Site navigation not working properly on the GSP mega-threads.

[afantiques]

Anyone noticed that navigation links on the GSP mega-threads are messed up?  In the Questions thread anything after 2300 is unreachable, and in both threads the message listing link goes off to a two year old page.

[00nevermind00 · Accepted solution]

I noticed that too.  I haven't been able to read the most recent questions on the GSP Questions thread.  What good does keeping it open do if no one can answer members' questions?

IMO those two threads have served their purpose and should be locked.  People can start new threads to ask questions.  And we know just how eBay feels about comments from buyers, when even the most sensible suggestions for improving the program from a buyer's standpoint have been superbly ignored.

[marnotom! · Accepted solution]

The "comments" thread appears to be still behaving for me so far, despite it being the longer of the two threads.  On the other hand, the "questions" thread appears to be stuck on page 115 as the last page when I view it.

I used to be able to work around that by changing the page number in my browser's location bar, but now when I change the page from 116 to 115, I'm automatically directed back to page 115.

ADDENDUM:  I stand corrected.  The same thing is happening on the "comments" thread as well.  I do note that on the left side of the page with the "data" on the post and poster are located it says that the last post I can read is "Post 5080 of 5075" or some such.

[pierrelebel]

We have experienced that problem quite often on these threads but it is usually fixed within a few hours.

What causes the problem? 

I think the source of the problem can be traced to newer threads being moved by the moderator into the long threads (Questions or Comments) and/or when posts are pulled by Lithium for whatever reason.

[aleziss]

yes, same thing for me as of december 11 2015... I can't see my latest post about a question on a refund item where I did not receive the pitney bowes part so I lost money in that transaction... trying to see answer in that forum but I can't even find my post and people post who already reply to me !

[dmil8030]

Hello 'aleziss',

<< I can't see my latest post about a question on a refund item where I did not receive the pitney bowes part so

I lost money in that transaction... >>

Do not lose money to Pitney-Bowes, -- ever.  And especially not because of something lame like glitches in the

board system.  Post another query as a separate thread.  You're in the Buyer board, so find where it says New Message,  

and ask your question.  I have a hunch it is about getting back the shipping fee.  

So, . . .  let's have it. 

[00nevermind00]

---

@pierrelebel wrote:

I think the source of the problem can be traced to newer threads being moved by the moderator into the long threads (Questions or Comments) and/or when posts are pulled by Lithium for whatever reason.

---

That would indeed seem to be the problem.  There are large threads elsewhere on the Lithium eBay boards that are still being read and posted to without a problem.

I would say that the time has come to lock those threads and unsticky them.  Especially the Questions one, since the people who are posting to it expect to receive an answer that no one can now give them.  I could access the most recent posts on neither thread yesterday, but this morning I can again read the newest Comments.  The most recent Questions remain out of reach.

Since some people are reluctant to start new threads, or don't know how, a new GSP thread could be started and tacked so that questions can be asked and answered, and comments left.

I'm an administrator on a non-eBay message board and all I can say is that any thread as messy as those two would have been dealt with a long time ago!

One suggestion I can make to anyone who has a problem with the GSP (not a gripe about the costs): If you have a Facebook account, post about your problem on Pitney Bowes' Facebook group page. Wrong item received, no item received, item damaged in transit or at the distribution center, tracking number not tracking anything, GSP portion of payment not refunded in case of a problem, etc. Spare no details. Doesn't matter if it's eBay's or PB's problem. We know that eBay doesn't care the least bit about the problems buyers experience with the GSP but maybe, just maybe, PB will want to improve their experience and maybe, just maybe, they will lean on eBay. It won't hurt and maybe it will even do some good.

[reallynicestamps]

There is a workaround.

Click on the name of the last responder over on the far right of the thread name.

That takes you to a list of all the questions the responder has answered.

Click on the GSP thread name.

You now have the last response and can scroll back up to the earlier questions and responses.

[marnotom!]

---

@reallynicestamps wrote:

There is a workaround.

Click on the name of the last responder over on the far right of the thread name.

That takes you to a list of all the questions the responder has answered.

Click on the GSP thread name.

You now have the last response and can scroll back up to the earlier questions and responses.

---

This worked for me on the "Comments" thread but not the "Questions" thread.  On the latter, I was still taken to the end of the page before the last one.

Thanks, though!

[pierrelebel]

" On the latter, I was still taken to the end of the page before the last one."

Same for me.

The problem is with Lithium and they are not doing anything to solve it.

[dmil8030 · Accepted solution]

<< In the Questions thread anything after 2300 is unreachable,>>

I keep checking to see if it us up and rolling along again, but so far I am unable to see anything after that 

Dec 8th post of 2300.  Other users continue to post because we can see their names but when we click on it

all we see is 2300.  The 'workaround' doesn't work for me, but I'm never sure if things like that are a system fault 

or because I have a cheap computer.

I don't see why the Discussion Boards could not have been set up with a whole GSP section.  Those 2-only

Q & C threads are getting waaaay too long, and they are helpful and useful for new users but when those

same users cannot find their posts for all the mess, that is not very helpful at all.

What we don't need is a User to User section which is a redundancy, - it's all user-to-user help in one form or other.

That space would have been better taken up by a Global Shipping Program Questions & Comments board.

Sure, there would be endless repetition in the themes of the posts.  But the other boards are all that way:

"Buyer didn't pay, Unfair negative, How do I block, 6 months and no item, Where's my replacement, . . . . . . "

Well, that's my opinion anyway.  If I'm griping about little nothings I've probably got too much spare time. 

[00nevermind00]

As of this morning, the last posts on the Comments thread are no longer accessible for me.

I'm heading over to the weekly board chat session to mention this problem.

[afantiques]

Same here, none of the workarounds work today.

[00nevermind00]

---

@00nevermind00 wrote:

I'm heading over to the weekly board chat session to mention this problem.

---

Here is Rodney's reply to my question about the two threads:

Thanks for flagging this. It looks like the threads have become so massive that they are breaking. I'll flag this with Lithium and see if they can do something about it.

It's not much but it's better than nothing.  If eBay asks the Lithium people to work on this, maybe something actually will happen...

Is anyone here holding their breath?

I think the only "something" that can be done about it is to lock those threads so that people no longer post questions/comments with the expectation that they will receive a reply.

[pocomocomputing]

I read in the eBay.com forums that Lithium did some maintenance on their boards in the past week and broke the boards with some strange things happening. It was fixed after a day or so. So I will speculate that lithium may have broken the GSP mega-topics with maintenance here in the ebay.ca forums since it was at the same time. No other issues other than the mega-topics.

But it may not be related since the mega-topics have broken a few times in the past too.

As suggested by others ()and a few times over the years), perhaps the GSP topics should be in a separate GSP forum and individual topics kept instead of merging into mega-topics.  I suppose it has to do with all the bad publicity topics generate on the GSP.  Google would index them all for potential buyers to see. No one can possibly read and navigate the mega topics because of their length and disjointed flow of merged topics.

So the only other solution is to close the mega topics and start new mega topics.

[00nevermind00]

Both threads are now working properly for me. I could even access the most recent posts the normal way, without the usual runaround.

Looks like they were fixed by the Lithium mods. I'm impressed, since I expected them to do nothing.

[dmil8030]

<the GSP topics should be in a separate GSP forum and individual topics kept instead of merging into mega-topics. >>

Yes, yes, yes!  I cannot believe after all this time it has not been done, nor can I see any valid reason for not setting up 

just such a section.  Sure, sometimes people will post an obvious GSP-related question in the wrong place, but a single 

query could be easily moved to the GSP board.

<< No one can possibly read and navigate the mega topics because of their length and disjointed flow of merged topics.>>

Exactly!  And the people who most require easily accessed information (a string of replies from other users) are often 

new or fairly new and thus are further handicapped by the difficulty in finding it.  

I'm all for lumping GSP posts into one pot, -- but a topic forum, not this ridiculously long multi-query mega-thread.

Or did ebay originally imagine there would be little discussion about it? 

[pocomocomputing]

The only reason for not having a forum for the GSP is that eBay would not like the hundreds (thousands?) of individual topics in a GSP forum. Nothing but complaints day in day out for 3+ years. I think having mega-topics sort of hides them or at least frustrates new would be complainers of the GSP which is why eBay keeps. Supposedly the purpose of the mega-topics was to keep all GSP topics in one place for eBay staff to review. But I doubt even eBay staff can make out the mess of the mega topics.

But I think it would be better. Get a couple of member to post a couple of well thought out topics on the GSP and pin them o the top of the forum and lock them with the facts and with solutions to handle common situations. And perhaps unlock them to add relevant info as it changes. Now that would be a service to buyers for the users of the GSP.

So simple to think out a rational plan like this but maybe too simple for eBay.

[afantiques]

The 'message listing' link at the bottom of the page is still sending me off to random pages.

[dmil8030]

Hello 'pocomocomputing', 

<< eBay would not like the hundreds (thousands?) of . . .complaints day in day out for 3+ years.>>  

*laffs*  Quite so.   But then, if they were to fix the problems and had the system better integrated to 

accommodate issues such as returns, there wouldn't be quite so much outrage.

Indignation over the costs, naturally, haha, . . . but imagine if filing a GSP case was easy.

<<Supposedly the purpose of the mega-topics was to keep all GSP topics in one place for eBay staff to review.>>

Well they certainly have lots of information if they ever get an inkling to do anything about the troubles.  No secret 

what the snags are, as these same issues come up several times a week.

<< post a couple of well thought out topics on the GSP and pin them o the top of the forum>>

Yes, and title them something like, "Is your GSP item not as described?", or "Did you receive a damaged GSP item?", 

and then, "Has your GSP item not arrived?", -- or whatever, . . . something along those lines with step-by-step 

easily explained goof-proof instructions on how to file a claim for GSP problems.

I still think it would be best in a GSP forum with a how-to post pinned to the top.  There will always be endless gripes

about the program, just as there are endless whines about ebay fees and unpaid items on the seller boards.  

20 years on and that hasn't changed a bit and everyone feels their situation is so unique as to require an entire topic

thread all of its own.

And why not, I see no harm in that.  People like personalization.  But with a GSP board that features the key 'how to' 

queries at the top and remains open to whatever rants people wish to politely post, well, it does add a level of social 

interaction which is nice.

Maybe if there is enough complaining about it ebay will do something.  I mean the thread/board problem, - I doubt 

they care enough to be bothered doing anything to ameliorate the problems with the program itself.

Harrrumphh.  I probably need a cup of tea.