From the oft-ignored INGO FAQ:
Why do I have to have 50 "quality" posts to be able to send a PM to a member or to post in the Classifieds section of the forum? What is a "quality" post anyway?
This is really two separate questions, but they frequently get asked together, so it's a little easier to answer them together.
For the first question: the short answer is "to reduce spam." We created this forum to be a community of firearms enthusiasts in the state of Indiana. It is first and foremost a place where like-minded people can get together and chat about a topic that is relevant to them and that they are passionate about - firearms (of all types). We added the Classifieds section as a perk to our contributing members so that individuals could buy, sell or trade items (not necessarily firearms related) within the Indiana firearms community.
We do not intend for the Classifieds section to become another "Craigslist" or "eBay" for guns. We require 50 "quality" posts because many of our members do not like to do business, especially in regards to firearms, with people they do not know. Posting in other places in the forums can give members an idea of what kind of person you are (in general). You do not have to necessarily post about firearms. You can spend all of your time posting on the silly threads in the Break Room. The idea is to show us a little bit of your personality. You don't have to give us your life history. A small blood sample will suffice.
As far as "quality" of your posts goes, we just want to see something more than a "one-liner" in response to a thread. In some contexts, a "one-liner" is appropriate. For example, if the topic is "What do you carry?" a response of "G19, 3:00" is entirely acceptable. However, 50 "Welcome!" posts in the Intro & Greetings forum may not be construed that way when you yourself are brand new to the forum and then you subsequently head straight to the Classifieds section. In other words, we would like to see a post that actually contributes to the thread and not something that just takes up space.
Just to be clear, any "welcome" post in the Intro forum will be deleted if you do not have 50 quality posts yet and it is not your own intro thread. However, you will find that once you get past the initial water-testing phase, INGO actually has a very welcoming community around here. In fact, one of our members created a whole thread giving a proper welcome for our new members: https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/break_...r_newbies.html. Be sure to check it out!
To help put it in perspective, this was from one of the moderators as we were discussing this particular topic one day:
Quote:
For a new member, it's intimidating. You don't know the social rules yet, and so maybe you sort of "dip your toe in" a little bit as you try to become part of the group. This is why I try to let their posts go past ten so I can see where they go from there. If it's obvious what they're doing, on the other hand, then all bets are off.
Just remember, we are a community that borders on family. Jump in and have fun, and show us who you are before you try to sell us that hot new gun collection you have!
When you say we need 50 posts to participate in the Classifieds, what does that mean exactly? I can still buy from people even though I don't have 50 posts yet, right? That's not really participating because you mean I just can't sell in the Classifieds, right?
There's a reason we chose the word "participate."
We didn't say you have to have 50 posts to sell in the Classifieds section.
We didn't say you have to have 50 posts to trade in the Classifieds section.
We didn't say you have to have 50 posts to buy in the Classifieds section.
You have to have 50 posts to participate in the Classifieds section.
Recently, Fenway has decided to offer a way around the 50 post requirement, and that is to become a Site Supporter. His feeling is that becoming a supporter will give you a vested interested in helping the site and reduce the likelihood that you will spam the board. See this link for more info:
https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/site_s..._are_here.html
Why do I have to have 50 "quality" posts to be able to send a PM to a member or to post in the Classifieds section of the forum? What is a "quality" post anyway?
This is really two separate questions, but they frequently get asked together, so it's a little easier to answer them together.
For the first question: the short answer is "to reduce spam." We created this forum to be a community of firearms enthusiasts in the state of Indiana. It is first and foremost a place where like-minded people can get together and chat about a topic that is relevant to them and that they are passionate about - firearms (of all types). We added the Classifieds section as a perk to our contributing members so that individuals could buy, sell or trade items (not necessarily firearms related) within the Indiana firearms community.
We do not intend for the Classifieds section to become another "Craigslist" or "eBay" for guns. We require 50 "quality" posts because many of our members do not like to do business, especially in regards to firearms, with people they do not know. Posting in other places in the forums can give members an idea of what kind of person you are (in general). You do not have to necessarily post about firearms. You can spend all of your time posting on the silly threads in the Break Room. The idea is to show us a little bit of your personality. You don't have to give us your life history. A small blood sample will suffice.
As far as "quality" of your posts goes, we just want to see something more than a "one-liner" in response to a thread. In some contexts, a "one-liner" is appropriate. For example, if the topic is "What do you carry?" a response of "G19, 3:00" is entirely acceptable. However, 50 "Welcome!" posts in the Intro & Greetings forum may not be construed that way when you yourself are brand new to the forum and then you subsequently head straight to the Classifieds section. In other words, we would like to see a post that actually contributes to the thread and not something that just takes up space.
Just to be clear, any "welcome" post in the Intro forum will be deleted if you do not have 50 quality posts yet and it is not your own intro thread. However, you will find that once you get past the initial water-testing phase, INGO actually has a very welcoming community around here. In fact, one of our members created a whole thread giving a proper welcome for our new members: https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/break_...r_newbies.html. Be sure to check it out!
To help put it in perspective, this was from one of the moderators as we were discussing this particular topic one day:
Quote:
For a new member, it's intimidating. You don't know the social rules yet, and so maybe you sort of "dip your toe in" a little bit as you try to become part of the group. This is why I try to let their posts go past ten so I can see where they go from there. If it's obvious what they're doing, on the other hand, then all bets are off.
Just remember, we are a community that borders on family. Jump in and have fun, and show us who you are before you try to sell us that hot new gun collection you have!
When you say we need 50 posts to participate in the Classifieds, what does that mean exactly? I can still buy from people even though I don't have 50 posts yet, right? That's not really participating because you mean I just can't sell in the Classifieds, right?
There's a reason we chose the word "participate."
We didn't say you have to have 50 posts to sell in the Classifieds section.
We didn't say you have to have 50 posts to trade in the Classifieds section.
We didn't say you have to have 50 posts to buy in the Classifieds section.
You have to have 50 posts to participate in the Classifieds section.
50 posts?! REALLY?!
Recently, Fenway has decided to offer a way around the 50 post requirement, and that is to become a Site Supporter. His feeling is that becoming a supporter will give you a vested interested in helping the site and reduce the likelihood that you will spam the board. See this link for more info:
https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/site_s..._are_here.html
