New Classifieds Script added

[Mike]

Who loves ya?

Figuring you deserve only the best, I have added a Classifieds script to the forum. I'll be locking down the Classifieds forum, so no new posts can be added. That way, everyone will know to look in the new Classifieds area.

Quick ground rules - Absolutely, positively no commercial ads will be placed in this area. None. Zero. We have some super sponsors that are paying to advertise their products on this site and I will protect their privilege with every last ounce of my being. If you want to start producing something and marketing it, you have two options - 1) See me about a forum advertising package, or 2) Get yourself over to eBay. Anyone wanting to risk it, be my guest. There will be no exceptions.

Guests and visitors will not be able to list items. If you are a registered member of the site and find you are unable to list items, check the e-mail account associated with your forum account. It's likely no longer a good address. Get a valid, working address inserted and flag me up to let me know you've made the change. I'll get your forum permissions modified and you'll be good to go again.

I have provided a Miscellaneous category and want everyone to use a bit of common sense as to what gets listed there. This category is not meant for items completely unrelated to this hobby. If you have garden tools for sale, eBay is your friend. If you have a collection of automotive magazines for sale, you are welcome to list them here. If you find yourself questioning how appropriate something is for a listing, it's likely not appropriate at all. The classifieds are one area where you will want to ask permission first, because any begging for forgiveness will fall on deaf ears.

The Classifieds can be accessed from the NavBar, at the top of each page -



Once you are in the Classifieds area, you will have the option to browse for items, to list items or to view the items you have listed.



If you want to add a listing, click the link and be certain you have filled out all the required fields.



I hope everyone will appreciate the new Classifieds and will get plenty of use from them. Enjoy!

 

[RPM]

Mike, some of the other site on the web require a member to have a certain number of posts to be able to use the classified. A member would have to have say 25 posts in order to post. Will this be like that? This keeps a new guy from posting his stuff, never to be heard from again. I think we have had some of that going on here, with some glass bodies.

 

[Telman2]

Mike, some of the other site on the web require a member to have a certain number of posts to be able to use the classified. A member would have to have say 25 posts in order to post. Will this be like that? This keeps a new guy from posting his stuff, never to be heard from again. I think we have had some of that going on here, with some glass bodies.

I like that idea, most of the sites I visit are like that. It really helps keep the scamming down.

 

[Mike]

If push comes to shove, I can set that up. It just requires another usergroup, a promotion scheme to get from one group to another and minimal permissions for the entry group.

 

[Mike]

OK, I'm going to go out on a limb with this addition. Actually, it's been there all along, but I've had it disabled. A couple members have indicated an interest in seeing it enabled, so I have enabled at least part of the function.



If you look in the lower-right corner or a post, you will see there is a plus sign. If you read a post that you particularly liked, or one that really helped you solve a problem, you can click on that plus sign to indicate you liked the post. This will let the post author know you appreciated what was posted.

This is actually 1/2 of a reputation system, but I have removed the negative reputation button. I've seen forums destroyed by reputation wars and I just don't want any part of that negativity to creep into our community. So I've removed the negative side of things and allowed you a way to show your appreciation for a post. It's kind of like what your mother told you - if you can't say something nice about a post, I won't let you say anything at all. :winkn:

If you have submitted a post and you see a number higher than zero and highlighted, you will be able to click on the number to see who liked your post.



I had to log onto another forum I frequent to get a screenshot of how the list will appear, when you click on the number, so don't be confused by the usernames.

Dole out your appreciation carefully, as there is a limit to how many times you will be able to use the like button in a 24-hour period.

 

[VegasBruce]

:thumb:

 

[Northstar T]

Is this to be construed as a plus given for the individual post, or for the thread as a whole?

Russ

 

[Mike]

You're showing approval for individual posts. If someone starts a thread you like, then score their initial post or the post that really stands out in the topic.

 

[Mike]

I've also added support for Vimeo videos to the Insert Media button -

Here's one of a pal of mine, demonstrating his better-than-average eye -

[media]

 

[Gerry]

I've also added support for Vimeo videos to the Insert Media button -

Here's one of a pal of mine, demonstrating his better-than-average eye -

[media]

Mike
Sorry to be a dumb a** but is there any sites that you can load videos on that only allow the people you want to view them. You know I am paranoid about social network sites so I have never had a means to put a vid up for the guys on the forum.
Gerry

 

[Mike]

Gerry, I suspect you can protect video files on most services. I really don't know, to be honest. I've always stored files like that on my own Web sites and never used an external storage resource. I'm always trying to make sure I can share files from one site in the network to another, so I come in from a different angle than you.

I help a friend co-admin an unrelated discussion forum and she has a lot of material she has paid considerable amounts of money to purchase. As you can understand, she is always worried about unauthorized individuals copying her material for use on other sites. It's pretty difficult to place a Web-accessible file anywhere and have it remain secure, no matter how you try to protect it. I store some private images on my server, but they are stored above public_html, so you cannot access them with a browser. If you store a file somewhere accessible to the public and then display that file's contents elsewhere, I can get to your file. Every time. Either you keep it off the Web or you acknowledge sharing it will end up meaning sharing it with everyone.

Some Web installs are just insecure by their very nature and WordPress blogs are one example. Everybody and their brother sets up WordPress with wide-open permissions on some extremely sensitive files. Absolute insanity! I do a custom configuration file for my WordPress customers that moves the sensitive information above public_html and then calls the data with an include statement into a modified WordPress config file. If any of you are running a standard WordPress install on your own Web space, I can make it much more secure than it is now.

 

[Gerry]

Gerry, I suspect you can protect video files on most services. I really don't know, to be honest. I've always stored files like that on my own Web sites and never used an external storage resource. I'm always trying to make sure I can share files from one site in the network to another, so I come in from a different angle than you.

I help a friend co-admin an unrelated discussion forum and she has a lot of material she has paid considerable amounts of money to purchase. As you can understand, she is always worried about unauthorized individuals copying her material for use on other sites. It's pretty difficult to place a Web-accessible file anywhere and have it remain secure, no matter how you try to protect it. I store some private images on my server, but they are stored above public_html, so you cannot access them with a browser. If you store a file somewhere accessible to the public and then display that file's contents elsewhere, I can get to your file. Every time. Either you keep it off the Web or you acknowledge sharing it will end up meaning sharing it with everyone.

Some Web installs are just insecure by their very nature and WordPress blogs are one example. Everybody and their brother sets up WordPress with wide-open permissions on some extremely sensitive files. Absolute insanity! I do a custom configuration file for my WordPress customers that moves the sensitive information above public_html and then calls the data with an include statement into a modified WordPress config file. If any of you are running a standard WordPress install on your own Web space, I can make it much more secure than it is now.

Thanks Mike
Just about explains everything I needed to know
G