Why was my thread locked?

[LeperColony]

Why was my thread locked? And why didn't I receive any PM about what might have been wrong first?

Any clarification/assistance would be appreciated

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=345068

[3eland]

Because you bumped your post, which is against the rules.

Thanks for responding. I'd be interested in seeing some pictures of their condition, if possible.

That reply has no direct relation to the contents or information in your ad.

Rule #13: Ad Posting & "Post Bumping"
Please note that Bartertown users are limited to one topic/ad per trade forum per seven calendar days. Also, they may not "bump" their own topic/ad - ever.
For those of you who don't understand this: Look at a calendar. If I post an ad on 3 July at 1:00 p.m. in the 40k forum I may not repost an ad to that forum until 10 July at 1:01 p.m.. That is seven calendar days. It's a legal term.

Example:
Let's say I have some LOTR Riders of Rohan I want to get rid of and other miscellaneous stuff from WHFB and 40K. I can post an ad with those items together in the LOTR, WHFB and 40K forums. Seven calendar days later, I can post another ad with the same items OR I can edit the ad at any time.
What I can't do is relist the items every day in each forum.

Helpful Hint: The idea here is to prevent excessive promotion of one's trade/sale items or discussion topics. Users are prohibited via software from making more than one new topic per seven days (4 days for Bartertown Plus members), but there are other ways to self-promote. It's awkward wording, but "post bumping" is a term understood by the greatest number of people.

A Trade Ad should only be placed in the most appropriate forum for the item(s) it contains. If you only have bits or terrain, for example, your ad should only go in the forum for what you have. If you have both, then both forums are the "most appropriate."
-If you only have and/or want 40K models, then your ad should only go in the 40K forum
-If you only have and/or want bits, regardless of the game system, then your ad should only go in the Bits forum
-If you only have and/or want terrain, regardless of the game system, then your ad should only go in the Terrain forum (etc.)

If you've got items that fit into multiple categories, you may cross-post given the stricture above.

You may update your ORIGINAL POST (OP), and you may then immediately leave a reply in the thread stating PRECISELY WHAT was updated. If you fail to update the OP, or fail to state what you updated in the reply; then your thread will be locked for Bumping and you will be given a warning.

A couple guidelines:
If someone replies to your ad, and you reply to them in the ad, you're PROBABLY bumping your post. Basically, you can ONLY respond to comments in your ad if you're offering REQUESTED elaboration about your items.
If they ask specific questions about the edition, condition, quantity of your models, and you reply, that's fine. You're answering questions specific to the items you're offering. As a general rule, if you're replying to your own ad, you should just assume you're bumping your post. that way, you don't get too disappointed if it gets locked. While "Post Bumping" isn't the worst thing you could do here, it is one of the rules we're especially vigilant about.

If they make an offer in the ad, and you decline or offer a counter proposal in the ad, that's Post Bumping. You should have PMed them.
If they say in the ad that they PMed you, and you reply that you responded, that's Post Bumping. You should have ONLY PMed them.
If you post a broken link, and someone replies in the ad that it's broken, then you respond to let them know it's fixed, that's Post Bumping. You should have PMed them.
If someone posts in the ad asking if the models are 28mm or 15mm and you respond - Not post Bumping.

I bolded the parts that are important.

Now as to why you weren't PM'd before it being locked? I cannot say why the member of staff didn't PM you, but since you've been a member for 13 years here, I'm only assuming they thought you knew better and broke it out of ignorance. If you didn't know it was a rule, then that's probably an issue (you must agree to have read the rules and to follow them when you sign up) and I encourage you to go read the rules. Sometimes the staff moderates on breaks or down time and forget to message or can't fully finish. I see no official warning was placed on your file, so I'm assuming they were letting it go at simply locking.

And no it was not me.

Posts are automatically pruned from the server after a set amount of days dependent on the forum, and you can repost (or post new) after 7 days (4 for Btown+). The locking of your post doesn't prevent others from messaging you directly, it simply prevents you from editing or bumping your post further. If there are any issues with your post, you can always PM a member of staff to update the contents. However since the ad is in the 40k forum, it won't last long before the server prunes it from history.

Why is Post Bumping a rule? Because in the past it was a problem. Should it still be a thing nowadays? /Shrug, guess that's up for the community to vote on and the staff to address.

I'm of the opinion that it probably no longer needs to be enforced, as other trading sites like Facebook Groups and Reddit exist (although some groups still have bumping rules of their own). But like I said, that'll come down to the community and staff.

If you have any further questions or concerns, you can always PM me.

Ryan

[LeperColony]

I didn't bump any post. I did previously post looking for the same items, but that post expired. This new post is not a bump of that former one. Look at the date of my OP: 3/10/25. Look at the forum it's in. There's only that post and no other from me.

There is a reply from me in that post, but it isn't a bump. It was a response from a potential seller asking if I could see images of their models. Unless the claim is any response from the OP is a bump, which I don't think you're saying, then my response was not a bump.

I understand the need to maintain rules against bumping, but that's not what happened here. I'd appreciate an unlock, please.

[3eland]

Did you even bother to read the bolded part?

You responded to the user's question in your ad. That is a bump as per the rules of Bartertown.

captainlentus posted "I have a bunch of BFG Eldar."

You, in the ad, replied "Thanks for responding. I'd be interested in seeing some pictures of their condition, if possible."

You bumped your post.

R

[YoungWolf777]

Bottom line is ANY trade communication beyond the initial post should be handled via direct PM.

[LeperColony]

That definition of bump is almost certainly unique to Btown. HoAs the world over are missing out on you guys.

But, I will just PM them.

Thanks!

[3eland]

Yeah like I said, it's something we should probably bring to the community for feedback.

To explain exactly what happens:

Bartertown has a feature called New Posts. This displays all the new posts since you last logged in over a certain time period. Some members use this function. I use it when moderating from mobile especially, as I can quickly see the new posts and I don't have to go through every forum.

NewPosts.png

Times be changing though and the members that use the New Posts feature don't get bogged down with as many posts anymore. As you can see, mine is 7 posts long lol. Back in the day it would be pages long - I'm talking hundreds of posts on high peak times. And every time a comment is made on an ad, it bumps the post to the top of this New Posts feed. This gave an unfair advantage to the people who bumped/commented on their own posts, as many members used this feature for tracking down fresh/new trades and so ads that didn't get much activity would eventually be buried on back pages, even if they were posted after the bumped ads.

With the introduction of Facebook Groups, Reddit and whatever else out there, we obviously don't get the same traffic as we once did.

Hopefully that helps.

Maybe I'll go make a post about it and see what the community thinks.

R

[LeperColony]

I appreciate the need for rules. But, in my opinion, Btown's administration has always been characterized by an almost obsessive pedantry. It's entirely voluntary, and it's a thankless task, but historically it's come off, to me at least, as very rigid and inflexible.

Take the present case for example. My reply in my post was clearly a good-faith effort at exchanging information with a potentially interested party, and not simply an attempt to elevate the profile of my sought purchases. But because the administration is so inflexible, it was immediately locked under the rules, and no attempt was made to convey that fact to a sincere user.

Rules are rules, ok. But is toeing that kind of absolutist interpretation really facilitating trading? Personally, I'd vote no.

Frankly, I'm shocked to discover that any response from the OP that isn't in reply to a direct question counts as a bump. Btown isn't Jeopardy, we shouldn't need everything phrased "in the form of a question" to interact without it being a bump, in my opinion. So to the extent that you're looking at liberalizing some of these standards, I'm all for it.

[s_o_r_r_o_w]

This is the rule:

You may update your ORIGINAL POST (OP), and you may then immediately leave a reply in the thread stating PRECISELY WHAT was updated. If you fail to update the OP, or fail to state what you updated in the reply; then your thread will be locked for Bumping and you will be given a warning.

It’s idiosyncratic—and unambiguous. It was developed in response to RAMPANT abuse.

Threads are not—AND NEVER HAVE BEEN—the place for trade discussions. The rest of the membership isn’t interested.

We may reflect on the Bumping rule, but having your thread locked is a minor matter.