Trolling for fun, but it's not funny!

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

I think I speak for all of us when I say that in this hobby , it is great to come along on a great deal , or that super expensive component that is being sold at a rock bottom price ..... Don't get me wrong , it does happen .... For example , I know of a guy who purchased a 450 for a dollar........ We all have heard of the infamous mp10 for $50 lol ( sounds like a myth to me ) and I even received my tank for free !!! I received my oceanic 57 rimless with stand and plumbing for free..... Why ??? Because I made a great friend on mr just like a lot of us on here , we make good friends and we take care of each other either by special pricing or free trade and these positive effects and acts of generosity have made me a staple in the no charge reefing hobby along with a bunch of other great reefers I have grown to respect and like here on mr .

The reason for this thread is that I have noticed some trolling going on !!!
I have seen some amazing things being offered on mr and I have noticed that the people who are doing this are under a unknown name and have very little to no posts......The end result is everyone diving into a reckless frenzy of pms and posting our own private numbers in hopes to be the one scoring the deal, and there is nothing wrong with that , like I said .... Who doesn't like a great deal , but maybe we should have a post regulation about offers and sales , maybe a person should have 300 posts before being able to sell, or maybe have to go through a more detailed process including PayPal or a credit card registration method to avoid these time consuming and false advertisements from harming our hobby.

Bottom line is that nobody should have to waste gas and tolls only to be left on the street waiting while a person gets a laugh out of doing this .....this is a bad thing !! What do you think ?????

 

[Arnaldo24]

Unfortunately is been happening a lot. A good friend of mine was the latest victim just this morning.

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

This is what we don't need in this hobby bro , sorry about your friend .

 

[Reef lover24]

It happens man but I don't think there's anything we can do to stop it. I recently agreed to a deal with this guy for some fish and etc we were arranging meetup and then he dosent answer my texts or anything and I go to find out he sold the fish underneath me.. To go and post a for sale thread about the one leftover fish that wasent taken.. I was not happy about it but I'm not one to leave a bad rating I'll just keep posting on his posts and let it be known.. Needless to say haven't seen any other posts since then. Getting a laugh out of doing something like that is plain Rediculous and the person just has no life there's no other explanation for that, it's just not funny. Fortunately every other deal that has been agreed to for me has been made and everyone has been great to deal with, it's just that one scenario.

 

[Boogie]

Smh. I can voucher for this thread I was victim of this bs this morning. I was up extra early to go meet up with this guy and I get there no show no answer. Then wasted more time thinking he would answer the phone.

 

[Arnaldo24]

I bet u he/she is laughing right now reading this
And is probably the same 1 person doing all this. From that infamous "180 completes set up for free" to the " lucky buyer" to the "crazy deals " popping now and then.

 

[Reef lover24]

It's such bullpoop.. Why even bother? I just don't understand the notice behind doing such a thing

 

[edd]

like albano always points out, if you need x amount of posts and that person wants to sell it they will post else ware and we wouldn't be entitled to a good deal.
as far as the flakers i don't think it can be changed, your dealing with people who don't have morals or responsibility, and thats their parents fault.

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

It happens man but I don't think there's anything we can do to stop it. I recently agreed to a deal with this guy for some fish and etc we were arranging meetup and then he dosent answer my texts or anything and I go to find out he sold the fish underneath me.. To go and post a for sale thread about the one leftover fish that wasent taken.. I was not happy about it but I'm not one to leave a bad rating I'll just keep posting on his posts and let it be known.. Needless to say haven't seen any other posts since then. Getting a laugh out of doing something like that is plain Rediculous and the person just has no life there's no other explanation for that, it's just not funny. Fortunately every other deal that has been agreed to for me has been made and everyone has been great to deal with, it's just that one scenario.

Great to deal with yes , I have had the pleasure of meeting some genuine people on mr and made great deals and at times at very little to no money involved and that's what I'm trying to preserve by asking people here to focus on the persons history and post count before you find yourself standing in the middle of nowhere like a dog left in the street.

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

like albano always points out, if you need x amount of posts and that person wants to sell it they will post else ware and we wouldn't be entitled to a good deal.
as far as the flakers i don't think it can be changed, your dealing with people who don't have morals or responsibility, and thats their parents fault.

I agree that if we don't allow the post then we lose a great score of deals , however I think posts should be reviewed and or suspended pending decision based on credibility of authenticity .....

 

[Boogie]

But u know wat I take the blame for it because he had no rating intill I posted one today. So imma man up and take it as a lesson learned

 

[Widdy]

Post count just generates a crapload of GLWS, Nice Tank! and <insert random crap post>.

There's always some that will take advantage of a trusting (at least I like to believe so) community. Only advice I have to offer is to view their post history, it's a much clearer picture of the person you're about to deal with than a mandated X amount of posts to access the Forsale forum ever will.

 

[Kworker]

It will happen regardless. Coming from somebody that has low posts. Thats because to be honest I choose to generally stay away from this forum because of what I heard goes on.

Perfect example is a few months ago I had to re-home a couple yellow tangs instead of making cash on them I wanted them to go to a home I felt was good and clearly noted that in my post. I had to deal with somebody threatening me because I chose to give it to somebody instead of them, perfect example of what I heard about before I even came on here.

So I think instead of implementing a minimal post count it would make more sense to implement a justifiable zero tolerance policy and suspend their usage or terminate their account. However the issue with the zero tolerance could be a potential "witch trial" like issue where people are saying so-and-so did this and people who did nothing are banned.

There are many issues with the hobby, people being scumbags is on the top of the list.

 

[Kworker]

Post count just generates a crapload of GLWS, Nice Tank! and <insert random crap post>.

There's always some that will take advantage of a trusting (at least I like to believe so) community. Only advice I have to offer is to view their post history, it's a much clearer picture of the person you're about to deal with than a mandated X amount of posts to access the Forsale forum ever will.

+1 it would make sense to do some investigative work of your own before you go to buy or sell.

 

[Reef lover24]

I base it off of their posts and how many reviews they have. If they don't have an reviews I don't personally deal with them. This can happen with someone who had a lot of good ratings but it's a less of a chance I believe. There's not much that can be done I don't think. I'm a relatively new member to this site but I certaintly don't like what I have seen to this point. I hope it gets better and not worse.

 

[Arnaldo24]

I base it off of their posts and how many reviews they have. If they don't have an reviews I don't personally deal with them. This can happen with someone who had a lot of good ratings but it's a less of a chance I believe. There's not much that can be done I don't think. I'm a relatively new member to this site but I certaintly don't like what I have seen to this point. I hope it gets better and not worse.

I been dealing with people with no post at all and gratefully they came thru
Also i met Kworker when he post the yellow tang for free. I was 1 of the lucky ones to get it and he had very few post. So sometimes post count or reefer ratings help but dnt really mean a lot if u r a good n honest person or simply an A***hole.
I have so many ratings (im on mobile so dnt really know a number) with 100% and i still get the "i had so many bad experience that i had to sell it before we was supposed to meet up". With 100% in so many ratings u will think people will trust u will go when u say u will but is not like that

 

[Reef lover24]

Kworker wish I woulda known you then I woulda gladly given them a good home but that's a perfect example of what you deal with.. Also there are people who buy something that's completely sound and they do something themselves and they blame it on the seller.. It's just the scumbag people so you never know who is telling the truth or not as you have stated.

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

I don't know what a mod has to go through and I commend them on what they do and the time they put in ( FOR FREE ) I just don't know if anything can be implemented and if nothing can I just want everyone who reads this to take a few minutes and research the person they are thinking of doing business with , a few minutes of precaution can be a big help in the long run, and if a deal seems too good to be true than give it a second thought.

 

[NL146]

Be smart. You can spot the scams immediately. Don't let your eagerness for a "good deal" override your common sense. I sympathize with those who get burnt.

 

[oh207]

OP, I get the same feeling sometimes. And when I do, its frustrating and annoying and so I stay away from the forum for a few days. I used to look for good deals until I got burned a few times. Honestly, after that I've made up my mind that I will purchase everything new from online or from my favorite(s) LFS. But on occasions I get tempted with a good deal.
I think part of the problem with the recommendation to increase post count limit is that MR appears to me more like a selling/trading forum rather than a community or hobbyist forum. I'm probably gonna get heat for saying this, but that's just the way it appears to me. Maybe there needs to be more incentives to foster discussion and debate rather than For Sale threads. I'm sure the powers that be knows what the stats are of For Sale compared to discussion threads.
Heck, even most of the lengthy discussions threads are usually complaints about a wrong deal with a user or a LFS.
Maybe the post count is a away to get us discussing and debating rather than screwing others over.
:anger2:
/me end rant