Seeking feedback: Should e-books that are always free be posted as deals?

moocher on 12/07/2014 - 09:24
Last edited 23/07/2014 - 12:21

We are seeking community input on free e-books, specifically those that are always free.

Our deal posting guidelines currently state that software programs, services and websites that are always free should be posted in the forums.

When a deal for an e-book that is always free is posted, the moderators receive a lot of reports that it should be posted in the forums. At the same time, these deals can be very popular as shown by the votes.

Examples:

So are e-books that are/will always be free deals, or should they be in the forums? From the reports and votes, it seems that the community is mixed on opinion but we need to be consistent. Let's hear your thoughts so we can come up with workable guidelines.

Note that we accept that e-books that are free for a limited time are deals, similar to software/services that are free for a limited time.

If you vote other, please explain what that means in the comments.

Update: From the poll is looks like the preference is for such deals to be in the forum. Thanks for the votes.

Poll Options expired

  • 0
    Post e-books that are always free as a deal
  • 19
    Post e-books that are always free in the forum
  • 1
    Other
Site Discussion

Comments

  • tightarse on 12/07/2014 - 12:52

    I've voted other, as this is a really tough call.

    I personally believe any eBook that is always free should be allowed to be posted as long as there's a printed (hard copy) counterpart that costs money. The poster should perhaps provide a link to that book. There's a lot of Amazon eBooks posted as deals that have cost $0 from publication date, even though they have a digital list price, and no hard copy equivalent.

    Having said that, who's going to argue over deals like this, this & this where the books have always been free (I don't believe there are printed copies available of these), but hiding them in forums serves no good to anyone.

    Maybe the best solution is to just automate the process and allow the community to decide if an eBook post is a deal or a forum topic. ie. if someone posts an eBook deal that has always been free, and the deal gets x votes in x time, then allow it to remain a deal. If not, it's automatically moved to forums after said time. Popularity should perhaps be considered?

    Just my 2 cents. TA.

    • moocher on 14/07/2014 - 16:45
      +1

      Thanks TA for the thoughtful feedback.

      One problem with deciding on deal or forum based on votes in initial time period is that it doesn't work well in situations where moderators are not online. It would need to be manual because moderators need to check whether the e-book is always free etc.

      As you say there are no easy answers. I get the feeling that the reason people want to see things as deals is because the forums are less visible/less frequented, rather than because the forum area is 'wrong' place for such posts.

  • moocher on 23/07/2014 - 12:20

    Based on the poll it seems that most OzBargainers prefer such posts in the forums. Thanks for the votes.

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