turned in to a place where things were sent to keep things quiet... And then the changes seem to indicate that participation is less and less important.
So I think it could be argued that having so few numbers here to influence policy is by design. Look at what happened in the past when eBay had determined people had too much of an ability to influence policy. And look at the timeline of when they started making these changes...
I think in a lot of instances it's not what is said but how it is said. And even being careful with that there is no guarantee something won't be taken out of context. The suggestion that the decline in The Community is by design may also point to the natural progression of other public forums growth and popularity as well as a decided change by the company to move in a different direction.
Most of my involvement here lately is answering questions on the AAM board but I still read threads and like this one post on them from time to time. I also think that as AI and Chatbots continue to expand their effectiveness public forums as a whole will continue to diminish.
You mentioned knowing a lot of people who stopped coming here. Well, I think it's not limited to here but also those who stopped using the sales venue. I won some inventory lots Tuesday on an online Auction and it was the first time buying from this particular auction house. I had reason to contact them yesterday regarding my Tax ID and spoke to the owner. We had a really nice chat and I learned that at one time they actually used eBay to move many of their items and they were involved here too. They cited some changes in eBay upper management, site changes and elected to stop using eBay for selling. They apparently were a rather large Seller in vintage, antique and collectible categories and in a very short period of time completely changed directions.
@simply-the-best-for-you wrote:
@mr_lincoln wrote:@valueaddedresource , @my-cottage-books-and-antiques , @dhbookds , @wastingtime101 , @12345jamesstamps
I suspect that there might be some internal reorganizing and restructuring with regard to the eBay Support Team for The Community pursuant to the group that has been let go from the company.
February may wind up being a wash for some things ... we're still waiting for confirmation on the February Mentors meeting. It may wind up getting pushed to March, who knows.
@mr_lincoln @valueaddedresource The last couple of Mentors meetings have had a whole 1 day notice. Then last month's, the notice was sent out DAY OF the meeting with approx 2 hours notice. I'm sorry, but people have lives, ya know? I know you do 😉 Granted, I have missed many meetings due to the death in my family & subsequent hell I've been in since, but I actually could have made last month, if only the announcement had not come out that morning, while I was still asleep & the meeting was over before I woke up. Had I known, I would have been there.
I do realize they are supposed to be on a regular day & time, but between the holidays & the changing of the TOD for various reasons, it's hard to know if/when they are happening. Honestly, it's just feeling like an afterthought for eBay these days 😞 It's hard to feel valued, when you feel like an afterthought & I think we can all relate to that, Mentor or not 😞
I've missed meetings too from time to time. My schedule is often dictated by other commitments. I keep certain slots open each month for different things but there is never a guarantee that I can keep those slots open if something else comes up that requires my attention.
I think we are in a state of flux here and it is uncertain what will emerge on the other side of the recent changes at eBay.
