Our forum comes with an in-built Lounge section that is only accessible to users who meet certain criteria.
These criteria are things how many times you visit the forums, read and comment on posts and how many likes your posts receive over 100 days. The Lounge is a sort of reward for “frequent forum fliers” and is a private section which members are invited to when they reach ‘Regular’ user status (otherwise known as Trust Level 3). This status is not granted manually by Folksy, it’s automatic based on your activity over a long period of time.
However, the Lounge section has never really been used very much and quite a few of you have posted to say you’re not very happy about its exclusive and eliteness, and don’t feel it’s very ‘Folksy’. I spoke to the lovely @sianfolksy about it (she’s away on maternity leave at the moment) and she thinks we might be able to remove it if that’s what the most people want. She also suggested we could look at creating a private section where sellers could discuss any sensitive information, although we’d need to check with the forum provider to see if that’s possible.
So it would be really useful if you could let me know your thoughts. Would you like to keep the Lounge open, do you have any objections if we remove it, and do you think a private section for discussing sensitive issues would be a good idea?
Happy to see it go - couldn’t ever really see the point of it anyway. A sellers only area might be useful for discussing things that perhaps we wouldn’t want our buyers to see - crafting disasters, pricing issues, problems with orders etc.
Yes I agree, the Lounge section should be removed. A separate section that all folksy sellers can use to ask about and discuss sensitive issues seems like a good idea.
Both sound like a good idea. I have been following the discussion with interest over the last few days. I rarely post but do read. I suddenly don’t have access to read the discussion which I guess has been moved into the lounge or maybe closed/limited? Remove the lounge and aim for a private sellers area.
I’ve never seen the point of The Lounge, so would be happy to see it go.
And would love to see a sellers only section - it would be great to ask for help on things like pricing, etc, privately. After all, I’m sure bricks and mortar shops have private discussion on pricing, marketing strategies etc that don’t have to take place in public.
I can’t see any need at all for the lounge. As set, the parameters are pretty meaningless, most people have not been aware of its existence anyway so you might as well just close it down.
Thanks for popping in on a Sunday xx
I don’t have strong feelings about the lounge but would like to see a sellers-only area for the private discussion of topics such as those mentioned by others. Thanks
I agree…I don’t mind either way as far as the lounge goes. I don’t think it gets used much anyway.
I private area for sellers definitely seems like a good idea.
I’m with the majority of posters to this thread - never really saw the point of The Lounge, and it was always going to cause a rift between sellers with its exclusivity.
I’m not bothered one way for other about the Lounge as it was never set up by Folksy just something that came when Foksy bought in the Forums software.
However I do believe we require a Private area where sellers can discuss more sensitive issues without making them open to the whole world and his uncle to read.
I agree as well. I think that many of the problems that arose recently were because most of us didn’t even know there was a lounge because we didn’t have access (and were a bit shocked when we found out) and the few people that did have access thought that far more of us were able to use it than was the case.
But getting rid of it prevents such problems arising again.
A sellers only area would be good. Bearing in mind that many of us sellers are also Folksy buyers anyway
