Classifeds and "New Member" status

[Ludachris]

Back when we started the New Member (previously called Rookie) usergroup, we did so in order to address various issues including:

-people signing up with multiple accounts to sell parts and scam members
-newbie members posting in the wrong forums
-newbie members not researching before they post
-giving members an incentive to contribute in a positive way
-giving members a way to prove themselves to others by contributing

When we made this change, many of our long-time members who had not contributed much in the way of posts were grandfathered in, bypassing the New Member phase of their membership. They were automatically bumped up to Proven Member status, as it was assumed that they'd been members for a long time and should know what we expect.

Well, in an effort to make our Classifieds even more secure, we're now changing that philosophy. Any member that doesn't meet the requirements of being a Proven Member and is posting ads in the Classifieds will be bumped down to New Member status. We feel that using the Classifeds is a privilege that should be granted to those people who are contributing to the site by helping answer tech questions in the forums, not because of their registration date. It isn't fair to all of the new people who have to build up a good reputation in order to use the Classifieds while others don't have to work for it. It also will make our classifieds more secure.

I know some people will not like this, but we feel it's the right thing to do. We've recently made it possible to allow New Members to post WTB ads. Those who are caught trying to post For Sale ads will lose all classifieds privileges. We've also made a change that forces people to login to view the Classified ads. This way, non-members can't just come in and try to scam our members. You must be registered and logged in to view them.