Feedback requested - Forum Improvements

haggisv wrote: Not a bad idea at all, but we'd have to be careful as such a section can also be easily abused by sellers/retailers to promote their products. I think the deals should only be posted by members that don't have any ties to the retailer/sellers that offer the "Hot Deals"... ie. don't post your own hot deals

Rich215 wrote: Varg,,,,no personal offense meant here, but you are being hypocritical by your post.   You are not following the rules but yet you want to bring someones post about where to get products up as wrong.  You should be paying for advertisment fees here (as well as many others), and you always try selling your products in postings and advertise your business in your signature.  Correct me if I am wrong, but I do not see an ad banner for your business on Mytt. Cole shows respect and good business ethics by not trying to sell products via pms or in postings. I tell people places to buy stuff to because I have baught from many sellers.

varghesep wrote:  "don't post your own hot deals":   Are you suggesting retailers to use other members to post deals in place of they themselves promote ?   Original Post: The chinese brands will be significantly cheaper.  I recommend www.colestt.com for a good selection.  Cole has combos that will easily fall in your price range.  I personally prefer a less tacky rubber than the Geospin - The LKT Pro XP would be a good choice.  Good luck.

This is a seperate issue really, on what's advertising and what the forum allows.

My personal viewpoint (and this is not a forum or section rule that I'm making, just expressing my opinion) is that the post above is fine, as the poster is simply recommending a retailer that he feels offer the selection and prices that are suitable. This is useful and helps the person asking the question... In the end if it's helpful and relevant, I don't think anyone will have issues with it...

I don't see signature as a problem either, as this forum has always accepted these, but i think they should be kept to a small size and not be made to stand out or scream "press me", as it makes the thread hard to read. If they're kept small, members will click on them only if they're interested to know more about this person, but when they're big and with big banners, it does look like advertising to me, which some members obviously don't like.

Anyway, that's how I see it, and that's what I do with my own signature, and I've never had a complaint about mine, so I assume people have no problems with it...

Thanks for all the feedback guys!

I have created the HOT DEALS / GREAT SPECIALS section here

Regarding the issues with the search engine on this forum, this is big ask as it requires major changes to the software. I did create a little search site that can help, as discussed in the thread here:
http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=24270&PN=1#288093

Any further suggestions on changes to improve this section?

Cheers guys!

I am more concerned about the quality of the search engine itself - 50% of the time it crashes or doesn't find the stuff which is obviously there.

Any chance on solving the problems?

one thing i've noticed lately--the "post reply" function is very, very slow--slower than before.

also, before, when you typed in an URL, it was automatically "clickable," but now it isn't.  it would be nice if that could be fixed to make it like it was before.

That is a great search-site! Thanks, Alex!

JimT wrote: That is a great search-site! Thanks, Alex!

haggisv wrote: Thanks for all the feedback guys! I have created the HOT DEALS / GREAT SPECIALS section here Regarding the issues with the search engine on this forum, this is big ask as it requires major changes to the software. I did create a little search site that can help, as discussed in the thread here: http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=24270&PN=1#288093 Any further suggestions on changes to improve this section? Cheers guys!

stan1551 wrote: I actually agree with Varg here. I think the key word is "genuine". I beleive anybody should be allowed to post in this section including retailers but only if the deal is the "real deal", for example if certain retailer has decided to decrease inventory and sells below the regular price. What should not be allowed is the "fake" sale, example: I normally carry the specific blade/rubber for X amount of dollars, then today I change the price to 2X and declare the sale (100% off) which brings me back to the same regular price except now I declare "Huge sale... 100% off regular price..." etc....

stan1551 wrote: I actually agree with Varg here. I think the key word is "genuine". I beleive anybody should be allowed to post in this section including retailers but only if the deal is the "real deal", for example if certain retailer has decided to decrease inventory and sells below the regular price. What should not be allowed is the "fake" sale, example: I normally carry the specific blade/rubber for X amount of dollars, then today I change the price to 2X and declare the sale (100% off) which brings me back to the same regular price except now I declare "Huge sale... 100% off regular price..." etc....

If we open the door up to retailers promoting their own bargains here, it will ruin the thread IMO. How do you judge if it's real bargain or not? Is 10%, 20% or 50% a real bargain?... and 20% off what?... the original retails price which could be miles above the regular price already...

This is why I think it's left up to the members here to decide which are the genuine bargain, since the majority know what's real and what's not...

I think the "buy & sell" is more appropiate for selling your own persomal stuff... that's what it's meant for...and there you can clearly indicate when an item is sold as well...

Varg: You can keep questioning my exact wording on advertising for ever, as it will never be perfect or foolproof, and I'm sure many will not even read the guidelines... I'm trying to ptu something positive in place here, so how about we just give this thread a go instead, and if it has real problems, we can address them when they arise...

Sub categories, especially for equipment would be nice & would make searching for information a whole lot easier.
The layout of the forum from a visual stand point looks like a wall of text. Changing this would also add to the ease of use while looking for information. As is its a little daunting to look at.
my 2 copper pieces

This would be your book. My book is somewhat different. I also like Drupal and its advanced taxonomy system.

I think you should just put full size pictures under each comment you post, nobody would mind here.  We love your pictures. 

Well I do in the nicest way.

awesome !!