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Superthreads on Bargain Alerts

JustMac

Hi, A few weeks ago a thread was started on Bargain Alerts about 'Clumping Bargains Together into Big Threads?' (http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057560229)

Following this I started a poll in Bargain Alerts to see how many people want Superthreads as the first thread was just a discussion and I wanted to quantify the feelings of others who use the forum. (Poll thread is here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057565487)

Is it possible to re-open that poll to continue to see what people prefer before mods can decide what they would like to do. There would be no new functionality required.

I was not aware that there was a feedback section. Is there any way to link to link to this thread from Bargain Alerts so that posters from that forum might know of the existence of this thread and be able to add a comment.

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JustMac

This has really become a joke at this stage. I had more belief in the system of mods years ago. This has really dropped in recent years as they seem unable to process or allow discussion of a relatively simple matter.:(

Synode

Just because you want it changed doesn't mean others do. I'm delighted the Mods don't pander to the wants of a few

mrcheez

Synode wrote: »

wants of a few

huh?

Last I checked, the majority voted to get rid of them.

Synode

mrcheez wrote: »

huh?

Last I checked, the majority voted to get rid of them.

The majority who voted. I didn't even see the vote and I'm sure many others are in the same boat

JustMac

Synode wrote: »

Just because you want it changed doesn't mean others do. I'm delighted the Mods don't pander to the wants of a few

Have a look through the thread. I have openly said that I would like things changed but rather than insisting on it, as you have suggested, I have recommended a poll to get the majority view. I presume that you would agree that an open poll would determine what the 'majority' want?

I am really disappointed that the mods have remained silent on the matter.

There is a sticky thread taking up space on the BA forum linking to this thread. I have suggested replacing that with a poll for a week or 2 to get the views of the majority. As I've mentioned before I'm not suggesting anything that would require infrastructure or other change. Just to revert to the way things were.

mrcheez

Synode wrote: »

The majority who voted. I didn't even see the vote and I'm sure many others are in the same boat

then lets have a vote. What are they afraid of?

If the majority are happy with the status-quo then fine and we'll all accept that people want unweildy threads.

Synode

I just don't see what the problem is. If you don't like them don't go into them. Hundreds of people actively use them so there's certainly a want for them

mrcheez

Synode wrote: »

I just don't see what the problem is.

Seriously? Do we need to repeat this all ad-infinitum?

Believe it or not, people occasionally post real actual bargains in those threads, and that's where it's a problem because the majority then didn't see them. (the superthreads are unusable unless you have lots of spare time to wade through the comments)

New users also assume that's where you post new bargains.. but they quickly get lost in the midst of the follow-up conversations.

Anyway I'm not repeat this all again as it's been said countless times, but to save yourself the time the consensus is: keep the superthreads to minor bargains (like cheap socks), not actual bargains (like 50% off a TV).

The mods even say this: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=99535051&postcount=221

Keep this thread for minor bargains/small savings, otherwise start a new thread.

Synode

Right so you want to force people to stop doing something they enjoy just because you may have missed a bargain or two.

mirrorwall14

In fairness that's not what he's saying. At this point this feedback thread has been open for two months. That is more than enough time for a decision to be officially made one way or the other

megaten

The Megathreads are only really useful for the supermarkets I feel. Having separate threads for bargains and another to discuss the bargains is extremely unwieldy. BA doesn't move that quickly to warrant all the megathreads.

Dav

Here's a suggestion folks...

What if we had a weekly thread in place of the "mega" threads. We can even have them running in advance, so if for example, we know that Tesco is having a big clearance of electronics at the end of this month, we can include that in the thread for Week number 22 (end of May/Start of June), however, if Tesco's having a sale on beer for this weekend, we'd post that into this week's thread.

It's a bit of a departure from what we're doing presently, but smaller threads are definitely the better option and when the week's done, that's a whole chunk of "expired" bargains that you won't have to wade through to find what's current.

Synode

That sounds awful Dav. Seriously, hundreds of people use the megathreads. Why can't that just continue?

Dav

Because for a huge number of people, they're not desirable - it says so right here in this thread. I'm trying to find some sort of middle ground and workable solution...

dunworth1

i dont think there is a problem with the Tesco mega thread as the majority of the time its food related except for the rare clear outs

the problem is with lots of mega threads.
there's no need for Argos to have one each bargain should have its own thread

the biggest problem with the likes of the Argos mega-thread is that the discussion of a bargain makes it messy.

the best part of BA is the users feedback discussion of a bargain

say for example a tv goes on sale at a crazy price but its crap the posts under the bargain are a very valuable resource for this kind of thing

but if both extra bargains and discussion is happening in the one thread bargains get lost.

and in my opinion having separate chat threads only makes it more messier.

i spend quite a lot of time on boards everyday and i still find it hard to follow the mega threads.

for BA i like to jump in quickly skim through and see if anything catches my eye and then pop back to other forums. but with the mega threads it means i need to skim and check through them also which is more time consuming so much so that ive actually kind of shifted over to just checking hduk and the argos scanner instead.

bring back the BA I loved/hated as i ended up spending so much money

Synode

Dav wrote: »

Because for a huge number of people, they're not desirable - it says so right here in this thread. I'm trying to find some sort of middle ground and workable solution...

And for a huge number of people they are. So why should we have to give up something just because a bunch of people don't like them. I don't like a number of forums on here but I don't start a campaign to get rid of them.

Have a look at the poll now. I posted on 3 mega threads to tell people about the poll and the number saying keep them has shot up in the last hour. i completely missed the first poll and only saw the new one yesterday. I suspect there's many more like me.

JustMac

Dav wrote: »

Because for a huge number of people, they're not desirable - it says so right here in this thread. I'm trying to find some sort of middle ground and workable solution...

1 week ago today I requested that the Poll thread on BA be 'un-stickied' and the thread title changed to indicate a poll as otherwise people wouldn't see it.

I started the original poll which was closed and we were re-directed to the Feedback forum.

When there was not much discussion on the Feedback forum I asked to open a poll in BA forum. I sent private messages to all the BA mods. It took 32 days to get a reply.

The way I read the poll as it stands is that 202 people have voted and 82 like them so still a healthy majority don't like them and/or want change. This might change and if it does so be it. From the start I have asked that a fair process is used, which has not been the case. The options in poll are unclear.

I suggested that the first poll should be a simple 'Do you like super threads Yes/No' and if the majority didn't want superthreads then they a further poll could have had the replacement options.

I cannot understand the mods failure to interact here. I now notice that people are posting in the Feedback thread and the BA poll sticky. (I'll post in both!) What a mess!

Slutmonkey57b

I still don't think the megathreads are nearly as big a problem as the zombie ones.

J.pilkington

Slutmonkey57b wrote: »

I still don't think the megathreads are nearly as big a problem as the zombie ones.

I completely agree if you are talking about the expired bargain alerts which turn into massive chat threads (eg French campsites on the ferry thread / TV functions) which are only of use to those who bought the deal and absolute noise to everyone else as they pollute the first few pages.

For some reason they are allowed to remain.

There should be a sub forum for these threads to be moved to, I did suggest this here but a mod moved my suggestion to a forum request section which made zero sense to me(am I supposed to canvas here and the BA forum as nobody views the forum request section where my suggestion was moved to).

mrcheez

Dav wrote: »

Because for a huge number of people, they're not desirable - it says so right here in this thread. I'm trying to find some sort of middle ground and workable solution...

Hi Dav, thanks for coming on board with the suggestion, but honestly I think the best solution is the one you have repeated several times and that's: keep superthreads for minor deals only. This may require some moderation though as the hardcore superthread users may still put large bargains in the superthreads (perhaps that's their intention: to only show the deal to a select few that are loyal followers, but it means the majority miss out). So it may be necessary for a mod to move a bargain out from a superthread if they deem it will interest the majority?

So no change, but a change to how superthreads are moderated perhaps. More work for mods unfortunately though but at least everyone is happy.

mrcheez

Also, perhaps to make it clear for new BA users, I'd suggest inserting "[MINOR BARGAINS]" in the title of each superthread so that it's clear what the desired content should be. So "Amazon Bargain Alerts" would become "Amazon Bargain Alerts [MINOR BARGAINS]" ?

Slutmonkey57b

mrcheez wrote: »

This may require some moderation though as the hardcore superthread users may still put large bargains in the superthreads (perhaps that's their intention: to only show the deal to a select few that are loyal followers, but it means the majority miss out).

You honestly believe there are a cadre of users "hiding" bargains from you ... by posting them on an open forum in a place specifically designated for them?

And on this basis you want things changed?

Synode

Some people have way too much time on their hands

mrcheez

Synode wrote: »

Some people have way too much time on their hands

Like the people that can spend time wading through superthreads to find whether any recent bargains actually might be relevant to them

mrcheez

Slutmonkey57b wrote: »

You honestly believe there are a cadre of users "hiding" bargains from you ... by posting them on an open forum in a place specifically designated for them?

And on this basis you want things changed?

They're hidden by the very fact they are in superthreads which are frankly time-wasting to use. The Amazon one has a full page of comments on the latest page and no mention of an actual bargain.

Synode

Chat! On a discussion forum! Well I never.

Since when have people decided that every thread should be bargains only? I must have missed that memo. The solution is simple, if you don't like the superthreads, don't use them. If you want to see every single bargain on this forum, then be prepared to have to read some chat

mirrorwall14

Synode wrote: »

Chat! On a discussion forum! Well I never.

Since when have people decided that every thread should be bargains only? I must have missed that memo. The solution is simple, if you don't like the superthreads, don't use them. If you want to see every single bargain on this forum, then be prepared to have to read some chat

I have no issue with chat in threads. I have a major issue with bargains being hidden in threads. I've stopped reading the bargain forum because you can no longer hop in and scan the thread titles because the mega threads have hidden many bargains.

I firmly believe that the title of the thread should be the actual bargain not a generic title

Synode

mrcheez wrote: »

Like the people that can spend time wading through superthreads to find whether any recent bargains actually might be relevant to them

You know where's a good place for bargains without chat? Groupon. I know there's a lot of people who want to turn this place into that but here's a suggestion: Maybe they should head over there and leave this place as what it is - A discussion forum

Synode

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

I have no issue with chat in threads. I have a major issue with bargains being hidden in threads. I've stopped reading the bargain forum because you can no longer hop in and scan the thread titles because the mega threads have hidden many bargains.

I firmly believe that the title of the thread should be the actual bargain not a generic title

There's approx 4 or 5 superthreads. So your post makes no sense

mirrorwall14

Synode wrote: »

You know where's a good place for bargains without chat? Groupon. I know there's a lot of people who want to turn this place into that but here's a suggestion: Maybe they should head over there and leave this place as what it is - A discussion forum

I don't want the forum changed into groupon. I just want the forum back the way it was before we ended up with multiple mega threads. No issue with chat in threads personally just with thread titles not referencing the actual bargain