poll Should comments be allowed in sales threads?

Yes, you should able to ask questions. Domains are pretty self explanatory most of the time. Websites are more involved and if you have any questions, you should be able to ask them.

Maybe but it would be too tempting to ridicule the domains being offered for sale, or the lowball want to buy offer prices.

Sometimes there are scammers in the domains section and they try to get people to pay fast and with irreversible options like BTC. Some fall for it and lose money. Sometimes comments could save them from that headache.

Dave said:

I personally think it is a daft rule not to allow comments in sales threads, especially for websites.

Take this thread for example: https://www.namepros.com/threads/ea...keting-website-for-sale.1065993/#post-6577384

I posted in the above thread highlighting that the basics of security, with regards to the ssl certificate, were not even checked before offering the website for sale. Things like this are red flags that need to be public attention in my opinion.

Posts that highlight honest pros or cons to a product or service being offered for sale should be allowed. Outright derogatory or negatively biased posts of course should not be allowed.

Anyone else agree?

Click to expand...

I don't see that rule, actually the opposite:

Under Sellers
Respond to questions in a professional and timely manner to produce trust with your potential buyers.

Under Buyers
3. Inquire why sellers are parting with their site:
a. Don’t have the time to maintain it
b. Lost interest
c. Doesn’t make enough revenue to support time investment
d. Requires significant upgrades

Seems like it's ok to ask questions.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/websites-for-sale-guide.865078/

I'm guessing you had a post deleted, since I don't see yours in that thread?

JB Lions said:

I'm guessing you had a post deleted, since I don't see yours in that thread?

Click to expand...

My post was deleted for the following reason.

"Comments in sales threads are not allowed. If you see a problem, please report it".

I think questions are allowed but general comments are not. I posted how the SSL certificate for the site is not valid and my post got removed. This is worthwhile information relating to the sale that doesn't need to be worded as a question.

"Comments in sales threads are not allowed. If you see a problem, please report it".

That literally goes against the rules I just linked too, the website for sale rules.

It's an obvious thing to ask questions if you want to buy something.

Even tho yours wasn't a question per se, I think it's ok in this case. You're not trolling him or anything like that, what you brought up is a legit observation.

xynames said:

Maybe but it would be too tempting to ridicule the domains being offered for sale, or the lowball want to buy offer prices.

Click to expand...

Those would be deemed as derogatory, disrespectful and of course should not be allowed. Worthwhile and honest posts providing information pertaining to a sale should be allowed. As @creataweb mentioned, comments could save people from being scammed, so that is one example of where comments would be helpful.

Websites yes, domain sales no. Easy way to bump certain domain sale posts to the top all the time. PM a question, think it's a scam? PM a mod.

Maybe it'll create complications so NO.

More conversation makes for more exposure. More exposure means more sales.

I made a constructive comment

PLYW.com

I said....

Could stand for Plywood (huge potential)

thought it was a positive comment which could have helped the OP.

Got deleted

Dave said:

My post was deleted for the following reason.

"Comments in sales threads are not allowed. If you see a problem, please report it".

I think questions are allowed but general comments are not. I posted how the SSL certificate for the site is not valid and my post got removed. This is worthwhile information relating to the sale that doesn't need to be worded as a question.

Click to expand...

Maybe try again but this time, go the Jeopardy! route and put it in the form of a question, see if it stays this time. I just checked the site out and I would ask - Why am I getting a Your connection is not secure message when trying to access your site?

equity78 said:

Websites yes, domain sales no. Easy way to bump certain domain sale posts to the top all the time. PM a question, think it's a scam? PM a mod.

Click to expand...

What if a domain is stolen? If somebody has evidence and they're sure it is stolen, it is better to make it public knowledge asap as opposed to risking a buyer paying for the domain name before it is too late.

I think there are also other legit cases where comments are acceptable. Is the domain name currently on auction elsewhere. Has the domain name sold recently, such as within the last few days, and is now being offered for sale at a much lower price? All usually red flags of suspicious activity. I suppose the latter could be worded as a question but still I think this is all worthwhile information however it is worded.

JB Lions said:

Why am I getting a Your connection is not secure message when trying to access your site?

Click to expand...

I already know the answer. I think it is beneficial to others for me to provide a definitive comment on the matter rather than wording it as a question. In my opinion.

I think if moderation is too heavy handed you leave yourself open to dissatisfaction. When that happens someone eventually gets so annoyed they open up a competing forum. I had that happen on a forum of mine where I did not allow one car type. The members conversed via email and a number of them left to form a new one. They ultimately solicit the current member base and then the large scale banning starts. Nobody wins, member bases split and the damage is done. I think the op should be able to make the choice. Make an auction topic and say "feel free to discuss" or only bids. In the end that would make it better. I tried a few times to encourage discussion in a topic and the mod shut it down. If the op says it's ok it should be allowed. Same goes with off topic, the op can say stay on topic and notify a mod.

Just my opinion on this

Hi Dave,

Comments in sales threads are not allowed.
We understand you are trying to help and we appreciate your efforts, but in the future please use the report button.

Also, if you notice others violating this rule, please use the Report feature instead of replying to them, so that we can get things back on track (on topic).

Please refer to this thread for further clarification:
https://www.namepros.com/threads/pointing-out-a-scam-to-warn-others.1043956/

Rule: 6.1.1 No Sales Crashing: Do not post anything in a sales listing that could devalue an item or hinder a sale from taking place successfully.

These are the rules. Please refer to the link above.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Peace,
Kenny

To clarify, constructive and relevant questions are allowed.

Comments/Statements are not allowed.

MapleDots said:

I think if moderation is too heavy handed you leave yourself open to dissatisfaction.

Click to expand...

About half of the members we hear from think we moderate too much and the other half think we don't moderate enough. That indicates we're doing it the right amount.

Dave said:

What if a domain is stolen?

Click to expand...

This has been discussed here: https://www.namepros.com/threads/pointing-out-a-scam-to-warn-others.1043956/

Hope that helps,

Dave said:

I posted how the SSL certificate for the site is not valid and my post got removed. This is worthwhile information relating to the sale that doesn't need to be worded as a question.

Click to expand...

Hey Dave, just curious as to why you think a valid/invalid SSL certificate for a website is relevent to its sale? Whether or not a site is running https is up to the site holder, and seller does not mention that he is offering secured hosting along with the sale of the site..

I think it is for this reason the comment was removed, it detracted from what was actually being offered in the sale.

Maybe just a PM to the seller would have cleared it up.

Of course, invalid certificates could turn off potential buyers..

HotKey said:

Hey Dave, just curious as to why you think a valid/invalid SSL certificate for a website is relevent to its sale?

Click to expand...

Shows incompetence from the seller. I think if they can't get something as simple as that right before offering it for sale, then it makes me wonder what else could possibly be wrong with the site that is for sale.

Many webdesigners are incapable of properly configuring a webserver, or host websites on servers that they can't control. IMO that alone doesn't make the sale suspicious. It could be a red flag if other things turn out to be wrong like blatant scraping or site cloning (=copyright issue).

If you are buying contents, you usually are going to host it elsewhere anyway.

Added Note: We plan to add a feature that allows sellers to delete any comments/posts they want from their sales listings, which is similar to some other marketplaces, so that's another reason we don't want members to get into the habit of depending on comments in sales threads and we want members to use the report button. Once we add that feature, sellers will be able to delete those comments on their own and the only option will be the report button.

@Eric Lyon

The thing is, the seller hasn't done anything worth reporting them over.

My comment was a general observation that is beneficial for others to be made aware of, but the seller themselves didn't do anything suspicious or malicious that warranted me reporting them.

I think NamePros should consider allowing certain comments, for example the following;

• "This domain name/website is also currently being auctioned at [proof]"
• "This website has a clear bug or problem"
• "The WHOIS information for this domain name is somewhat suspicious"
• "This domain name only recently sold a few days ago for much more money. Can you explain why you're listing it for a cheaper price"?

I understand that moderating only allowed types of comments could be bothersome though.

Dave said:

Shows incompetence from the seller. I think if they can't get something as simple as that right before offering it for sale, then it makes me wonder what else could possibly be wrong with the site that is for sale.

Click to expand...

I don't know that it shows incompetence, just shows that they weren't willing to pay for a valid certificate. So could have been a business decision, especially if they knew they were putting up the site for sale. Many times certificates aren't cheap. Other times, you can get them for free, if you know where to look.

It's like if you were trying to sell a domain, and someone posted a comment along the lines of "Hey- your domain isn't resolving, what gives?" A domain name not resolving is not suspicious nor a bug, and does not make the domain name sale any less valid, but the comment could turn away a potential buyer if they had no clue about these sort of things.

Sometimes or mostimes, when we use Free SSL like Let's Encrypt its become invalid after unable to renew it automatically. They send tons of emails to owner but that mails get marked as spam. (Notice email start with "root")



Now when you realise that it's become to much complected process but if I want to notify user that his listed website giving invalid SSL error I will send him "Private Message". But if I see something fishy & cloud be possible scamm I will use "Report" button.

HotKey said:

I don't know that it shows incompetence, just shows that they weren't willing to pay for a valid certificate.

Click to expand...

When you're selling a website you need to make sure the basics are done right at least, that of course includes the website resolving and any certificates being valid. If they weren't willing to pay for a valid certificate it means some people are going to have difficulty viewing the site. That is incompetence in my opinion and it means the seller may miss out on potential buyers.