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re: Not much junk on BM
I would have to say the browsing function is a major contributor to hampering use of the site and adding to people's perceptions of "junk" books. It's been a topic of discussion for long time that the subject classifications are horrible and pretty much useless. I don't think importing information from outside BM is going to fix the problems, since we're using Amazon's classifications already. Personally, I like Amazon's system of allowing users to add "tags" to books, and then making everyone's tags searchable. Certainly that would be an easy change to program. And/or, you could add a pull-down checkbox/checklist of subjects. As users tag or classify books, the system becomes progressively more useful, and doesn't require maintenance or input by administration. 10,000 people putting in data (or however many users we have) beats any other system I can think of.
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E Thayer
2 years ago
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re: Charitable Fund for Angels
Thank you for setting this up. I probably won't directly benefit from it, as I have my hands too full with regular mooch activity to angel, but I'm all for anything that keeps BookMooch the friendly and generous community it is today.
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E Thayer
2 years ago
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re: End of +.1 for leaving feedback
What about requiring the addition of condition notes in order to get the .1 point for adding a new book? That would kill two birds with one stone -- fewer points given out, and people listing condition notes would be more likely. I also like the idea of a pull-down rubric for condition, and the idea of capping the number of points someone can acquire for new inventory. It seems like five or ten points would be adequate to encourage newbies to get more involved.
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E Thayer
2 years ago
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re: Points policy change thoughts
I think it would be fair to everyone and lessen the problem incrementally to remove all the .1 point credits. I think new BookMoochers should definitely still get a leg up by getting that first point for putting in ten books. I just joined PaperBackSwap to broaden the pool of swappers I trade with, and they actually give their newbies two credits for the first ten books, which has to be part of the reason that swap site is doing well. I think anything that will attract new members is good policy. I also noticed that they have very clear guidelines about what is acceptable to post for trade, right on the first page where you can't miss it, and they are much stricter than BM. I'm not saying that's good -- I just had two books mooched today that wouldn't have met PBS's standards -- but it might attract people who have quality concerns about used products. That seems to be part of the American psyche. I would encourage you to keep the 2-out 3-in policy for international mooches, but set up a donation account to help ease the economic pressure the international bonuses create. That would also give people who want to give back to BookMooch, but are maybe low on cash, a way to make a useful difference in the BM economy. It probably wouldn't get 40,000 points donated each year, but whatever it did get would help. Some is better than none.
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E Thayer
2 years ago
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re: Downtime fun
> I only wish the date requested was on our wishlists so I could see which ones have pended for a long time.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I think that is a really great idea. I'd love to have inventory dated, too, so I could pull the ones that have sat untouched (unwanted?) for three years or more. I've adapted by labeling my books with the year listed on a small white sticker on the spine. I don't like adding things like that to my books, but we were overwhelmed with books here and there and everywhere, and which were for what and whose. Desperate times call for desperate measures?
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E Thayer
2 years ago
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re: Downtime fun
>any of you notice yourself checkin out the books behind people being interviewed on the t.v.? My TV isn't hi-def enough for me to do that. I do however, covet the bookshelves I see on sets. (Long time forum members know this. I've confessed before.)
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E Thayer
2 years ago
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re: Downtime fun
Ha! I thought of more too. You know your spouse is addicted to BookMooch when you get unexpected "you have mooched this book" emails... and he's at work. You know your spouse is addicted to BookMooch when the first thing he does when he gets home is ask "Where's the mail? What'd we get?" even before kissing you hello. You know your spouse is addicted to BookMooch when the largest folder in his 'Bookmarks' file is just one type of BookMooch page. BTW Ann-Marie... that's the name of DH's imaginary French girlfriend. Thought you might get a kick out of that. I'll have to correct him that you're actually from Sweden. ;)
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E Thayer
2 years ago
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re: Downtime fun
You know your spouse is addicted to BookMooch when you have to change and hide the password because he keeps taking your overextended account off vacation to mooch more books! (I love him, but he's not the one that does the outbound shipping.)
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E Thayer
2 years ago
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