Member location field in header.

[Paulbot]

Please don't call someone a scalper based on one other member's posting, especially if you've had good dealings with him before.

[griffin]

Here's one that really bugs me, I saw it last night in the "who is online subsection"

http://www.otca.com.au/boards/member.php?u=212

He's a seller from Japan. I'm not sure if he's in Australia but why the heck are we letting guys like this in? I remember there was a thread about letting O/S fans in and there was overall a negative sentiment in. But we're going to let a foreigner who sells/scupts in ahead of international fans?

I'm not sure if there's more to it but prima facie I was a bit disappointed.

I'd much prefer to have international fans in than scalpers frequenting our boards and such. I've bought from him before, mind you and I'm happy w. the transaction and price but I just don't think it's right having some seller here ahead of other fans who could contribute to the depth and diversity of discussion on the board.

First up, the issue of 'foreign fans' which we discussed and voted on, related to fans outside of our Australasian region, which is why we have members from New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and now China and Japan.
Due to the language barrier, I'm not worried that we will be flooded by non-Australians wanting to join, but if we did see a large proportion of fans joining from other countries, the issue would be re-opened by *the board staff* for further discussion.
But most of those outside of Australia haven't interacted much here for us to worry about non-local focus in the discussion, and as such, they would probably be deleted after a year or so of inactivity (as per the board user guide).

Secondly, the claim that the new guy from Japan is just a dealer or scalper, or only joined here to spam us with sale postings - totally uncalled for when it is just based on their one posting, that outlines their version of an existing accusation against them.
There has been no indication yet that they joined just to sell stuff, and I would like to point out that during the registration processing procedure, this is something that is assessed, to the extent that in the last month I have denied a few people access who wanted to register on the sole intention of advertising their sale items. I don't see the need for me to post up about every time I reject a toy dealer/scalper, nor is .
Also, it doesn't seem fair to accuse this person of something they haven't yet done, and not actually have a go at the number of toy dealers we already have on here, including several who had in their first postings, a sale listing or an intention to sell stuff. Not to mention one newbie I almost removed because their sales related postings were so high, they are still hovering at about 50% of their total postings.
But since these are local toy dealers, it seems like there is a bit of a double standard against foreign fans who may be toy dealers.
Just scroll through the Sales section to see some common names posting there, and not much in other sections. I'm not saying to target them now, but at least have some consistency if you have a problem with one toy dealer. And many of those (including myself) who sell toys, either regularly or irregularly, are fans, but it takes the registration procedure to make it a little easier to spot the toy scalpers who are not fans or likely to interact here as a fan.

If it helps reassure existing members here that a newbie isn't just registering to sell stuff, we could instigate a minimum time or post requirement before they advertise to anything. I'd be happy to have something like that in force, even if several of the *local* members would have failed that requirement if it had existed when they joined.

[Bartrim]

My two cents.

If it wasn't for the location field I wouldn't of realised that The_Damned lived so close to me.

So I'm all for it.

[dirge]

My 2c on our membership policy:

1) Keep existing members.

2) New members need to either be resident in Australia (or) it's external territories (Norfolk Island, Christmas Island & Cocos Islands) OR have lived/will live here for a significant period of time.

3) State it clearly. If a fan who falls outside of the board's definition feels that somehow they should have an exemption, tough. That doesn't mean we rudely tell them go away or or anything, but we simply decline them and refer to the defined rules.

My 2c on the location field:

1) It serves a very useful purpose

2) Not everyone wants to state where they are, for whatever reason. As long as they meet the membership requirements, fine. They can choose to disclose their location (to others, not just the board admin) when and if they want.

[Kyle]

Just went and took a look at the sales section and I'm embarrassed to say I have like 4 threads there...

Am probably the worst offender.

If any of you is ever put off by my postings, please feel free to let me know, talk to me or give me a PM. The last thing I want is for any to feel uncomfortable.

Cheers,
Kyle

[dirge]

I'm quite comfortable with your contributions, Kyle. You've sourced a _lot_ of bargains for OzFormer members - that doesn't count as dealing in my book!

[liegeprime]

Besides that Kyle, you interact with the other threads in the forum its not like your just stuck to starting thread posts in the Sale thread. I think that was one of the points Griffin pointed ( redundant I know) out.

[Pulse]

Kyle, We're making no reference to you at all . There's a difference between helping others obtain hard-to-come-by items & basically scalping TFs off at over-inflated prices. It's all good Mate (Woah, now I'm starting to sound like Lisa )

to the extent that in the last month I have denied a few people access who wanted to register on the sole intention of advertising their sale items.

I can't stand scum like that . The international boards seem to be flooded with those types of "Scalpers" masquerading as "TF Collectors".

[Kyle]

Thanks guys.

[Tober]

Another $0.02 worth of opinion:

OzFormers Transformers Collectors Australia

From what I recall this board was started up with the intention of aiding fellow Australians in locating, selling, trading and discussing Transformers collectables and media.

It works very well - it doesn't need to be compromised. Location maybe shouldn't be mandatory but it does get annoying if there is a sighting in Garden City and the state isn't specified. Locations like "Behind You" and "With your Mum" get boring long before the 50th+++ time you see them. A big part of this community is establishing a reliable and trustworthy network for collecting, I don't think there's more than 1 degree of seperation between any members here so every member is personally accountable for their actions and texts - ie no annonynimity beyond the board name. Specifying location helps flush out the SabreWolfgangs as well...

I think foriegn interaction is unnecessary. If foriegners joined then I think they would have to have a really good reason - Hong Kong members who can supply cheap TFs, Japanese members who can help with exclusives, storefronts that can supply bulk deals - but there are already alternative sources for those. They would otherwise need a really good reason to join and be valuable as contributors. This forum doesn't offer much that isn't already available on the large boards that actively want more members (revenue from advertising, donations, prestiege etc).

If the boards were opened to foriegn members then maybe some sections should be exclusive to Aussies. There are a few times I've thought that there would be a benefit in making the sightings and sales sections visible to member only but that was more to prevent scalpers from abusing it.

No offense to anyone that doesn't have their location filled, I know you're worth it. ;p

I'm sure STL had the board's best intentions at heart when he posted that info. Likewise Kyle posting the hk-tf and tfclub order threads is what OzFormers is all about - helping other members find TFs at the best prices.