The New AZ Billiards version 10.0

[JAM]

I rarely go to the WFS section, but after this thread, I decided to take a peak. I had not idea what or who a "Panjo" was.

I like the way Panjo works. Nice and neat. Great way to sell an item.

Maybe a way for AzBilliards to benefit from those who use this forum to sell numerous pool-related items is to require all members who sell things in the subform to be Gold Members. That is a very small price to pay, IMO, when you think of how often some of the "regulars" on WFS use AzBilliards to sell.

 

[buddha162]

And originally Panjo was looked at as a way to allow us to limit the threads that users could post based on what their usergroup is.

Mike, I've posted a pretty straightforward solution to FS forum clutter in another thread, but I'll repeat it here.

ONE thread per user at a time (maybe 2 for gold members), with however many items consolidated.

ONLY the OP can bump the thread, once every 48 hours.

Thread expires after ____ amount of days, and can then be relisted or scrapped.

SEPARATE section for sponsors/dealers to show their wares. These are people who pay you to advertise, and can have multiple threads up at once as well as more frequent bumpage.

As for Panjo...to be frank, you must realize there are members here who can barely link a photo. IMO Panjo is just asking for problems, and will drive users away.

-roger

 

[JAM]

Mike, I've posted a pretty straightforward solution to FS forum clutter in another thread, but I'll repeat it here.

ONE thread per user at a time (maybe 2 for gold members), with however many items consolidated.

ONLY the OP can bump the thread, once every 48 hours.

Thread expires after ____ amount of days, and can then be relisted or scrapped.

SEPARATE section for sponsors/dealers to show their wares. These are people who pay you to advertise, and can have multiple threads up at once as well as more frequent bumpage.

As for Panjo...to be frank, you must realize there are members here who can barely link a photo. IMO Panjo is just asking for problems, and will drive users away.

-roger

If you are someone who frequenst the WFS section often, your opinions are definitely worthy and would help the WFS be a better place for all. I think the first ones you suggest are doable. The polls on AzBilliards have a time limit on them, so this is feasible.

I'm not familiar with Panjo, but I was able to check it out okay. I haven't used it before, though. It seems pretty straightforward.

If somebody wants to purchase something bad enough, they'll figure out how Panjo works. I know I would, and I'm a professional shopper. :grin-square:

 

[buddha162]

I'm not familiar with Panjo, but I was able to check it out okay. I haven't used it before, though. It seems pretty straightforward.

If somebody wants to purchase something bad enough, they'll figure out how Panjo works. I know I would, and I'm a professional shopper. :grin-square:

If you've been reading the several threads on this topic, the sellers are the ones having issues with Panjo.

My point is, there are far easier ways to limit clutter in the FS forum w/o introducing another variable. Also, there are easier ways to make a little dime on all the transactions w/o doing it on a per-sale basis. The rules I propose are pretty standard on large forums with active WFS sections for members, and they work.

 

[JAM]

If you've been reading the several threads on this topic, the sellers are the ones having issues with Panjo.

My point is, there are far easier ways to limit clutter in the FS forum w/o introducing another variable. Also, there are easier ways to make a little dime on all the transactions w/o doing it on a per-sale basis. The rules I propose are pretty standard on large forums with active WFS sections for members, and they work.

I have *not* been reading all the threads on this topic. Doesn't interest me, truth be told. I don't buy and sell on AzBilliards on a regular basis like some here do.

Maybe somebody will listen to your suggestions and follow through.

I just offered my 2 cents as a frequent forum poster who reads the numerous posts about the inequality on the WFS section, nothing more and nothing less.

 

[buddha162]

I have *not* been reading all the threads on this topic. Doesn't interest me, truth be told. I don't buy and sell on AzBilliards on a regular basis like some here do.

Maybe somebody will listen to your suggestions and follow through.

I just offered my 2 cents as a frequent forum poster who reads the numerous posts about the inequality on the WFS section, nothing more and nothing less.

So basically, you have no clue what the complaints are against the new Panjo system, how it affects buyers and sellers, and how to fix it.

I take you at your word that you're not interested in the whole thing, but of course that didn't stop you from contributing. I guess 30k+ posts has to come from somewhere.

 

[JAM]

So basically, you have no clue what the complaints are against the new Panjo system, how it affects buyers and sellers, and how to fix it.

I take you at your word that you're not interested in the whole thing, but of course that didn't stop you from contributing. I guess 30k+ posts has to come from somewhere.

You know, I was trying to pay you a compliment about your suggestions, but you seem to enjoy negative back-and-forths much more so.

Have a nice day. I'm sorry I even dignified your suggestions with a comment praising them. I opened up a can of worms, giving you a platform to spew ugly words to another. This seems to be how some like to behave on the forum. What a shame! Haters are going to hate, no matter what.

 

[azhousepro]

Buddha, the snide attitude is not necessary.

Mike

 

[buddha162]

You know, I was trying to pay you a compliment about your suggestions, but you seem to enjoy negative back-and-forths much more so.

I reread the last few posts and you're right, my comments were uncalled for. We've both been here a long time, and lately it does seem as if my posts are mostly confrontational in nature. I guess those are the threads that grab my attention, but I let it bleed into this one and that is regrettable. Please accept my apologies.

I agree that for a more tech/internet-savvy crowd, Panjo is not an issue. But apparently, it is causing all sorts of issues for AZB members since launch.

 

[buddha162]

Buddha, the snide attitude is not necessary.

Mike

Apologies for derailing the thread and to JAM.

Mike, I think it might be helpful to outline the parameters of what is possible and what is not with V-bulletin, and maybe a quick summary of what you think was wrong with the WFS forum. My impression was that it became a free for all, with rampant bumping and multiple threads from the same individuals.

 

[Atlatlien]

Mike, I've posted a pretty straightforward solution to FS forum clutter in another thread, but I'll repeat it here.

ONE thread per user at a time (maybe 2 for gold members), with however many items consolidated. AGREE

ONLY the OP can bump the thread, once every 48 hours. AGREE

Thread expires after ____ amount of days, and can then be relisted or scrapped. AGREE

SEPARATE section for sponsors/dealers to show their wares. These are people who pay you to advertise, and can have multiple threads up at once as well as more frequent bumpage. How does one decide who is a dealer and who is not? I would think dealers would try to fly under the radar to keep their costs down

As for Panjo...to be frank, you must realize there are members here who can barely link a photo. IMO Panjo is just asking for problems, and will drive users away. It's not AZB's fault that some people are computer illiterate and are unwilling to try to learn new things.

-roger

People can learn to use Panjo if they wanted to. I'm sure it's not rocket surgery.

 

[60inchcueguy]

I have to agree. Panjo is not user-friendly. I believe it will drive people away as well. The suggestions below would help clean up the WFS section. As for AZ being compensated, having sellers become Gold Members is a minimum place to start.

Mike, I've posted a pretty straightforward solution to FS forum clutter in another thread, but I'll repeat it here.

ONE thread per user at a time (maybe 2 for gold members), with however many items consolidated.

ONLY the OP can bump the thread, once every 48 hours.

Thread expires after ____ amount of days, and can then be relisted or scrapped.

SEPARATE section for sponsors/dealers to show their wares. These are people who pay you to advertise, and can have multiple threads up at once as well as more frequent bumpage.

As for Panjo...to be frank, you must realize there are members here who can barely link a photo. IMO Panjo is just asking for problems, and will drive users away.

-roger

 

[buddha162]

How does one decide who is a dealer and who is not? I would think dealers would try to fly under the radar to keep their costs down

What I propose is a section for sponsors, all of whom I suspect will be dealers. You have to pay to post in that section.

It's not AZB's fault that some people are computer illiterate and are unwilling to try to learn new things.

People can learn to use Panjo if they wanted to. I'm sure it's not rocket surgery.

Definitely not anyone's fault, and it's not rocket science but...I don't see the benefit. What I see is confusion.

 

[cuesblues]

People can learn to use Panjo if they wanted to. I'm sure it's not rocket surgery.

Rocket surgery is a tough one.
What is tougher is trying to figure out why I still get the following error when I try to view pics under Panjo, using the latest IE11;

Sorry, the marketplace cannot load on Internet Explorer 8 or below.

In our quest to provide you with the best experience possible, the marketplace uses features which Internet Explorer 8.0 does not support. Don't get us wrong, we love Microsoft, but even Microsoft stopped supporting IE 8 in April 2014.

Below is a list of compatible browsers:
Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox
Opera
Latest Internet Explorer

Thanks!

 

[Atlatlien]

Internet Explorer

I have identified your problem. Ticket closed. :grin:

 

[buddha162]

Sorry, the marketplace cannot load on Internet Explorer 8 or below.

Use Chrome or Firefox...no issues.

 

[cuesblues]

I have identified your problem. Ticket closed. :grin:

I've chosen not to load Mozilla or Chrome this time around.
Panjo says IE11 should work, but it doesn't
To me Panjo is just a poor man's Ebay with some Craigslist overtones.
It doesn't matter anymore because the market is going the way of Ebay and Facebook.
If I try to sell anything under Panjo, It will be listed at a very cheap price, so the
experience will be quick and painless.
If anybody notices a new for sale threads by me using Panjo, you better check it out,
because the prices will be crazy low, just like old times.
It is not a problem for me to sell 50 more cues out of my collection and take a big loss,
and I'm looking forward to joining the social media I have managed to avoid all these years.
My cue sales coming up will do better on Ebay anyway.

 

[BmoreMoney]

BMore, I appreciate your post and I will be watching this thread to see what other's think of the idea.

To a degree, you are correct. We would like to make a little money from the large number of sales that go through this area. On the other hand, users who post things being gold members would work out fine for us.

As I have said numerous times already, the Panjo thing is something we are trying. It isn't necessarily the answer to all of the issues with the area, but it is something that we are trying.

I asked for feedback from users and I have gotten some. I have also gotten a lot of "Panjo Bad!! Make it go away" type messages that really give me nothing to go on.

Something has to be done about the wanted/for sale area. People are abusing the bumping system. People are making a significant amount of money selling items on the forums and don't even bother to sign up as gold members.

So we are trying something new. It won't be the last thing that we try.

If you like it, tell us what you like. If you don't like it, tell us what exactly you don't like. Saying it bugs you or that you don't like change is not what we are looking for.

Mike

Here are some ideas that I have to help solve the issues with the WFS section, help the sellers drive their sales to new heights, increase revenue for AZB and possibly keep everyone happy.

I am going to give my opinions in two posts. First will begin regards to memberships and second will be about format of the WFS section. These are only my opinions and I encourage everyone's thoughts on this good or bad.

First I would create a new membership called wither Platinum or Business. The cost would be $120 a year billed up front annually. That works out to only an insanely cheap $10 a month. I do not think you would be able to find a better value on ROI anywhere. There would be restrictions out in place by level of membership in regards to posting items for sale.

Silver - 5 posts for items for sale would be allowed in a twelve month period. 5 would seem to be plenty for someone that just wants to get rid of a few items they no longer need.
Gold- 20-25 posts a year. This seems as if it would be fine for the hobbyist or someone looking to make a few extra bucks every now and again.
If you were to use up all of your posts additional posts could be bought for $3-$5 each or maybe a bundle of x# of posts for x# $$$.

Platinum- unlimited # of posts. The platinum would include many other benefits as well. If able to be sourced by AZ from sponsors higher end prizes could be given out on a monthly or quarterly basis. Maybe even a pool table give away once a year. ( Nothing Crazy but maybe a used gold crown or bar box or something along those lines with a value of around $1000-1500. Another change would be Platinum members would now be the only level at which you can advertise in your signature area when you post. However it would be ok to plug anything you want ( within reason but not just pool related ). Many folks on here own there own business and could plug it to AZ land. If you work for a company you could plug them. Cool part about this is there's a good chance since its so cheap many could probably get their job to pay for entire membership out of the advertising budget - now the platinum is free. Same thing if u own your own business, cost of membership could be written off every year as an expense.

Now to what I think is the coolest part. While I know space is at a premium in the main page there is infact some empty space on there right now. For that matter I am sure that some of the areas on there now have significantly less " hits " then the rest of the other areas and they could be moved to a tab. Platinum members could have their cue or whatever pool related items continuously " flashed " for like 3-5 seconds right on the main page and just clicking on it takes you directly to the post. I can actually see alot of people staying on the main page for extended periods of time just to watch the cues that are being shown. This would be a huge win-win. Sellers would get unmatched exposure that surely would greatly drive their sales while AZ would be adding value and desirability to their banner ad space. Value of ad space is not only judged by how many hits any particular page gets but also how long an advertiser can " stay in front of " the consumer. And no although initially it may sound like as if this may create problems with the banner ad sponsors because of price I do not believe it would.

 

[ideologist]

I've chosen not to load Mozilla or Chrome this time around.
Panjo says IE11 should work, but it doesn't
To me Panjo is just a poor man's Ebay with some Craigslist overtones.
It doesn't matter anymore because the market is going the way of Ebay and Facebook.
If I try to sell anything under Panjo, It will be listed at a very cheap price, so the
experience will be quick and painless.
If anybody notices a new for sale threads by me using Panjo, you better check it out,
because the prices will be crazy low, just like old times.
It is not a problem for me to sell 50 more cues out of my collection and take a big loss,
and I'm looking forward to joining the social media I have managed to avoid all these years.
My cue sales coming up will do better on Ebay anyway.

Use IE Compatibility Mode.

 

[Bavafongoul]

The New Forum Gets "A" & "D" Grades

The new Forum gets an A for effort and a D for actuality........the Wtd For Sale Section is "Horrible".......The other Sections also suffer the sate fate as the Wtd For Sale which is basically now resembles a giant Excel spreadsheet of 6 columns with the middle column widened and text is used instead of columns of numbers.......it's absolutely terrible.

Look, I've been a strong advocate of Gold Membership and actually was the person that coined the expression "Less than 10 cents a Day.".....but I'm probably going to start keeping the dimes in my pocket come renewal time. Perhaps there'll be some monetary reason to remain a Gold Member because different features or services will start being unbundled and I see that coming. But the effort that went into the design of the Wtd For Sale Section is undoubtedly well intended but the people don't know a thing about page layout with color informational distinction for headings, originator, etc. and the font and text and background colors are atrocious and the page actually is annoying to read......yes, annoying. .....and that's why I don't like this joint anymore.

And yes, I concur.... then I don't have to come here....I completely concur.....but I have to look for a monster cue, I also want to show off my cues being built, see what others have underway, etc. I am not implying the Forum doesn't have some benefits but the experience is not as appealing as before. If someone started an alternative site, I'd be quick to join even on a fee paid basis....say $5.00/mth......that's $50 per annum......how many members would it take before another site was viable?

Yeah, the new Forum looks more like it was designed by someone that doesn't use it practically speaking, even though I know that's not true but it looks that way to me....it gets a D grade....this grade would definitely be lower but I'm still looking for another cue right now and ergo, the Forum is akin to a necessary evil of sorts, i.e., no options.

Matt B.