These forums should be a valuable resource, but they are being neutered by a combination of poor input from posters, and poor administration from eBay. I think this is why their use has been decining so noticeably in the last few months. I have a few suggestions which I believe could help things run a little better in 2024. Please feel free to add any more. The first four are small changes eBay themselves could make.
1. Stop posters from posting in different or larger fonts/colours. This can give the impression to newer members that these posters are somehow “special” and brings attention to their posts. (This is of course, what the poster wants, but there is no guarantee that the advice given will be useful - often it is not.)
2. Get rid of the silly ranking system for posters, or at least change how the ranks are assigned. Currently, some of the least reliable posters have high ranking positions, simply because they post so often. As a stopped clock is right twice a day, they do pick up “likes”, but more because they post so much, than because of the quality of their responses. (Maybe the number of “likes” should be divided by the number of posts they submit - this might stop some of their silly “look at me” behaviour.)
3. eBay employees often only become involved to dampen down conflict. I believe they must allow a little more dissent, as much of the advice being given is plainly wrong, and can considerably worsen situations which are already awkward for the original poster.
4. If eBay employees are going to get involved, they should read the WHOLE thread before jumping in with both feet. Likewise, if they are offering advice, they must make sure it is correct, and they should be able to anticipate further questions, and deal with these too. Otherwise, all they are doing is killing threads, often with irrelevant, wrong, or unhelpful comments.
...and there are things posters can do. You don’t NEED to post in every conversation. If you have nothing to add, just move on; we won’t miss you. Save it for the threads where you do have something constructive to add. If you do decide to contribute, read the whole thread; if you don't, you're possibly just cluttering the thread up with unnecessary repetitions. And if someone asks for comments from those with experience of a situation, respect that, and don’t just chip in with your guess at what SHOULD happen.
I'm sure there are others. I haven't even mentioned business/private accounts, but that obviously needs some attention, although perhaps not as much as it gets!
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