- Nov 1, 2024
- 1,182
- 4,413
Earlier in the year we started taking a look at what was going on in the Hire a Freelancer (HAF) and Want to Buy sections of the forum and made several sets of updates.
1.) forum users MUST have 15 or more posts to start a thread.
2.) there is now a WTB/HAF specific warning.
What Prompted the Changes?
We've seen your threads in the Suggestions and Feedback section, reports and tickets in support. We've also been monitoring these sections since the last updates in July in order to decide what we could do that was good for BlackHat World.
When making our decision, we wanted to make sure that the maximum number of users possible could still use these sections. So we felt that a new user having to wait until they've reached 15 posts is not only a great compromise, it stays in line with access to Direct Messages. Users can spend the time learning about the forum, how to read the different stickied rules that are supplementary to the forum's Terms and Rules, as well as engage with other members.
As far as the warning, we've been trying to utilize existing warnings but it was high time that the WTB and HAF sections have their own.
The WTB/HAF Warning
It's pretty simple. There is a single warning for both the thread starter as well as those of you who can respond to the thread. We've listed the most common violations that we see in the warning, but it's not an exhaustive list. The forum rules and the supplemental sticky rules for each section always take precedence. However, these are the most common rule violations for these sections:
Hopefully these updates will start clearing up the sections and make them useful again for everyone wanting to do business!
- no posting outside links/contact info
- must be specific about what you want (thread starter) and what you are offering (responder)
- locking threads that are 30 days or older
1.) forum users MUST have 15 or more posts to start a thread.
2.) there is now a WTB/HAF specific warning.
What Prompted the Changes?
We've seen your threads in the Suggestions and Feedback section, reports and tickets in support. We've also been monitoring these sections since the last updates in July in order to decide what we could do that was good for BlackHat World.
When making our decision, we wanted to make sure that the maximum number of users possible could still use these sections. So we felt that a new user having to wait until they've reached 15 posts is not only a great compromise, it stays in line with access to Direct Messages. Users can spend the time learning about the forum, how to read the different stickied rules that are supplementary to the forum's Terms and Rules, as well as engage with other members.
As far as the warning, we've been trying to utilize existing warnings but it was high time that the WTB and HAF sections have their own.
The WTB/HAF Warning
It's pretty simple. There is a single warning for both the thread starter as well as those of you who can respond to the thread. We've listed the most common violations that we see in the warning, but it's not an exhaustive list. The forum rules and the supplemental sticky rules for each section always take precedence. However, these are the most common rule violations for these sections:
- Adding contact information (TG, email, whatsapp) to the thread body or responses.
- Not adding any information to the thread or post (especially putting the information in the title only).
- Spamming copy/pasted responses in as many threads as possible with very little variation.
Hopefully these updates will start clearing up the sections and make them useful again for everyone wanting to do business!
