# Has new membership significantly increased?



## CoffeeJohnny (Feb 28, 2011)

Are more new members signing up now then have been in previous months?

The reason I am asking is the reaction to those who've posted wanting to sell or to ask advice.

People new to the forum maybe don't understand that sales on here are conducted on a trust basis in the most part, as over time people get to know each other and as such the likelihood of them maintaining their kit in the right way. This allows them to sell on for often more than you would achieve on fleabay. Also the bonus of avoiding the fees are incentive too. Also bargains can be had because someone may just feel like doing a good turn.

The way I see it working well. Person X has 300 posts across the spectrum of topics on here 'which water', 'correct back flush routine', 'how to clean your grinder' etc this person is far more likely to get a favourable response to an advert than.

Person B 5 posts Sporadically placed, potentially complaining against the 5 post rule.

The thing is there is no way of knowing person b's attitude toward kit maintenance or character. As such this individual may feel the place isn't as welcoming and friendly as it is. Only time can allow for that. Surely that's understandable?

Everyone was new here at some point however it is more than just a forum it is a community and as such some people can get passionate about things and take issue to someones perceived rudeness. The advice available on here is invaluable and could cost a fortune in some instances. For example we have a 'chap' who's advice on grinders is some of the best available. We have 'one of the UK's biggest coffee geeks' who loves a shot prep vid and can help immeasurably with improving technique. We have some who love to stir the pot and have a good debate allowing through that for people to learn about things they didn't hunk they needed to know.

Anyway it's awesome that new people are joining up and it's great that people on here do genuinely care, if you've managed to make it through this post newbie or seasoned coffee forum member it's a cracking place stick around. Thanks for reading and I hope it made sense


----------



## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

The Xmas period always has a strong number of signups and this year has been no exception.

I am open to suggestions on how to manage the For Sale section

One option is to charge a nominal fee per listing and this is open to everyone then (regardless of posts)

Alternatively we bump the sales and purchase up to 10 posts

Or, we could keep it the way it is at present and manage the signups who just post rubbish to then sell

Suggestions welcomed


----------



## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Glen do new members get a welcome email , message with links to sales stickies or info and a hi introduce yourself tag?


----------



## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Yes, they sure do

The contents are;

Subject: Welcome to Coffee Forums UK

Body:

Dear [Membername]

Thanks for registering on Coffee Forums UK

You are joining one of the friendliest forums on the internet.

Don't forget to post an introduction in the Introductions section and join in the debates and discussion.

We have many threads dedicated to new members which will help especially if you have just purchased a coffee machine.

This thread is a great place to start

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?8150-New-Members-please-read-this-first

If you have just purchased a Gaggia Classic start here;

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?3858-So-you've-just-bought-your-Gaggia-Classic

We look forward to reading your introduction and to sharing your coffee journey

All the best,

Glenn and the Coffee Forums UK Team


----------



## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

I am revising this to include guidelines about the For Sale forum


----------



## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Ok cool, couldn't remember what got sent out .....if you increase it to ten posts I suspect we will just have more spam to moderate .

Question if a post get moderated does it reduce the post count for the poster or not ?


----------



## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Upping it to 10 is not a preferred option as there will be more moderation required due to a large increase in low quality posts.


----------



## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

Some forums require new members to actually post a decent introduction about themselves which has to be approved by a mod before they can post anywhere else maybe that and changing the post count and who can even see the sales etc section of the forum.


----------



## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Charliej said:


> Some forums require new members to actually post a decent introduction about themselves which has to be approved by a mod before they can post anywhere else maybe that and changing the post count and who can even see the sales etc section of the forum.


That sounds like a decent idea; stops flurries like last night's just so someone can access the for sale forum


----------



## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

That was the way it used to work on another forum that is not now. You had to post a bit about yourself, only having access to one part of the forum that all members could see, but it takes a mod to approve. this is unless the member has been introduced by another forum member.


----------



## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

I would rather not change the process

The more relaxed approach encourages interaction


----------



## Dr Steve (Nov 25, 2013)

What about my earlier suggestion of a sort of cooling off period? Rather like in the US if you want to buy a gun you go to a shop and express an interest then have to wait a month or something before you can actually buy said firearm. The same here would impose a good deal of forethought on people just out to sell or buy, and would save us all form posts for posts sake. It would them a chance to get involved in the forum in their provisional period, and those who just want the small adds would probably get fed up and visit ebay instead.


----------



## oracleoftruth (Jan 15, 2014)

What about getting a certain number of thanks or likes?

Moderators could give these when a post is contributive rather than post bumping or spam-y?


----------



## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

i agree that we need to encourage interaction and tha genuine people will come to the forum to seek advice and to participate, we know that numbers continually change and some just come and go, this is a very freindly and welcoming forum, however, you have to agree glen that recently more and more come on the forum to take advantage of a deal or to sell something on, without really contributing to anything, so is it possible that within the rules of membership you stipulate that contributions and relevant questions are the life blood of the forum and keep eveything interesting on here? i personally have noticed a vast increase in people going after a bargain, when a forum memebr who contributes a lot perhaps was away or just not on here when the post is made and therefore misses out. I for one would certainly prefer to offer a grinder to an established member rather than to a complete newcomer, especially when that newcomer complains about our communities process.

if the post count was raised significantly to say 50 before being able to purchase or indeed sell, with a caveat that you could apply to a moderator or yourself for permission to purchase based on your circumstances, it would stop needless posts as 50 is a lot harder to acheive, anyway off the soap box now.....


----------



## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Let me have a think about how to address this

I don't want to make a decision or knee-jerk reaction

We are growing, we are getting more exposure, more and more people are upgrading and therefore selling

I would like to keep the For Sale section as easy to access possible

Maybe keeping items free to sell and new members with less than 25 posts need to purchase access to the system would work

On some forums you have to be a member for a month irrespective of the number of posts before you can post on the For Sale forums (buying or selling)

That to me is too long.

I will mull this over


----------



## alarmman (Feb 4, 2014)

As a new member, I have no problem with the 10 post limit. If thereis a problem with multiple fluff posts(I don't have the experience to know) then a good intro, approved by a mod plus the current limits should control the fluff.

Lets face it if you are like me followed the forum for a while prepared to make a srep up, before you buy you ask for the approval of the forum, check out your choices, you post in one or more machine threads and the grinder thread. Quickly at 10 posts, and feel part of the community. My 2p


----------



## t-c (Feb 23, 2013)

You could always lock the For Sales Forum to members without a certain number of posts...


----------



## Jason1wood (Jun 1, 2012)

I've just joined a vaping forum and the 'for sale' section is closed until you have 20 post then ask a mod to give permission. It doesn't bother me as I only join forums I know I'll be there for a good while.

I find there's people just wanting a good deal and don't want to contribute what's so ever.


----------



## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Vaping? Is that to do with e-cigs?


----------



## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

An intro post, 2 thanks/likes to enourage at least a degree of quality posting plus a 10 post minimum is my suggestion.

All bases covered:good:


----------



## Daren (Jan 16, 2012)

I like it Milan.... The thanks/likes would stop people posting complete crap to get posts up.

I think you should make at least 1000 posts before posting crap like me.


----------



## CoffeeJohnny (Feb 28, 2011)

I would say it's not broke don't fix it. The point is however as Glenn said growth I think having a ponder over the next week or so to see what to do would be good.

I would like to say that this is s fantastic forum and we all have a lot to thank Glenn for as we all have a place to share and learn. We also have a good platform for buying and selling.

Whatever comes of this will be for the benefit of forum members new and old alike.


----------



## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

I think as the forum gets more popular its important to be careful and watch out for scammers in the classifieds, a small post count is not hard to accrue, and there can be a lot of money at stake.

It would be advisable not to send any money to anyone who is not a trusted member here, or do local pickup only for new members. Or alternatively they can be asked to send first if the buyer is a trusted member.

AVForums has a really well managed classifieds, this forum is no where near that size, but some kinda feedback system might help?


----------



## kikapu (Nov 18, 2012)

If more new members just come to sell that's the biggest concern as you have to take there word on what they are selling. And if you disregard the forum suggestions for payment and do bank transfer or paypal which let's be fair probably a high proportion of us have you will have a major problem trying to get your money back when the expobar turns out to be an L1! !!


----------

