Several forum suggestions, including: No new topics for CAG Newbies

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There has been a flood of garbage threads in the deal forum over the last month. Therefore, I suggest that CAG stop allowing CAG Newbies to post new topics. This would prevent the following problems that happen often:
1) out-and-out spam from people that just registered (referral spam, etc.)
2) non-deals from clueless people who haven't lurked long enough
3) deals that either a) belong in an existing dedicated thread (TRU, etc.) or b) are already covered in the weekly sales thread.
4) all the stupid question threads

Obvious downside: guys like Speedy1961 wouldn't be able to post at first. But since it's so rare for a guy like Speedy to show up and immediately contribute, wouldn't it be easier for the mods to add posting privileges for the rare guy like this, rather than having to deal with the deluge of clueless dimwits?

Other suggestions:
1) Please for the love of god confine all the Google Checkout crap to a single thread. Or ban it.
2) It would be really nice to keep all the Wal-Mart YMMV shit to either the regional forums (IMHO where it belongs) or perhaps a single Wal-Mart thread (like the Target one).
 
[quote name='Scorch']I don't know who you are sir (or ma'am), but I like your ideas. Especially the thread starting ones.[/QUOTE]

Thanks Scorch. That means a lot coming from you--you've probably called foul on more bad threads than any other CAG I can think of.

I'm a sir, btw. It's supposed to be m.a., not ma. I wish I had put more thought into that name, but at the time I was just trying to be able to lurk in the deals forum.
 
this has come up before, i like the idea of not starting threads. i know newbies cant create trade threads for 30 days, it seems like they shouldnt be allowed to create deal threads either if thats the case.
 
I like the idea of no thread creation for 30 days. There are an awful lot of crap thread especially from spammers.

I don't really have a problem with the question threads because CAG are very helpful in my experience. Maybe condense it to a specialized Q&A mega thread or something.

I agree with the Wally World threads and especially the GCO ones. You could make a hundreds of GCO threads listing off every single game you can buy for $10 off. Unless again you want to once again condense it all to a GCO mega thread.
 
I don't like the "no new topics for n00bs" idea. I just feel that one person who's prohibited to post a potential deal, could take it over to SD or FW and post it immediately. The deal gets run into the ground before someone from here sees it and reposts it.

There has to be a better way.
 
[quote name='WhipSmartBanky']I don't like the "no new topics for n00bs" idea. I just feel that one person who's prohibited to post a potential deal, could take it over to SD or FW and post it immediately. The deal gets run into the ground before someone from here sees it and reposts it.

There has to be a better way.[/quote]

I wonder if Cheapy could institute a "green light" policy for noobs.... They are allowed to post but the submission goes into some sort of queue until it's reviewed by a mod or the head honcho himself. He can then approve only the legit deals and get rid of the spammers and other garbage. Do that for the first 30 days to give noobs a chance to get used to the site.
 
[quote name='Chitown021']I wonder if Cheapy could institute a "green light" policy for noobs.... They are allowed to post but the submission goes into some sort of queue until it's reviewed by a mod or the head honcho himself. He can then approve only the legit deals and get rid of the spammers and other garbage. Do that for the first 30 days to give noobs a chance to get used to the site.[/QUOTE]
Now, THAT, my friend...I like.
 
[quote name='WhipSmartBanky']I don't like the "no new topics for n00bs" idea. I just feel that one person who's prohibited to post a potential deal, could take it over to SD or FW and post it immediately. The deal gets run into the ground before someone from here sees it and reposts it.

There has to be a better way.[/QUOTE]I agree. We've had some excellent deals from newbies.

In the end, I think we're probably just going to need more mods.
 
[quote name='Pancake Rabbit']We just need more moderators. That green light idea is ridiculous considering we only have about 10 mods, if that.[/QUOTE]
It's a lot less ridiculous than not allowing newbs to post deals at all. I don't know anyone, myself included, who would stick around a site for 30 days waiting just for the ability to post a deal. If I thought I had something that was deal-gold and I couldn't post it, I'd certainly take it elsewhere.

Maybe that's what some people want, but you may as well just close the site to new members if that's the case.
 
I don't like it, I think it'd be better if Cheapy found a couple more mods. Especially since we're out a mod (shrike), it's just that I've seen "Newbies" give helpful advice/good deals, so a bigger mod team would be the ideal solution to take care of the extra spam and what have you.

I agree with the Walmart threads though, there needs to be one thread for that... or one thread in each regional forums. Those deals are way too YMMV to warrant them being posted repeatedly in the main deals thread.
 
[quote name='WhipSmartBanky']I don't like the "no new topics for n00bs" idea. I just feel that one person who's prohibited to post a potential deal, could take it over to SD or FW and post it immediately. The deal gets run into the ground before someone from here sees it and reposts it.

There has to be a better way.[/quote]

QFT.

I do agree that it's better to have the Wal-Mart stuff in the regional forums, though.
 
[quote name='ma']I'm a sir, btw. It's supposed to be m.a., not ma. I wish I had put more thought into that name, but at the time I was just trying to be able to lurk in the deals forum.[/quote]Not wanting to take this thread off topic, but you can request a name change to correct how you want it (ie, m.a. or what ever you prefer).

[quote name='Zen Davis']I don't like this because of the way it would make the community seem elitist.[/quote]I couldn't care less if it made the community seem elitist. I'm not totally on board with the proposition, but I don't give a fig what people think of me, never mind some forums I visit.


As for the OPs suggestion, it's a valid concern, but I think the problem is better handled by something akin to the greenlight scenario and/or more active moderation.
 
If I remember correctly, didn't Demoman post Speedy's threads when he first joined CAG since he couldn't make threads himself? Although Demoman also postys Speedy's threads when he posted them over at DVDTalk or wherever it was, but I swear he continued to do it when Speedy was new to the site for that reason.
 
I agree with those who suggest that some moderation-based solution (green-light etc.) would be more ideal, but if it requires more work on the part of the moderators, I don't think it's very realistic.

Chitown- question threads are fine, but they don't belong in the deals forum, and they pop up there all the time, and it's always CAG newbies that post them.

WhipSmartBanky- the deals will get posted at FW and SD no matter what. No policy change here is going to keep that from happening.

Zen Davis- not making the community elitist is a very valid concern. Good point.

Rocko- Demoman just copied the VG parts of speedy's threads over here. He told speedy that the posts were really popular over here, and eventually speedy himself migrated over. But it wasn't that speedy couldn't post, he just hadn't registered yet.

Anyway, good discussion folks.
 
[quote name='ma']I agree with those who suggest that some moderation-based solution (green-light etc.) would be more ideal, but if it requires more work on the part of the moderators, I don't think it's very realistic.

Chitown- question threads are fine, but they don't belong in the deals forum, and they pop up there all the time, and it's always CAG newbies that post them.

WhipSmartBanky- the deals will get posted at FW and SD no matter what. No policy change here is going to keep that from happening.

Zen Davis- not making the community elitist is a very valid concern. Good point.

Rocko- Demoman just copied the VG parts of speedy's threads over here. He told speedy that the posts were really popular over here, and eventually speedy himself migrated over. But it wasn't that speedy couldn't post, he just hadn't registered yet.

Anyway, good discussion folks.[/QUOTE]
You missed my point, ma. Of course it's always going to get posted there. We just don't want to deter people from posting it here first by restricting their posting access.
 
maybe two months before some can make a poll, there has been real obnoxious polls lately, by a specific poster or two, could live without that
 
[quote name='ma']
Rocko- Demoman just copied the VG parts of speedy's threads over here. He told speedy that the posts were really popular over here, and eventually speedy himself migrated over. But it wasn't that speedy couldn't post, he just hadn't registered yet.[/quote]

Here's what I found from past threads. Note that Speedy joined 5-02-06, and this thread in question was made 5-13-06.

[quote name='Roufuss']You know Speedy is on this site now, right? ;)[/quote]
[quote name='Demoman'] He can't start new topics tho so he's given me full permission to post the deals for him. :D[/quote]

From Here.
 
[quote name='Rocko']Here's what I found from past threads. Note that Speedy joined 5-02-06, and this thread in question was made 5-13-06.




From Here.[/QUOTE]

Huh, ok. So are you saying that posting new topics was restricted in the past? It's clearly not now. Thanks for correcting me.
 
[quote name='WhipSmartBanky']You missed my point, ma. Of course it's always going to get posted there. We just don't want to deter people from posting it here first by restricting their posting access.[/QUOTE]

OK, I see. It seems like this would occur pretty rarely, but you're right, it's totally possible. I miss out on these type of super-hot short-lasting deals all the time ;)
 
[quote name='ma']Huh, ok. So are you saying that posting new topics was restricted in the past? It's clearly not now. Thanks for correcting me.[/quote]
Apparantly. It really should be that way, at least in the Deals forum. It is in the Trading forum already. I'd like to know why topic posting priveledges were given back to new users, since apparantly they were restricted before.
 
[quote name='WhipSmartBanky']It's a lot less ridiculous than not allowing newbs to post deals at all. I don't know anyone, myself included, who would stick around a site for 30 days waiting just for the ability to post a deal. If I thought I had something that was deal-gold and I couldn't post it, I'd certainly take it elsewhere.

Maybe that's what some people want, but you may as well just close the site to new members if that's the case.[/QUOTE]
They could just post there findings in a already created thread.
 
[quote name='Rocko']Apparantly. It really should be that way, at least in the Deals forum. It is in the Trading forum already. I'd like to know why topic posting priveledges were given back to new users, since apparantly they were restricted before.[/quote]
Probably because of speedy, if I had to guess.

It's a lot more of a problem to have potential scammers posting in the trading forums than people posting spam in the deals thread. Spam can always be cleaned up, but once somebody gets scammed, the damage is already done.

WSB makes a good point in not wanting to deter potential deal posters. It may not happen often, but it's worth it when it does.
 
[quote name='DigitalSpace']I do agree that it's better to have the Wal-Mart stuff in the regional forums, though.[/quote]

Yeah, Wally YMMV deals usually mean at that one Wally.

Great ideas OP.
 
[quote name='evilmax17']Probably because of speedy, if I had to guess.

It's a lot more of a problem to have potential scammers posting in the trading forums than people posting spam in the deals thread. Spam can always be cleaned up, but once somebody gets scammed, the damage is already done.

WSB makes a good point in not wanting to deter potential deal posters. It may not happen often, but it's worth it when it does.[/quote]

But Demoman posted his threads until he could post them himself, I believe.

And as for the trading aspect, I'm not saying that since it's the policy there it should be the policy everywhere, just pointing out that it's possibl to only restrict it in certain areas, and they aren't afraid to do it. Although that leads back to your explanation. :lol:
 
[quote name='ma']1) Please for the love of god confine all the Google Checkout crap to a single thread. Or ban it.
2) It would be really nice to keep all the Wal-Mart YMMV shit to either the regional forums (IMHO where it belongs) or perhaps a single Wal-Mart thread (like the Target one).[/quote]

AMEN!!!11!!

The rest, I have to agree w/WSB--it all sounds good in theory, but it's harder to justify in practice. I don't think the remaining mods would appreciate having to run down every newb new topic that crops up, for example...
 
All Wal-Mart clearance deals should go in the Regional forums. I'm also going to suggest CompUSA deals as well as their clearance specials have varied greatly recently among stores.

Either that or have ONE dedicated thread for each store in the Deals forum where posting the store's location is mandatory.
 
I really like the greenlight idea, it lets new people get into the community and provides a filter for all the "summer time kid" crap that's getting flooded into the deals section nowadays.
 
I don't particularly like preventing new members from starting topics or the "green light" idea, although if it came down to the two, the "green light" one would be better for the new members, but not so fun for the mods. I think it would turn new members off on the idea of sticking around long enough to possibly become contributing, whether it be with deals or socially. I joined a Chinchilla forum (Don't laugh at me -_- , I have chinchillas) where they have that "green light" policy where anything a new member posts is put in a queue until a mod can accept or deny it, and I find it very frustrating, especially when you're trying to say something right then, and not 12 hours later when a mod approves it. All in all, I think the current setup is best, however that's just my opinion, and I have little to no say-so in the matter. Yay!
 
I for one, would never have registered in the first place if I didn't have a question to ask regarding a deal I was interested in. How about restricitng NOobs to posting in already created threads, rather than being allowed to create their own threads. If they are restricted, make it a very short restriction.
 
[quote name='NWgamer666']I for one, would never have registered in the first place if I didn't have a question to ask regarding a deal I was interested in. How about restricitng NOobs to posting in already created threads, rather than being allowed to create their own threads. If they are restricted, make it a very short restriction.[/QUOTE]

I wasn't suggesting that newbies not be allowed to post, just not allowed to create topics.
 
You could always have a combo of new mods and green light. Or mods specifically tasked to handle green light posts. It's really the safest cleanest way to allow noobs to contribute and still make them feel thier posts are wanted. - All the while keep ing the scammers and spammers from posting at all.
That way, they can be stopped dead in their tracks and banned even before the posts make it to the forums.

Have the noob posts sent to a specific set of mods that agree to take on those posts while you leave the bigger mods to police the forums.
 
[quote name='Noodle Pirate!']You could always have a combo of new mods and green light. Or mods specifically tasked to handle green light posts.[/quote]

Bracing for hiccupleftovers suggesting himself as a mod in 3, 2, 1...
 
I'm beginning to think we should restrict new topics in all the forums as well. Have you read the off-topic forum lately?
 
[quote name='Josef']All Wal-Mart clearance deals should go in the Regional forums. I'm also going to suggest CompUSA deals as well as their clearance specials have varied greatly recently among stores.

Either that or have ONE dedicated thread for each store in the Deals forum where posting the store's location is mandatory.[/QUOTE]
The existing store clearance threads (Target, K-Mart, Sears, and Toys R Us) have shown that people aren't very good at posting the location of the store. When you don't post the location of the store and you don't have a location in your profile, why tell us there are two copies left? :whistle2:?

I do agree on Wal-Mart and CompUSA; I don't think I've seen one clearance sale from either of those stores in the past year that wasn't YMMV, even more so than the stores that do national markdowns. I'd move all of those threads for those two stores to the regional forums, but again, that could prove difficult to enforce unless CheapyD adds a few mods or appoints some of the Forum Guides he had suggested in another thread.
 
I've noticed this a lot lately. I would suggest something similar to what fatwallet has (I know the stigma fatwallet has, but their idea is good). When you go to post a new deal there is a lot of big bolded text that says,

STOP! You are about to post in the HOT DEALS category.
This category is ONLY for posting of great deals.
Do NOT post questions.
Do NOT post requests.
DO check to see if the offer has already been posted.
DO check your price with Compare Prices tab above.

THANK YOU for your cooperation!
Click to expand...

In fact I would take it a step further so that when you go to create a new topic in the deals forum, you have to read that big bolded text (make it take up the screen), then check a box and click ok before you got to the webpage where you actually type your thread. A minor inconvenience for deals posters, but I think it would deter a lot of random posts in the deals forum.

It seems like preventing new people from posting new threads might mean we would miss out on a possible big deal or atleast make it uninviting for someone new to post an actual deal. And the green light thing would create lots of work for mods.
 
Was getting frustrated with seeing more GCO-dependent deals cropping up and found this thread via search. Better to bump an old thread than to make a new and redundant one?

Anyways, I don't really care about the ethics of abusing GCO, but as cheap as I am I won't go through the hassle of setting up multiple Google accounts. Not even for $10. I used my single GCO $10 off over a year ago and don't intend on finding a way to re-use it.

It's great when GCO can spice up an already good deal, but deals that are completely dependent on GCO might as well be highly YMMV considering that most deal conscious folks have already used their GCO long ago.

Do other deal sites have guidelines for GCO deals or are they all fair game?
 
Am I the only one who doesn't have a problem with GCO deals? It's irrelevant if you haven't used it yet, there might be someone who hasn't. If it's a good deal, post it.
 
let the n00bs post...when I started 3months ago, I was making the most shit filled posts (a few may remember). I got my ass kicked about it so much that I changed my ways. being "in training", I still create an accidental shit fest (but not often), and Im still learning my way around. I am getting better though, helping cags, starting contests, posting legit deals, and not takin any more crap from trolls. Letting newbs post topics is the best way for them to learn cag.
 
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