[META] Please stop posting "Great Finds" without reseraching

[SamirD]

To be fair, there are going to be a lot of new members of the community here and simply calling a find "great" may be slightly misleading.
Many members might not know what exactly is great about the item and make some assumptions on what makes it great; sometimes it is still not easy to see something's value despite research.

Most of the posts in the "Great Finds" section of the forum simply contain the link in the OP without any sort of description.
Considering the lackluster descriptions of items in eBay listings, it would be nice if the OP were to type out a synopsis listing the good and bad qualities of the item.

For instance:

Cherry G81-1236
Pros:
-Attractive industrial grey NCR top case with off-white bottom
-Like new Cherry doubleshot keycaps compatible with MX switches and known to be of extremely high quality

Cons:
-Keycaps are UK ISO with a winkeyless bottom row and stepped caps; a relatively uncommon layout not found in most modern boards
-G81 keyboards use Cherry MY switches; these are considered to be extremely terrible and useless
-For use with normal Cherry switches, a G80-3000 PCB, or replica PCB must be transplanted

Something like that would be useful.
Perhaps a comment about the pricing of the listing should also be mentioned.
I do agree that the effort put into how "Great Finds" posts are structured is fairly lacking right now.

Since one of the most important factors in making a find 'great' is the value based on the price, I always include that.  And my rule of thumb is that if it's not more than a 30% discount off of the cheapest you can find otherwise, it's not really a great deal.

[ander]

Look, guys, before you expect people to take what you're saying seriously, consider:

• Not everyone has that kind of detailed knowledge yet. Indeed, that may be why they've come here. Even new members want to try to be of some value while they learn from the rest of us. I think that's great and that we shouldn't inhibit them. There is a lot of crap out there that's not obviously crap. While it may seem annoying to some of you, bringing it up here is a great way to learn about it—assuming you can get polite and helpful feedback, not just shortsighted criticism. I've sure learned a lot that way.

• Even experienced members don't always have the time to type out the volume of detail you're referring to.

• If there's anything questionable about something here, most of us either know enough to add any missing points, or to post questions about it. I don't think there's much danger of someone seeing something here, rushing off and buying it, then feeling they were mislead. I can't remember actually seeing that happen, at least.

• If something really is a Great Find, and it's BIN—as you apparently prefer—the faster someone can post about it here, the less likely it'll be snapped up before they can tell us about it. Setting these kinds of requirements for Pros and Cons, etc., will either delay that process, or make the potential poster think, "Aah, why bother?" (I've had these feelings myself, especially after being pounced on for sharing something with good intentions.)

Frankly, it sounds to me like you're being somewhat picky and demanding. Maybe a bit controlling, too.

What's really important here? Trying to be strict about what people post, or encouraging them (that is, not discouraging them) to share potentially great stuff we wouldn't know about otherwise?

[E TwentyNine]

If someone wants to improve the quality of the posts here, be the change you want to see.  Make better posts.  Beat the person making sub-par posts to the punch.

Contribute.

[hwood34]

Look, guys, before you expect people to take what you're saying seriously, consider:

• Not everyone has that kind of detailed knowledge yet. Indeed, that may be why they've come here. Even new members want to try to be of some value while they learn from the rest of us. I think that's great and that we shouldn't inhibit them. There is a lot of crap out there that's not obviously crap. While it may seem annoying to some of you, bringing it up here is a great way to learn about it—assuming you can get polite and helpful feedback, not just shortsighted criticism. I've sure learned a lot that way.

If there is ever something I might buy that I don't have information on, I post in Simple Questions, because it fits there. Not here.

• Even experienced members don't always have the time to type out the volume of detail you're referring to.

• If something really is a Great Find, and it's BIN—as you apparently prefer—the faster someone can post about it here, the less likely it'll be snapped up before they can tell us about it. Setting these kinds of requirements for Pros and Cons, etc., will either delay that process, or make the potential poster think, "Aah, why bother?" (I've had these feelings myself, especially after being pounced on for sharing something with good intentions.)

Frankly, it sounds to me like you're being somewhat picky and demanding. Maybe a bit controlling, too.

So people really can't take at most a minute out of their day to ensure what they're posting really is a "great find" and give some insight into why? And like that minute is often going to make a difference?

What's really important here? Trying to be strict about what people post, or encouraging them (that is, not discouraging them) to share potentially great stuff we wouldn't know about otherwise?

If they know it's great, post it here. If they think it might be but aren't sure or need more information, ask somewhere that isn't here.

[jonathanyu]

Just my opinion, I think the name of this section should change to interesting finds instead of great finds.

The description of this section:

interesting deals/listing/etc at your favorite online retailer or auction site (eBay, Amazon, NewEgg, etc)

it said nothing like "great deal" or "great keyboard at cheap price".
Some stuff on ebay, amazon,etc may not interest you, but it may interest someone else.

I agree there are some post of "great finds" are quite annoying because those are not great finds at all, but I don't see those post hurting this section. I don't think someone would buy something just because it is posted here.

[HoffmanMyster]

Look, guys, before you expect people to take what you're saying seriously, consider:

• Not everyone has that kind of detailed knowledge yet. Indeed, that may be why they've come here. Even new members want to try to be of some value while they learn from the rest of us. I think that's great and that we shouldn't inhibit them. There is a lot of crap out there that's not obviously crap. While it may seem annoying to some of you, bringing it up here is a great way to learn about it—assuming you can get polite and helpful feedback, not just shortsighted criticism. I've sure learned a lot that way.

If there is ever something I might buy that I don't have information on, I post in Simple Questions, because it fits there. Not here.

• Even experienced members don't always have the time to type out the volume of detail you're referring to.

• If something really is a Great Find, and it's BIN—as you apparently prefer—the faster someone can post about it here, the less likely it'll be snapped up before they can tell us about it. Setting these kinds of requirements for Pros and Cons, etc., will either delay that process, or make the potential poster think, "Aah, why bother?" (I've had these feelings myself, especially after being pounced on for sharing something with good intentions.)

Frankly, it sounds to me like you're being somewhat picky and demanding. Maybe a bit controlling, too.

So people really can't take at most a minute out of their day to ensure what they're posting really is a "great find" and give some insight into why? And like that minute is often going to make a difference?

What's really important here? Trying to be strict about what people post, or encouraging them (that is, not discouraging them) to share potentially great stuff we wouldn't know about otherwise?

If they know it's great, post it here. If they think it might be but aren't sure or need more information, ask somewhere that isn't here.

All great points.  If you're not sure of the potential value an item might hold to someone, it's best to ask elsewhere before posting. 

And a good guideline would be to explain the value / why you're posting something in the OP (unless it's really obvious I suppose - but if you're posting a cheap board with bad caps/switches that's only good for the case, maybe mention that).

[SamirD]

So people really can't take at most a minute out of their day to ensure what they're posting really is a "great find" and give some insight into why? And like that minute is often going to make a difference?

Yes, it can.  I've made flights with less than a minute to spare.  And when GH is one of my only outlets for my keyboard interest (and that's a part of my life) posting here can be as important as a flight.  Sometimes the balance requires cutting a few corners.  (I usually just don't post until I can, but sometimes I get interrupted and have to post what I've got.)

[SamirD]

Just my opinion, I think the name of this section should change to interesting finds instead of great finds.

The description of this section:

interesting deals/listing/etc at your favorite online retailer or auction site (eBay, Amazon, NewEgg, etc)

it said nothing like "great deal" or "great keyboard at cheap price".
Some stuff on ebay, amazon,etc may not interest you, but it may interest someone else.

I agree there are some post of "great finds" are quite annoying because those are not great finds at all, but I don't see those post hurting this section. I don't think someone would buy something just because it is posted here.

I think this is an excellent idea.  It broadens the field of posting and gives us 'interesting' deals  as well as ones to buy.

[E TwentyNine]

So people really can't take at most a minute out of their day to ensure what they're posting really is a "great find" and give some insight into why? And like that minute is often going to make a difference?

You're complaining about people who take the time at all to post a great find that they're not taking enough time?

If they know it's great, post it here. If they think it might be but aren't sure or need more information, ask somewhere that isn't here.

Nope.  If they think it might be great, post it here.  I'd rather have some not-so-great finds that miss one that is.  The threads that aren't great will die quickly and the good ones will rise to the top.

[fohat.digs]

I'd rather have some not-so-great finds that miss one that is. 
The threads that aren't great will die quickly and the good ones will rise to the top.

This is my feeling.

Although I can sympathize with someone trying to win an auction on the cheap if fewer people notice it, this is a public service thread.

[1391406]

In my opinion, if you don't know whether something is a 'great' find, do a bit of research and/or inquire about it in one of the other sections before posting it here. If it turns out to be great, go ahead and post it.

[nubbinator]

I don't care if they aren't great deals if they're uncommon.

What does annoy me is that 90% of the deals being listed in here are just deals yanked from the front page of slickdeals.net and they're not deals people dug up.

[SamirD]

I don't care if they aren't great deals if they're uncommon.

What does annoy me is that 90% of the deals being listed in here are just deals yanked from the front page of slickdeals.net and they're not deals people dug up.

But if it's a good deal/something of interest, what does it matter where it comes from?