What's up with that?

I have no problem with Audiogon charging a percentage of a sale, they provide a valuable service to the audio community. However, it would be very desirable to regain the ability to email members as we could in the past. The sense of community among audiophiles is vital to maintain in the audio world's evolving retail landscape. I for one one do not like posting email addresses on an open forum page for the simple reason that harvest bots are a PITA. Yeah, we can alter the address to foil the lazy bots, but I still don't care for doing it.

Mitch2, this isn't just about contacting people about ads. I don't even look at the ads anymore (too much temptation :)). I remember being able to take a discussion offline with a member, to go into more details or to warn them of other's agendas (there are sharks in the water). 90% of my contacting members was for discussion threads, not sales ads.

That's the part I miss, when reading the forums I used to be able to just click on a members name and send them an note offline.

Communication between members is an elemental part of being a community.

I too, don't know how this thread has gone as long as it has since I posted right after Swampwaters first post and it never made it to print. It went something like: It was too onerous a step to take.

All the best,
Nonoise

I agree with Mitch2. Just charge a flat fee for listing. Lose the percent fee. Problem solved.

I miss being able to contact members outside the forums, but I'm not willing to pay an annual fee to do so.