The forum needs fixing.

soop2

Firstly, we get a lot of shills using the board as a free advert. I'd bet money that this "new user" was affiliated with the company in his post:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2664547

This could be counteracted by a rule in which new users are not allowed to post a topic until they've replied to x posts and have been active for a week. Harsh, but it would cut down on the spam.

The second problem I see on the Grabbit board, is people posting deals which seem heavily discounted, and then buying far more than they need under the pretence of "saving money" on presents for other people, when the original item can be found regularly cheaper or at a similar price elsewhere.

Now this problem is less tangible. You could ask people to use google shopping to judge other prices, as people don't tend to do any research at all about what they're buying. I know other sites have automated software that tracks prices, but this tends to be more cetegory-specific.

Another related topic is that size/quantity/price is the holy trinity of these forums. I like a bargain as much as the next person, but I'd rather pay a little extra for a quiet hard drive, or some flatscreen 19" TV that seems like a great bargain but which is poorly put together.

Sorry for the rant, but for every useful topic, there is at least 5 which are total spam.

dmg24

I agree we get a fair amount of spam, but five for every genuine one? Could you give some examples please? I trust you report any posts which contravene the forum rules?

soop2

Yeah, sure.
But by "spam" I mean traditional spam, like someone will post up the fact that Sainsbury's have buy one get one on toilet roll. Yeah, it's useful, but how often do Supermarkets have some kind of offer like that? If you really wanted cheap toilet roll, you'd probably know before you happened to read it here.

Another issue: One of my posts got moved without telling me, and then moved again by a moderator who did tell me, but had his settings set to reject messages. I think realistically moderators should be open to two-way conversation (and don't worry, I wasn't replying to hurl abuse at him).

Last one for now, I've noticed there are some sticky topics that are out of date - and the top 10 posts forum hasn't been updated since 2007?

MoneySavingUser

How would I know about the toilet rolls? Am I psychic?

I agree stickies should be reviewed

TurkishDelight

MoneySavingUser wrote: »

How would I know about the toilet rolls? Am I psychic?

I agree stickies should be reviewed

Yeah, agreed.

The boards don't have to be about the deal of a lifetime, afterall you're more likely to need half price loo roll than a massive telly.

soop2

How would I know about the toilet rolls? Am I psychic?

So the only way to find out about anything is to read it on these forums?

You miss my point; there are a handful of major supermarkets, and they all have offers on all the time. You could dedicate an entire forum to it, or perhaps use some kind of price comparison site. If there was a post for every single supermarket offer, regardless of how good it is, you would be hard pressed to see any other posts.

I get unsolicited flyers through my door from Somerfield, I get unsolicited email from Tesco, and I shop in Sainsbury's, and I own a TV. If I was that desperate to find out when toilet roll was half price, how hard do you think it would be? Given that supermarkets are forcing it into our conciousness already, I hardly think they need much help. If anything it should be consigned to another forum rather than Grabbit (after all, you don't have to be psychic to work out it's hardly a once in a lifetime offer)

Grabbit doesn't have to be about luxury items, but it would be nice if it was limited to genuinely impressive offers/glitches. The more posts there are, the easier it is for shills to slip in a post or two, and the whole thing becomes devalued.

Sandoval

soop2 wrote: »

Firstly, we get a lot of shills using the board as a free advert. I'd bet money that this "new user" was affiliated with the company in his post:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2664547

This could be counteracted by a rule in which new users are not allowed to post a topic until they've replied to x posts and have been active for a week. Harsh, but it would cut down on the spam.

The second problem I see on the Grabbit board, is people posting deals which seem heavily discounted, and then buying far more than they need under the pretence of "saving money" on presents for other people, when the original item can be found regularly cheaper or at a similar price elsewhere.

Now this problem is less tangible. You could ask people to use google shopping to judge other prices, as people don't tend to do any research at all about what they're buying. I know other sites have automated software that tracks prices, but this tends to be more cetegory-specific.

Another related topic is that size/quantity/price is the holy trinity of these forums. I like a bargain as much as the next person, but I'd rather pay a little extra for a quiet hard drive, or some flatscreen 19" TV that seems like a great bargain but which is poorly put together.

Sorry for the rant, but for every useful topic, there is at least 5 which are total spam.

Thirty five posts in nearly two years as if this writing and you're moaning and groaning that the forum needs fixing? Do you even use it enough to be bothered by the issue you've raised?

How many posts do you think a person should have before they're allowed to start a thread of their own? I'll say fifty...

A lot of the traffic on here is people joining and asking a question with their first post. New users joining in order to ask something then hitting a brick wall that says they need to post for a week before asking is a ludicrous suggestion quite frankly.

Yes we're all well aware that people come on here and post a thinly-veiled advert for their company or business but the problem is nowhere near as major as you describe it to be, and frankly the "one week before starting a thread" suggestion you mention would do far more damage to MSE Forums than the issue that has led you to start this thread (after only a handful of posts I might add).

dmg24

soop2 wrote: »

Grabbit doesn't have to be about luxury items, but it would be nice if it was limited to genuinely impressive offers/glitches. The more posts there are, the easier it is for shills to slip in a post or two, and the whole thing becomes devalued.

Who decides what a genuinely impressive offer is?

Sandoval

dmg24 wrote: »

Who decides what a genuinely impressive offer is?

Martin Lewis obviously!!

In fact I hereby call for Martin Lewis himself to be online 24 hours a day 7 days a week and check every post before it appears on the forum in order to cut down on the massive levels of SPAM that the OP has brought to all our attentions ...

Get your act together Martin for God sake! We need you here not sitting drinking tea with Lorraine Kelly every morning!!

soop2

dmg24 wrote: »

Who decides what a genuinely impressive offer is?

Common sense? If someone posts up an offer which you can find cheaper elsewhere, that is not impressive. Also, if someone posts up an offer that is regularly available elsewhere, it shouldn't be in Grabbit.

Sandoval wrote: »

Thirty five posts in nearly two years as if this writing and you're moaning and groaning that the forum needs fixing? Do you even use it enough to be bothered by the issue you've raised?

How many posts do you think a person should have before they're allowed to start a thread of their own? I'll say fifty...

A lot of the traffic on here is people joining and asking a question with their first post. New users joining in order to ask something then hitting a brick wall that says they need to post for a week before asking is a ludicrous suggestion quite frankly.

Yes we're all well aware that people come on here and post a thinly-veiled advert for their company or business but the problem is nowhere near as major as you describe it to be, and frankly the "one week before starting a thread" suggestion you mention would do far more damage to MSE Forums than the issue that has led you to start this thread (after only a handful of posts I might add).

Good points, but:
The amount people post doesn't correlate in any way to the validity of their points, or even their use of the site. The only thing it correlates to is their number of posts.

The "week before posting a thread" idea was just a suggestion, and you're right, it would put people off. But it also might prompt people to search for their answers, and since they're not barred from posting in other threads, ask their question in the correct place.

If the way you measure the quality or usefulness of the website is in unique users, then yes it could impact the site horribly. If you measure the quality of the site in terms of usability and quality of information, I feel it could benefit.

dmg24

soop2 wrote: »

Common sense? If someone posts up an offer which you can find cheaper elsewhere, that is not impressive. Also, if someone posts up an offer that is regularly available elsewhere, it shouldn't be in Grabbit.

That is not common sense, that is your viewpoint. Not everybody would share this viewpoint - are you suggesting you should choose what goes on there? If so, PM the MSE Team and offer your services, but you might need to up your post count a tad before you are taken seriously!

If someone sees a good offer, they post it in good faith. Sometimes they do not have the facility (or knowledge) to check if the offer is available elsewhere. Should someone be discouraged from posting just because their finding does not meet your standards?