You vet so that the boards don’t get innundated with garbage posts.
One thing that might be useful is to have a boilerplate SDMB disclaimer that must be included in any money request OP. Namely that the board makes no claim on the veracity or overall value of the request, but simply ensured that the requester is a member in good standing making a request that does not obviously violate board rules.
I don’t have a dog in this fight, Czarcasm. You need to understand that. I have suggested one idea and nobody has offered any substantive argument against that idea. I am absolutely open to other ideas, but the only ideas to fix said problem seem to be “Screw you mods! You should vet better!”
I know you enough to know that you don’t like that either.
So, if this is a problem that needs to be fixed, I humbly ask that my idea at least be considered. If you disagree with it, then give me a reason why instead of dismissing it out of hand.
Money changes hands in Marketplace. There is a nascent structure there. If any money flows through this board it should be contained in one area. That’s probably best for the board itself. Also, if only members can post threads looking to raise funds, it will put a hurdle for any scam artists. Additionally, Marketplace could use the traffic. Not enough people even look at that forum. Putting these types of threads there might even help somebody find a buyer.
If someone is looking for help, I don’t don’t think asking for it in a forum that not enough people even look at is a wise move. Also, these types of threads reach out on a personal level that usually go far beyond a simple “Three-legged cat for sale or trade”, and often involve the exchange of advice and/or sympathy, not just cash.
But they are asking for help with money - not advice. Money changes everything.
It would be one thing if they were asking for pull tops from aluminum cans to raise money for a school or something, but that’s not what’s happening here. People are asking for money to go to college, to fix their home, whatever. If the SDMB is going to be a kinda half-assed Kickstarter or Kiva, those threads need to be contained in the one forum that deals with money.
Many times they’re not just asking for cash, though – they’re asking for help, which can take all kinds of forms, including advice, a home for a cat, a strong back or a pickup truck to do some moving, etc.
Hell, many years ago I was stony freaking broke and my VCR died (that’s how long ago this was, it was a VCR). I started an MPSIMS thread just to bitch about that and astro sent me an extra that he had on hand. That was not what I was looking for, but that is what I got.
MPSIMS has traditionally been the home of these threads, and it makes sense to leave them there, because a) it’s a high-traffic forum, and b) the help requested is not necessarily only about a monetary transaction.
So they should be stickied at the top of GQ, Cafe Society, and MPSIMS to ensure the greatest exposure? I am sure that isn’t what you have in mind. Either the begging is allowed board wide in any forum, or it is limited in some way. If it is going to be limited, Marketplace seems like a good choice to me. A few minor tweaks and a sticky note and anyone who is feeling giving will quickly learn where to go to peruse the current crop of needs du jour.
And there is no reason that advice or sympathy can’t still be given. Nor would there be any reason the OP could not express their need in a narrative.
A high traffic forum sounds like the dumbest place to me. I’d think posters would be inclined to exaggerate their situation and the drama involved to make the story compelling enough to stay afloat in such an active forum, or risk it quickly slipping hardly noticed into oblivion, lost in the noise of a thousand other meaningless posts.
Hasn’t this whole thread been pretty much exclusively about solicitations for money? For me that is a very different request than a solicitation for specific help or a specific item. In my daily life I am not very generous with cash. I am however quite giving of my labor, skills, and unused items.
True, but there is nothing preventing advice in Marketplace, either. If y’all want that that forum to be just classified ads and nothing more, then OK. But it can be more.
And as far as tradition goes, Marketplace isn’t a tradition. It’s new. There have been a lot of changes here over the years, and this board has always rolled with them. We do seem to have a new change with the threads asking for help. They are far more frequent now than they were, say, five years ago. People are asking for a mod policy on how those are handled. The OP wants them taken off the table.
I don’t. I want a home for them.
So we should allow people to ask for help, but ensure they don’t get it by ghettoizing them into a forum that no one reads?
Not only do they already have a home, but I don’t recall seeing any complaints from people starting those threads that they would prefer to be in Marketplace. Those that do have a dog in this fight seem to be happy, in other words.
I wouldn’t mind seeing something like this at the beginning of every solicitation post:
The SDMB administration has authorized this solicitation, but does not vouch for its accuracy or worthiness. Policy on solicitation posts.
The linked policy should make it clear that while questions and respectful comments are allowed in the thread, anything insulting needs to go in the Pit.
But why should solicitation posts get this special treatment? Should every thread in Great Debates start with a notice highlighting the rules that apply specifically to threads in that forum?
No, we don’t have people asking for there threads to be in the Marketplace. What we do have is people wanting those threads to not exist at all. Look at the title of the OP.
I am Switzerland in this. Absolutely neutral. But I am also offering a humble suggestion. It’s obvious that my suggestion is Marketplace. I think it would be a win-win. It’s no skin of my back if it’s implemented or not.
But I will repeat another thing I said earlier. Even though I am a “guest”, I think membership should have it’s privileges. Guests should not have the right to ask for money, just as they don’t have the right to post an ad to sell their end table or whatever. I think putting those the types of threads in the Marketplace would be a win-win.
Hopefully, the mods are discussing my idea.
Without taking a position on A Monkey with a Gun’s idea, if nobody reads the Marketplace, why is it even there?
Because they are requesting Real Life actions, and for some posters their “pre-approved for posting” status implies that the administration thinks the cause is legitimate.
The real-life actions needed could also be a burden for some people, because for a righteous cause some people will sacrifice their own comfort.
There may be a written SDMB policy spelling out that approval does not equal endorsement, but many posters will not have seen it, and many will have trouble keeping it in mind if a poster seems to be hurting. Experience has shown that sometimes the hurting needs to be questioned. A standard disclaimer can remind readers to retain their critical thinking abilities, and that SDMB is approving the posting of the solicitation, not the solicitation itself.
Yep. And after the vet bills started piling up, we were able to pay the electric bill thanks to a few kind Dopers.
Because it would cut down on threads like this one by spelling out what the mods do (ie the request was approved for posting with the info they had on hand at the time) and how people reading the thread are permitted to respond.
It puts the onus on the solicitation thread OP to be honest with the mods from the start, and post an honest OP or risk being flamed to a crisp for “misrepresenting” their case.
The participants in the thread will know exactly what sort of questions they are and aren’t allowed to ask in those kinds of threads and that there will be consequences for being shitty.
If, for example, **Poster ABC **writes to the admins and says “I want to post a donation thread because my car died and I’m screwed without it.”
Admins ok it for posting with Baal Houtham’s disclaimer.
Other posters ask, “so, ABC, why’s getting your car fixed so important? Can’t you borrow someone’s car or use public transportation?” Being reasonable questions, these don’t get modded.
Stuff like “why should I give a fuck about your car? There’s this thing called ‘walking,’ you know! Bikes are cheaper and it’ll do you good to get off your ass already” they could be modded because as per the policy that’s threadshitting. Yes, threadshitting is against the rules all the time, but then those posters won’t have a leg to stand on if they start an angry ATMB thread “Why was I modded? I was just being honest/funny!” because there’s a policy linked to the OP that explicitly states, “don’t do this.”
ETA, because this is important, no one will really know if Poster ABC is telling the truth, but what matters is it’s a cause people feel comfortable throwing money at.
Or, if it’s something frivolous like “I have to take my daughter to her cello lessons or she’ll never get a scholarship to Julliard!!!” ABC then gets to get pitted for being stupid enough to post that. And won’t have a leg to stand on when they start an angry ATMB thread about “Why was my thread closed as I was flamed to hell and back? so I forgot one little detail in my OP!” because the policy explicitly states “Be honest, because you’re on your own from now on.”
And, most importantly, if ABC was trying to get car money just so she could get her weekly mani/pedi without having to take the bus, there won’t be any angry ATMB threads demanding to know “MODS!!! WHY THE TAPDANCING FUCK DON’T YOU VET DONATION THREADS BETTER!!!”
Also, that’s not quite the same because all threads in GD (actually all threads in any one forum) are meant to follow the same rules, which are listed in the sticky at the top of the forum. Donation threads are different from normal MPSIMS threads which is why they should get either an in-post disclaimer or a special sticky regarding donations threads in MPSIMS.
I’m glad you didn’t have to pay the tax penalty on your multiple savings accounts.
That’s us. Here to help.
Hey, wait a second Lute Skywatcher. You said you gave all that money back.