Forum Proposal

[Mike Franzen]

Any information that was forgotten to be listed could be added by the seller. There would be no need for answering every PM. If, the seller wanted to add it he could very easily. The bottom line is there are a lot of members who won't list their guns for sale due to the way the forum is set up. Wouldn't it be better for all of our members if we got to see these guns and have a chance to buy them? John is a wizard. Maybe he could make it optional when someone listed a gun for sale, the seller could choose to disable comments if he so desired. When a policy or practice is off putting to members then it's good policy to make improvements. No one suffers, no one gets hurt.

[Dean Romig]

I kinda like it the way it is. Questions asked - answers given. Compliments made - compliments graciously accepted.

Nobody has a perfect gun for sale. Every used gun has indicators that it is a used gun... everybody can see them but we don't need to point them out.... that's just bad form and poor etiquette.

As long as nobody picks a gun apart or asks stupid questions or makes impertinent comments..... it ain't broke.

[Big Friend Ten (BFT)]

Gentlemen,

As many of you know I am a moderator of the PGCA forums. In that I and Jeff Kuss work for our webmaster John Dunkle for which none of us receive any compensation.

Because I am a moderator I try to stay out of petty squabbles on these forums. If any of those squabbles get intense I swiftly and fairly moderate. Sometimes that is in the form or a private message (PM) to the violator(s). If someone has clearly broken a rule such as engaging in political debates or uses a racial slur then I give them an Infraction. I also DO NOT edit or close thread because I think they are a waste of electrons. At least and probably only one person is enjoying blogging on this forum...

I am often contacted to look at posts that may not be acceptable. For these I usually take action. I have however been contacted because someone posted something that someone else didn’t like. These situations often require communication with John and/or Jeff for a second opinion.

I close threads at the request of the originator. I will also close a thread if someone is getting disrespectful to another. I don’t do this without reading the entire thread to ascertain the entire context of the dispute.

I stated the above as background for the following;

Someone stated that the rules are not enforced evenly. I take deep exception to that statement. I treat as all, as do John and Jeff, equal with the exception of known troublemakers, i.e. repeat offenders. Those persons have used up their share of the grace afforded to all participants. Known troublemakers receive attention faster than persons who usually are respectful to others and follow the rules.

Toward the above, if an item is posted without a price I advise them usually with a PM. If the post isn’t revised within a day, I will make a “soft delete” on it. The post is still there but not visible. When the seller finally contacts me inquiring about their post I will undelete it.

If however one posts a list of Parker for sale at an event and those items are not priced then what is the harm? If they post a string of photos without prices then they need to post prices. Some persons will only sell a firearm face to face and won’t discuss prices on the Internet. In those situations if you are interested in their wares try sending a PM or calling them.

If someone is selling something and others pollute their thread with superfluous written garbage I will delete those posts at the request of the seller. Often however some chit-chat in a thread keeps it in the attention of potential buyers. If a For Sale thread allowed NO response then there would be no “To The Top”.

Concerning the use of PM’s only in a For Sale post; I require it when I post on this forum items for sale. If a potential buyer contacts me on the forum with questions I advise them to send me a PM. This keeps the tire kickers away and provides the means for a potential buyer and me to converse privately. Also, if one can’t follow simple directions then why would I do business with them? That would be asking for trouble…

I read the majority of the posts, especially those For Sale and Wanted to Buy. I see respondents asking questions which were answered in the original posts. Other times, a seller states to call them at the phone number listed for information, or to buy. People still post questions or offers to buy on the forum. Why? The seller stated to call them. If one doesn’t follow directions and misses out on a good buy to someone who followed the directions then who is at fault?

I think the PGCA forums work as they are. We moderators try to be fair with our duties. The members pretty much police the forums and those who come here wanting to bully others or act like snobs either change their ways or go away.

If one doesn't want feedback on a PGCA forum For Sale thread then STATE THE RULES for which you will sell your item(s), i.e. “I will only respond to PM or Phone Call”. A little feedback does however help sell an item.

If one desires no feedback on a For Sale thread then I recommend Guns International or Gun Broker. I have sold non-Parkers on Guns International for a $10 fee with good results. Otherwise sellers may list their items in the PARKER PAGES.

PS: The PGCA forum is perhaps the best gun forum on the Internet due to John Dunkle. John provides the servers, software, and special coding on which our forum is based. Those items are not cheap nor is John's time. When someone suggests that John could write new code to provide a new function I hope they realize that John would do that at his expense. A request such as that would best be sent to John privately for him to consider.

Everyone have a nice day
Mark

[OH Osthaus]

Originally Posted by Mark Ouellette

Gentlemen,

As many of you know I am a moderator of the PGCA forums. In that I and Jeff Kuss work for our webmaster John Dunkle for which none of us receive any compensation.

.

and you earn every penny of that dealing with us


Mark (and Jeff & John)

hope you realize that the vast majority of us really appreciate your efforts, we know its a labor of love - and thank you all for giving us a great forum to babble on about our favorite shotguns.

[Mills]

I also appreciate those like Mike who make polite suggestions as to how the forum (or PGCA) can be improved. Even if those ideas aren't carried out, it does not hurt to make suggestions as long as it remains respectful.

[Blue Collar]

Benevolent dictatorship is what should be expected from the moderation of a public forum such as ours. Any internet format like PGCA is made up of a technologically diverse membership with the gamut of technical skills. Within the last week I have read folks having difficulty with internet searches, cut and pasting information and private messaging. Not to mention photo posting. With all of that, the thread hijacking and dispersing thoughts leave them with a pretty difficult set of circumstances to moderate and administer.

There is no investment required to participate in the forums and no ownership in the site and its' technology. Discussions like this one allow cheap shots as well as supporting comments to drift in with anonymity. This is a classic case for private messages to be used rather than a thread! We all need to come to this forum with an understanding that we are at the mercy of the moderators moods, perceptions and understanding. They provide us much service but web site management is not a democracy, so pray for benevolent dictators. I believe ours are!

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by Russ Lindsay

Discussions like this one allow cheap shots as well as supporting comments to drift in with anonymity.

Nobody posts on the Members Only, Guns For Sale forum in anonymity.

[Big Friend Ten (BFT)]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

Nobody posts on the Members Only, Guns For Sale forum in anonymity.

I think that Russ's comments pertained to the discussion about the For Sale forum rather than any For Sale threads.

[Opening Day]

if you do NOT own the firearm for sale, or have the right to sell it – do not post it in the PGCA For Sale Forum. The PGCA Member “Off Topic” forum would be just dandy, though…

I've stayed out of this, but come on guys (Dennis) if someone want's to post a gun (that we would/might never see) for a friend or a widow, we should not be not allowed to post it. Come on......Posting an internet ad is a "no" I understand that, but allowing someone to post an ad that would be of interest to the members instead of posting it to one of the internet boards.. We get first chance to see this gun and this is bad because of .................

[Dennis]

Forgive me all if I am missing something here. I do like the way the For Sale section is set up EXCEPT for people who list a gun for a friend. That has always irritated me no end. I don't believe in any exceptions to that rule either no matter who makes the exception. It is a rule or it isn't. It doesn't bother me a bit that someone forgets to list the barrel length, gauge, frame size or price. If a buyer is interested in the gun they can simply post a question regarding anything the seller simply forgot to include in their post.

Again maybe I am missing something here but I see no reason a member who wants to sell his gun won't list it on the For sale forum if they want to sell the gun. I have sold guns that I did not list on the forum but it had nothing whatsoever to do with policies of the forum. I simply didn't want to go that route at the time and they were not Parker guns.

I like the section as is.

Dennis