Classifieds Forum Is Closing

I don't really understand why LL believes it's a good idea to close the classifieds forums.

The new classified system in SL is interesting, but I don't think it is a suitable replacement for forum classifieds. Forums have several advantages, many of which have been already mentioned:

1) You can convey more information in a forum posting. In classifieds, you're restricted to a single fixed-size picture and a small amount of text. With forum postings, you can give links, animations, and an arbritrary amount of information and pictures.

2) Opportunity for feedback, as well as Q&A.

3) Ability to browse - see what's new and interesting. You have an easy to read listing of thread titles/posters ordered by date, and you can see how "interesting" certain threads are by the view count.

4) It's free I don't know about the rest of you, but I like free. It also makes it easier for entry-level content creators/event hosts to get the word out. I like that. I don't see any reason why it's important that only popular content creators should have a monopoly on advertising streams.

5) You can browse it "offline". Whenever I'm in SL, I'm always busy doing something. And, as many people have mentioned, it's a way to see what's interesting and new when you're at work.

Forums exist to promote community and discussion. I think that it serves that purpose fairly well. Please LL, can we keep the classifieds forums?

Edit: If anything, I'd suggest expanding classifieds forums. We sure could use a "mature" category. I'm sure it'll be good for people who are interested in those things, and personally I'd like to be able to browse classifieds without ever seeing "D/S TORTURE DEVICE WITH WEIRD SPIKEY THINGS".

Then you shouldn't spend as much as my example.

- sponsoring events
- banner ads on SLExchange, SLUniverse etc.
- referral bonuses
- commercials on SL oriented radio stations
- using 3rd party billboard systems, ad-zeppelins
etc.. etc..

Classifieds is just one of a growing palette of options for advertising a shop/product in SL, which more or less all cover the same bases.

None of the above options offers several of the special features the 'classifieds' forum offers though (new products, wanted ads, feedback, easy access, etc.)... the classifieds are so much less about advertising, as they are about informing others.

(And i probably took the quote out of context, but that seems to be general practice in the forums to make a point anyway

Anyone concerned that the classifed ads will now be flooded and it will be harder to find products?

Agreed, agreed. Those are all very compelling options, but probably out of reach of those first starting off. I wanted to confine my sample budget to basic options that were easy to track and get started with.

I also agree that there's no effective replacement being offered for the classifieds forum. If it is going away, though, I just can't find it in me to shed a tear about spending L$250 for two whole weeks.

A brutally accurate statement.

This won't stop anyone with business skills, not for one second.

It will stop cold all who are artistically inclined, but have little interest in business.


In the worst (best?) case - expensive advertising channels may not be seen as a good place to find anything.

It's good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it's good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven't lost the things that money can't buy. ~George Horace Lorimer

Those who walk in darkness, will never see the light. ~Confuscious

I think closing the Classifieds is a bad idea. Businesses need more advertising tools not fewer. And the price I think will discourage some start up businesses who are relying on in-world income alone. Having an organized Classifieds in game would be useful in ADDITION to the forums, not instead.

We at Phobos Design have found the New Products part of the Classifieds to be an excellent way to get the word out for new releases and to get feedback from our customers.

Anyone who searches the forums by New Posts as I do has a chance to quickly skim through everything. Complaints about excessive bumming are just drama IMO.

I guess SLUniverse will have a much more active user base than it has had if SL Classified Forums can move there. I know I will be much more active on SL Universe if designers follow that course and post their new items there. Hopefully it will be well organized, mature content will be allowed, and it will become as dependable as the SL Forums in regards to being "the place" to look for new items from SL designers/builders/content providers. I will also probably spend much less time on SL Forums, which some predict will be phased out in a few months anyway. By using classified forums I am able to budget my shopping time in-world and spend less time teleporting and seeking out stores so I have more time to host people at my club and spend time with my friends.

I really hate using the Find menu when I'm in-world. It is not resizable, it encompasses my whole screen, and I can't get to the teleport/map buttons anyway. If I toggle my screen to a resolution that allows me to reach those buttons, it messes up my computer and I often crash and/or have to relog. It's just not practical for me, nor for many others who have posted in this thread. Further, I NEVER look in the Classifieds section of the Find menu because it's a mess.

Also, what I have loved about Classified Forums is that it's archived, so if an item I wanted is outside my price range, I can save my L$ and go back to forums to find the landmark and buy it. Sometimes I forget who the designer was or have neglected to write down the landmark, so having it saved in Forums has been extremely helpful. I doubt Classifieds in Find will archive, and if designers are updating their ads daily (as someone in another thread said they could), that doesn't help me...I know several designers who produce new items and post them three or four or five times a week...

Will I be able to comparison shop through Classifieds in Find, like I have in forums? That remains to be seen, but it's also important.

And finally, new designers/builders are really going to suffer, as will all of us when we don't know about them. As an example, my good friend started her business in June/July this year. She has been uber productive, has expanded to two stores, has a solidly selling line of quality clothing...and maybe would not have if forum classifieds were not there. Her growth has been tremendous, and she may have been ready to buy a sim. Will she be able to if she can't advertise like she has in forums? That also remains to be seen, but it's probably not good for Linden Lab if solidly producing content providers are re-thinking their long-term plans and land purchases.

From what I could tell by looking at the feature on the preview grid..it definitely won't archive because you pay for only 2 weeks...so you have to hope that the ad is re-creatd...or you'll just have to go get a land mark righ away.

The other downside is that it only allows one picture per ad, so you're actually going to see a lot less of the new products. Someone who comes out with 5 new outfits a week is not going to pay $1250 to create an ad for each item...and if they did there would be so many adds it would be impossible to sort through them all. The ads are divided up by the same categories as the current "find places" so if you're looking for skins, you have to choose shopping and then sort through all the clothing, houses, landscaping, vehicles, etc. to actually find it, though you can do a keyword search.

I'm not even arguing that it's a bad tool, or that the price is unreasonable IF the forums exist as well. But a new developer spending $250L HOPING that someone will actually see their ad amidst all the others is quite a risk. At least on the forums you have a few minutes where your ad is on the first page, sometimes longer. I just don't see the harm in having both avaliable.

One other thing that I havn't seen anyone mention is that closing the classifieds also takes away the ability for people to post that they are looking for SL work, looking for SL services, and looking for Land buyers. It also removes the ability to request certain products that don't exist. I doubt someone looking for a way to make money is going to spend money to advertise that fact. I also doubt someone is going to spend $250L to advertise that they want someone to design them a special scripted chair that they are going to even more $L for.

Ditto

Oh lord, yes, I didn't even think of that!

coco

Excellent points Musicteacher yes this affects things much greater than what was obvious at the start. This will put a big dent in a lot of ppl's abilities to get the word out about their products. Sad realy that it all comes down to the basics again; We continue to pay the same amounts but we continue to get fewer services. In the end I cannot help but start to feel that SL is becoming something cheapened and bland. IMO of course. I now wonder where this is leading.

Mar

I also do NOT like the idea of the Classified forums closing. Its what I look through on my lunchbreak and when I have some down-time...I like the option of seeing the new products OUTSIDE of SL. I get a lot of IM's when I am in-world and a lot of distractions....sounds silly, but checking out the New Products while not in-world is quiet time for me.

I do not have a lot of time to go shopping in-game and rely almost solely on the New Products forums to pick out things I want to buy. I do hope LL will reconsider this decision, though from past experiences my hopes are not high.

This is a bummer.

Ok, so let us then Collectively move to SL Universe Classified Forums .

I see SL Exchange has opened a Classified forum now and if not yet, I assume SL Boutique will too,

BUT - to make it non-specifically an ‘online selling organization’ promoted site we should go to a Non-selling organization Forum.


See you at SL Universe on Nov 1 !!!

i think the classified forums are great, but let's see how this pans out first as an experiment. if it means people start spamming the general forum and the build and texture forums then yeah maybe the experiment failed. if on the other hand, it increases immersion, then it would be a success (and might i say a revolution - like posecube! )

Do we hear a call for an SL Feature Proposal?

Get out and vote!

protesting works