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EBay Revamps Its Discussion Boards

EBay Revamps Its Discussion Boards




EBay recently redesigned its discussion boards, announcing it on October 27. In eyeballing the page with the discussions, what struck me was it seemed to be very streamlined, with fewer topics on the top level, including fewer of the category discussion boards which I had found very helpful.

In announcing the change, eBay explained, "The Community discussion boards have been a staple of the eBay marketplace since the beginning. The boards have evolved with us, but in recent years, they’ve lacked important features that you’ve told us you want. Today, we deliver those new features:

    "A more personalized experience that serves up the content and conversations that are most relevant to you.
    "A recognition program that rewards your valuable contributions via ranks and badges
    "Enhanced user profiles that allow community members to quickly see the person behind the post, enabling more transparent interactions and meaningful connections.
    "A knowledge base built by you – our community members – featuring user-generated content curated by the Community team.
   "More engagement from eBay employees across the company - weighing in on relevant conversations."

The top level of the Community boards is now more graphic in its interface; there are featured discussions for Seller News and the Weekly Discussion with eBay Staff. On a positive note, there are also a list of "Popular Discussions" on the top level, and eBay is rewarding top contributors by featuring some of their posts on the right side of the screen.

According to Ina Steiner in a post at the EcommerceBytes Blog, the worst thing about the new boards is "hovering over titles of threads no longer shows an abstract."

I'd like to see more of the item categories on the top level, back to the way it used to be. In the new design, there are only eight categories listed on that level, including Electronics, Product Discussions, Fashion, Collectibles & Art, Motors, Home & Garden,
Sporting Goods,  and Toys & Hobbies.

What do you think of the new eBay discussion boards, or do you miss the way the old boards used to be? Do you think the recognition program will increase users' posts, and would it incentivize you to post? What do you think are the best and worst things about the new boards? Post a comment here!