C W Burfle posted:CW - you are conflating membership with participation - obviously, if the member has a lot of activity - its a better bet. A new member who just registered last week - not so much.
I don't think so. As far as I am concerned, there is no legitimate reason to join a forum if you aren't going to actively participate. No need to join if you only want to read others posts.
Joining the board just to sell your trains? ...... You can sell them to someone else, not me.
I joined - and didn't post for quite a while - maybe a year.
And it's not impossible for long-time unregistered "lurkers" to register - maybe they saw something for sale the wanted, and decided to pursue it by registering.
And I can completely understand if someone joined just to sell a collection...doesn't inspire confidence - but I could believe it.
Try selling an automobile on eBay sometime - it will flip every instinct you ever had! Most car bidders are new accounts with no (0) feedback. Why? Because the car is probably the only reason they signed up and the only thing they will ever buy. Kind of freaky...when you're used to dealing with everyday buyers who have been using ebay consistently. I resorted to language like - "if you have no feedback please contact me before bidding"
That said - I would never buy or sell anything here - same policy on the audio forums I'm part of...you're all a bunch of great guys and all - but I prefer the reputation system at eBay.
I think were more in agreement than not, CW...
