Re: READ THIS FIRST - Rules for using the trading forum!
As one who was heavily involved in trading, I'm not thrilled about the changes here and haven't participated in any trades since the change. I don't agree that this makes trading easier. I do agree that it makes tracking tradeworthiness easier (although I'm not sure how it will prevent longstanding members with large +rep from causing...anomalies, as we have seen happen lately.)
The thing I liked about the old thread was that I could subscribe to one thread and be notified immediately when somebody made an update or offered new items or wanted new items. The new system requires me to sort through numerous threads or subscribe to every thread in the subforum to watch for changes. Additionally, I'm not really notified if a new thread is created, unless I subscribe to the daily digest message.
So here is my suggestion: how about adding a "Trade Announcement" thread. As is current practice, each person creates and maintains their own individual trade thread. When User X creates his/her trade thread or updates his/her Haves or Wants in User X's own thread, User X is also permitted to post in the Announcment Thread. This post will consist of nothing more than "Created/Updated my list" and a link to their individual thread. Create some rules around how frequently User X is permitted to post in the Announcement Thread and away we go. Now I can subscribe to one thread and be notified whenever anybody changes their Haves/Wants.
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