I see alot of people that have hit 200 posts after one or two months of membership. I've been a member since Feb 2003 and only have ~60 posts. I agree with firefairy. A few years ago there wasn't nearly as much "chaff" to sift through. Well anyway...the members don't make the Rules...at least people can still read the enter at your own risk posts before they hit 200. I'm not going to generate 137 posts in the next few days so I can post there, but some people probably will.

hi- just my 2c,
I agree with firefairy also, and the general idea.
A time frame, no 'dodgy' posts, etc.
A time frame is more of an indicator of a persons possib;e agenda than post coult.
'Empty vessels make most noise' and all that.

One more point, for those that say, ohhh, but ppl might need their meds now, or they will be sick, etc- its a forum for unproven sources.
There are plenty of proven sources in the iop/nrop etc lists, with plenty of feedback.
I'm just making a point. I don't even go in there personally. But i do feel bad for people who are scammed, and despise scammers and their brothers-in-arms, shills.

So anything to keep the Shill & scammer population quiet- i agree with it, for the sake of the whole board.

g-girl

No way to check on multiple ID by IP's. Sounds good but it is not doable... the crooks that work the boards, the ones we try to make their work harder... use proxies and anonymizers

The only way to avoid shills, and it would not work all the time either, would be to request as much info as banks request for mortgages...

No way to check on multiple ID by IP's. Sounds good but it is not doable... the crooks that work the boards, the ones we try to make their work harder... use proxies and anonymizers

Oh Admin! Please dont do that! My credit score wouldnt pass

While "crooks" are certainly a part of the ppl who use proxies, statistically, it is the more informed / paranoid surfers that are by far the largest proxy user group, IMO.

I agree with Firefairy. There are some very helpful/trustworthy people who have been here a long time, yet they may not choose to post every emotion they are feeling or every knee-jerk reaction they have to someone's comments. They are being "punished" for their discretion.

Then again, those people may not even care about the BI threads. But if they do, maybe they could ask for special consideration? Not sure how much of an administrative nightmare that could become.

SUBLIMINAL AFTERTHOUGHT: Some of the people (hardcoresmylife) who hit 200 posts quickly (hardcoresmylife) are PRECISELY the people you don't want to hear from (hardcoresmylife).

is there a way to let everyone view the section but only allow people with over 200 posts to actually comment in this section? this would probably make anyone with under 200 posts happy while keeping the schills out as well.

doesnt matter either way to me, but seems to be a hot topic for many people that are under under the 200 mark.

may also keep people from posting mindless drivel to get the the 200 mark.

JMO.

I think that is the way it is now, they can view but not post.

Here is a new approach, although I don't know if it can be done with this forum's coding:

1. Keep the 200 count
2. When a set number of posts, say 50 are achieved, the poster can ask for a vote to be admitted.
3. This gives all the members a voice and a chance to review the applicant and their contributions. This should give a good perspective as to whether or not the poster is not only in good standing, but also how their posts are being accepted or benefiting our members.
4. As always, the Admin makes the final decision in this and all matters.

Just a another thought...

omgosh pharmakarma, thats like a mathematical formulae!
i dont think its worth admins time- i mean- what is the big deal?
i have made around 128 posts. i happen to be ill and stuck in bed today, so i have posted maybe 5 posts today- very prolific for me.

its a dodgy area of the board anyhow. i'm starting to wonder what the big deal is.
at the rate you are posting, you'll be in the "200 Club" pretty soon.

peace all
g-girl

Post withdrawn...the decision has obviously already been made.

ahh, ok... by the way i read it i thought that anyone with under 200 posts could not enter that area. if this is the case, no one has any sense in complaining about it. the info is there from members that they can access.

I think maybe some of the opposition to the 200 post count and members losing 200 posts, might be that they were getting close to being a Pooh-Bah. IAt first I didn't care and didn't pay attention to how many post I had. But when I hit 900 or so, I got a little excited because I never thought I would get there. I was getting close to becoming a Grand Pooh-Bah, but it doesn't matter because just being a P/B was okay with me. So, I can understand the dissapointment. If I am wrong then just disregard my post.
Khilee

"Empty vessels make most noise' and all that"

Couldn't agree more.

We can certainly consider changing the number of posts required... but posting in the wrong forum just to avoid this restriction is a fast way to get banned and have those posts deleted

That is the way it is
Unless we made a mistake.... all visitors can read the posts but only registered users with 200, or more, posts can post there...
This is only in the "enter at your own risk" forums... and done to make it harder for shills and crooks to fool all of us...

Also all registered users, no matter how many posts, can report scammers and vendors that need to be added to the blacklist...

Thank you for your support

I think just reducing the count to 100 posts would end this debate rather quickly without compromising any significant security on the board or increasing any more risk to our members.

PK

I agree with the 200 posts, but after being on here since April I find it hard to post if I am in an area on a source that I have no idea about or opinion, and find it hard to believe that someone can get 220 posts in 13 days in every area. Call me out, shackle me up, but geez almighty that is too radical for me. Sorry I am just a quiet older female who looks and reads in hopes someone has my particulars.

I would never go on a posting spree to make 200. JMHO...

you are so right..and i am sure you are not alone in thinking this way..there seems to be a number of ppl that are really in a hurry to rack up the posts..i wonder why that is..

Hey Admin, are there a lot of people that have been members for a few years that are still below 200? I was thinking if there were maybe their seniority could play a role in allowing them to post in that section. just thinking out loud

Me too. 200 is a number without meaning. I've seen scammers post 200 times in 90 days and people with real advice to offer not get there in 6 years. 200 is really arbitrary.

This seems to be the case in more and more posts, not just this one. I've been on this board for close to 5 years but only trusted it enough to register a little over a year ago. And would have loved to become a VIP member but that's closed off. Now if I want to fully participate I have to rack up a bunch of meaningless posts quickly to get there. There are already a couple of threads that are seriously going down the scammer toilet where a lot of people are going to be hurt but I can't post some important info because those posts are now closed off to me until I get to 200.

It is not my intention to tell you how to run your site. Its yours to do what you want. This is just a suggestion and as mentioned above, 100 or 150 would seem more than enough

Why just make it 200 and not 2000 posts instead? Both would be equally effective in disenfranchising members.

"Both would be equally effective in disenfranchising members."

Say that, Pharmakarma! I'll bet the VAST majority of members would rather have the ability to openly communicate (i.e. post) than be protected from a few potential shills. This is classic nanny-state mentality over-reach (as a liberal I should know). The cure is worse than the sickness. Talk about unintended consequences...

I am sort of confused.

The "200 post minimum" to be allowed to post only applies to 3 forums, that still leaves over 50 forums that people can post in regardless of post count.

I am pretty puzzled that this much animosity and controversy has arisen over this decision.

People who have less than 200 posts are still allowed to read these three forums, have had no change in their ability to pm, and no change in their ability to post in approximately 95% of the board.

I am not asking this in a confrontational manner, I am really curious why a decision that affects around 5% of the threads total is so objectionable? Particularly since posting experience in that small percentage of threads is tantamount to admitting you have participated in an illegal transaction, versus one that may or may not be illegal. (I am not passing judgment, it is just an observation).

Well Said Firefairy...

Perhaps because you don't use or even need such sections so maybe you lack the empathy or understanding for those that do? As I said before, veterans don't usually recommend or need to use these types of sources. I don't either but I HAD to. It is the newer people or the folks in a jam, and yes, those WITH MUCH LESS THAN 200 posts, that need to know to participate, not just READ. Sometimes in life you must take EXTREME risks to resolve medical issues, especially when you don't have insurance or a compassionate medical community which understands or will help you.

Now to your quote: "Particularly since posting experience in that small percentage of threads is tantamount to admitting you have participated in an illegal transaction, versus one that may or may not be illegal."

Are you kidding? Virtually EVERY SINGLE IOP is violating the law when they ship any meds without VERY specific DEA approval. This makes your "small percentage of threads" statement almost totally inaccurate IMO.

PK

The posting limitation happens to be at three of the most active forums and where more and more evidence of scamming is showing up. But people with less than 200 posts can not post info there that might keep others from being scammed. 200 is really an arbitrary number with no meaning. And as I understand it, since I can't post there any longer, on the 200 limit site that covered "George" none of the 13 packages that were supposed to arrive Tuesday did. And I'll bet that if not all, most of those 13 people couldn't even let others know and warn them since they didn't have 200 posts.

Same is true at wholesalepharma where we've been cut off and again people with current and probably negative experiences, can't post.

As Admin has pointed out many times, not all posters are within the US. That is one instance in which IOP's may not be illegal.


You must have missed the parts where I stated that I was not being confrontational or judgmental, and was actually curious why the outrage over 3 small forums, when there are still over 50 that people can post in.

I have never been accused till now of lacking empathy for people in pain, and believe me, I understand fully about not having insurance or adequate medical services.
I am at a loss to even grasp how you come to these conclusions based on my post.


As others have noted, those who have desperate need of such services are still more than welcome to read. If someone is scammed, they are still able to post this information in the applicable thread.

I also feel that your assumption that people who have been around a long time and/or have posted over 200 posts never have need of these services is also false.




Admin had to decide an arbitrary number of posts to require for posting privileges in that small (less than 5%) of the board, due to the inordinately large amount of scammers/shills that were attracted to it. Yes, this limits not only those new but those long term people who have not had a lot to say over the years.
However, he felt the line needed to be drawn somewhere.

This does not keep those in desperate need from ordering from these services, only from posting about it if they have not contributed a certain amount. HOWEVER, they are still able to report the services if they feel they need to be blacklisted, and should still be able to pm someone if they feel that their particular knowledge is applicable to a poster's situation.

If you, or the other 13 people, had a bad experience to share, if they ripped you off, or if you want to issue a warning... just post it here: http://www.drugbuyers.com/freeboard/ubbthreads.php/topics/540333/Administrator#Post540333

I agree that we need to make it easyer to report scams... but you have to remember that all the vendors in the "Enter at your own risk" areas are presumed crooked until proven legit...