Midas02:

I have watched with utter dismay as the contents and character of this brilliant forum has metamorphosed and changed over the last 2 years! What I have witnessed is a gradual but relentless take-over of all available real estate, space and thread by commercial entities and auto dealers like the notorious and infamous Water Hyacinth plant that invaded the waterways of Lagos a few years ago. The number of dealers and sellers on the site has grown exponentially to the point where any factual enquiries, interesting discussion or even a hint of intelligent dialogue has become a rare sight! - mostly being choked and squeezed out of life long before others can even see it OR join in.

The relentless onslaught of these sellers has been further enhanced by a mannerless and nasty commercially induced trickery, whereby their advertised ware(thread) is relentlessly and callously "Bumped up" every few hours so as to ensure that they are always on the front page at all times to the detriment of all other discussions and threads! These days when you come to Nairaland’s Auto section you can be rest assured that all you will see are the same few dominant sellers and aggressive dealers who are each pushing several threads all at the same time and a few other lesser sellers who are also fighting for exposure. Outside of that, nothing intelligent or inspiring is seen - I am sure that was not the intent and vision of the creator and host. I am also sure we can do things in a much more civilized way!

When I joined the Auto section, I was both interested in the forums potential for business and the wonderful opportunity it presented for rubbing minds with like-minded people with whom I shared mutual interests. I was one of the dealers who started the PRE-ORDER saga and I am sad to see what it has become! However, I must confess that it doesn't come to me as a surprise though. I actually saw this coming a long way off and decided to withdraw my commercial activities from Nairaland altogether as I could not afford to get mixed up with the shenanigan, drama and scandal that was surely inevitable! My name is worth more to me than Gold!

I want to applaud and show gratitude to the founder, creator and host of this website. For his generous spirit, vision, patience and consistency – you are appreciated! It is unfortunate that we Naijas have a way of taking the joy out of anything and everything! Give them a yard they will take a mile! Once we discover a window, we will exploit it brazenly, abuse it and demean it until the window of opportunity is forced to close! This attitude which is induced by greed is our hallmark, our unchanging mentality and it represents and exposes our warped values! Preservation and conservation is simply not in our DNA! We always kill the goose that lays the golden egg – and it is unfortunate……. VERY UNFORTUNATE!

mastro:

It was suggested a while ago that the sales be separated, I for one think this is teh way to go. Could someone who has the ear of the Moderator and or Owner please reach out to them, it's got to the stage where it is pretty pointless to start a discussion since it will generally disappear.


As a good example I found this topic on page 3,


Mods the ball is on your court O,

i think seun has long found a solution to this problem by creating a seperate website for adverts: www.nairalist.com  but i'm sure that site is largely underutilised as most people still prefer to post car sales on the autos section. call it force of habit, maybe?

The relentless onslaught of these sellers has been further enhanced by a mannerless and nasty commercially induced trickery, whereby their advertised ware(thread) is relentlessly and callously "Bumped up" every few hours so as to ensure that they are always on the front page at all times to the detriment of all other discussions and threads! These days when you come to Nairaland’s Auto section you can be rest assured that all you will see are the same few dominant sellers and aggressive dealers who are each pushing several threads all at the same time and a few other lesser sellers who are also fighting for exposure.

Midas, what you've said is very true.

I'm actually more interested in technical debates, bulletins, "how to's" and current and past projects. I did carry out a project, and allowed Nairalanders to follow its progress here, that was way back in 2008. I have since tried to raise awareness in other sides of the Auto section, to let members know there's more to this section than just selling cars, and offering services. I think the Nigerian culture however, doesn't allow for the fostering of topics that don't offer a direct gain, or interest.

I am starting a new project, and would love to chronicle its progress here once more - the previous one was pretty successful, and drew members from other sections, who generally didn't post in the Auto section. Reason? It was something different, something everyone could share in. Not every visitor here is going to buy a car! I also have a lot of other material I'd like to share on here, a "how to" series, that covers everything from a routine service, timing belt replacement, clutch replacement, aircon re-gas through to full-on projects covering car builds and customising, including upgrades and engine / transmission transplants.

But, is Nairaland ready for this?