Mandatory locations in user profile?

[Mog416]

Is there any value in forcing people to populate the location field in their profile? The specific context of my question is for classified ads.

I can't tell you how many ads I've looked at only to find out there's no indication of where the seller is. I don't know about other folks, but I automatically move on as soon as I discover there is no location. I suspect there are several things I would have purchased off the board, had I just known where they were.

The logical side of me says, if these people aren't smart enough to include a location, they're only hurting themselves and they deserve not to sell their goods. But the other side of me says there's some cool stuff out there that I'd like to buy.

Oh, and those who simply put, Colorado, in their location field should be poked in the eye with a sharp stick.

How's that sound?

[al24]

Well, with rigs being stolen, etc, a lot of people don't want others to know where they live.
But if you post a for sale item, it would be a good idea to let people know where the items are.

[Steve]

If you're interested in buying something and there's no location listed, send the seller a PM asking where they are - it's not that hard.

[Rk Crlr]

There have been some minor items I have passed on because of no location as well. But if they don't want to fill out that field or put it in thier post then their loss.

If it is something I can really use then I'll PM them.

[Eric]

I don't require the location field for several reasons, all centered around privacy and security.

However, the location of an item in a classified ad should be listed. This is comparable to our requirement to list a price. If you're the seller you know what you want for it, so skip the mystery and list the price in the ad. This rule was implemented to save both the seller and potential buyers the time and hassle of contacting each other just to convey a critical piece of information that was missing from the ad. The same could be said for location. The price is relative to location. A "good deal" might not be so good anymore if you're looking at shipping costs. City and State only, no need to get into specifics unless you buy it and such sensitive information should be discussed privately.

Location for items in a classified ad isn't a requirement yet, but I think it's a good suggestion and I'll consider it. :beer:

[Big Dave]

Also, the required field for location would only apply to new users if Eric did make any changes, and wouldn't effect the thousands already registered at all.

[ThePagan]

<== See mine? Yep right there and the first question I'm usually ask by anyone is "where do you live?" so even if it is there - no one really pays any attention to it.

[Mog416]

The price is relative to location. A "good deal" might not be so good anymore if you're looking at shipping costs. City and State only, no need to get into specifics unless you buy it and such sensitive information should be discussed privately.Exactly what I was thinking.

Location for items in a classified ad isn't a requirement yet, but I think it's a good suggestion and I'll consider it. :beer:Perfect. This isn't something I lose sleep over, but I appreciate you taking the time to consider it.

[Steve]

Eric,

When you want to post in the classifieds on classicbroncos.com, you get a "form" when you start the thread. It has blanks for Item Name, Price and Location, as well as the typical field for description, pics, etc. If you don't fill in the first three blanks, it won't let you post the ad. Don't know what software they're running tho, so not sure if that's an option here or not. Sure would make moderating the Classified forum here easier. :)

[Yucca-Man]

Along the lines of what Steve's talking about, NAXJA changed their forum a few months ago to have the Classifieds on a separate domain. Apparently that way, they were able to play around with the settings for the Classifieds (user location, editing limits, etc) but they also added a "How Far?" feature. By putting your own ZIP Code in, you could see how far away the item was since posters also had to include that info. Comes in pretty handy to see how far away various parts are...

[Big Dave]

Along the lines of what Steve's talking about, NAXJA changed their forum a few months ago to have the Classifieds on a separate domain. Apparently that way, they were able to play around with the settings for the Classifieds (user location, editing limits, etc) but they also added a "How Far?" feature. By putting your own ZIP Code in, you could see how far away the item was since posters also had to include that info. Comes in pretty handy to see how far away various parts are...

That sounds pretty sweet!!!!

[Yucca-Man]

Play with it yourself - http://www.naxja.org/classifieds/ (I thought it had a separate domain but apparently it ain't)

[Eric]

Along the lines of what Steve's talking about, NAXJA changed their forum a few months ago to have the Classifieds on a separate domain. Apparently that way, they were able to play around with the settings for the Classifieds (user location, editing limits, etc) but they also added a "How Far?" feature. By putting your own ZIP Code in, you could see how far away the item was since posters also had to include that info. Comes in pretty handy to see how far away various parts are...
That's the Photopost Classifieds software. Sounds nice, I'll look into it.