Disappearing deals?

LGreenGuava on 16/09/2009 - 23:42
Last edited 16/09/2009 - 23:43

I'm just wondering why it is that some bargains just disappear off the face of the internet? For example, I received a deal for some free Abe's Bagel Crisps (http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/16791) via the OzBargain RSS, which I thought was quite a good freebie. However when I tried to go back to the deal I found that the link had since been updated to redirected me to an 'Access Denied' message.

I understand that some deals may break the rules and need to be moderated/removed, however it is a little frustrating and confusing for the end user to find that such deals to have been removed without any official notice or reason.

Personally, I think a little transparency in moderation (ie instead of showing us 'Access Denied', maybe we could be redirected to a deletion reason instead etc) would go a long way in helping deal posters understand why their deals might be inappropriate, as well as give us end users a bit of an indication as to why seemingly valid deals are removed.

Other than that, this is a great site so keep up all the good work. :)

Site Discussion

closed Comments

  • scotty on 17/09/2009 - 00:07

    For the "free" Abe’s Bagel Crisps, it is actually a competition (answer a few short questions to enter in a draw, and 1 in 5 will win, etc). From the posting guideline, competitions should not be posted on OzBargain, thus the removal.

    I agree on being more transparent on moderation. In fact the moderators have put the comments on the deal before removing it, but the comments are only visible by the OP and other moderators (which is a bit useless if you follow the link from somewhere else). This will be rectified in the future.

    • GreenGuava on 17/09/2009 - 00:17

      Ahh, thank you for clarifying the issue regarding the Bagels deal. Going by the RSS summary ("A friend sent it to me, you fill in your details, answer a couple of questions and they will send you 2 packs of bagels") I thought it was a true freebie. I must try to read things more thoroughly!

      Anyhow, thank you for replying and for taking on board my suggestion. Hopefully it will be implemented in some way or form in the near future. Cheers :)

    • HueyData on 17/09/2009 - 08:28

      In fact the moderators have put the comments on the deal before removing it, but the comments are only visible by the OP and other moderators (which is a bit useless if you follow the link from somewhere else).

      This is generally sufficient as it provides the necessary information for the OP regarding why the post was unpublished. It is less than ideal for notifying others of what has happened, but most people should be able to deduce that the deal was invalid and removed, and move along.

      My suggestion: the title and submission details should be retained, but all description, URLs and comments hidden. The comment unpublishing system could be applied to deal unpublishing, so that moderators would be able to provide the reason and optionally a URL (e.g. links for duplicates) that could be seen by the general readership.

      • GreenGuava on 17/09/2009 - 13:22

        My suggestion: the title and submission details should be retained, but all description, URLs and comments hidden. The comment unpublishing system could be applied to deal unpublishing, so that moderators would be able to provide the reason and optionally a URL (e.g. links for duplicates) that could be seen by the general readership.

        That sounds like an ideal solution. I'm sure the mods aren't removing deals maliciously, but giving up-front deletion reasons would be a positive step in dispelling that kind of thinking as well as improving moderation transparency and user knowledge of the rules in place.

      • Davo1111 on 17/09/2009 - 20:51

        tbh huey - there are only a very few occasions where its not-obvious they break the t&cs. If worst came to worse a simple note on the forums would clear up any confusion (in these rare occasions)

  • samfisher5986 on 17/09/2009 - 18:14

    I swear the free bagels wasn't a competition when I saw it. It looks like they changed it, maybe….

  • bluedufflecoat on 17/09/2009 - 19:16

    Yeah, it didn't look like a competition to me either … will see if any of those bagels arrive in the mail.

    • scotty on 17/09/2009 - 22:36

      That would be a badly executed promotion I guess. They might have it as a freebie first, and then when it got onto OzBargain which generated 760+ clicks in less than 3 hours, they thought "D'oh! OMG we don't have enough bagels!!!" and turned it into a competition…

      Still, sorry for those who came a bit late. It is now a competition and is not allowed to be posted on OzBargain.

  • kevst on 17/09/2009 - 23:05

    On this stream,

    What happened to the 9289 16GB USB offer for $25?
    It seems to have disappeared without a trace?

    The offer still there [the item, I admit is poorly described].
    It still way cheaper than anything on staticice.

    Qe Pasa?

    K

    • HueyData on 17/09/2009 - 23:35

      The deal was unpublished due to improper conduct by 9289.

  • applebyte on 17/09/2009 - 23:25

    What happened to my COTD post about the pressure cooker sale?

  • HueyData on 17/09/2009 - 23:38

    This forum topic is for general discussion about the functioning of the website.

    Please take any enquiries about specific deals to the Talk with a Moderator forum, rather than here.

  • scotty on 18/09/2009 - 00:11

    Yup. Sounds like I have to shift that functionality "Clearer & more visible notification on why a deal is unpublished" towards to the top of my todo list.

    I am closing this thread — do what Huey said if you have more issues with unpublished deals.

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