I've been seeing 'pinged only' in the thread titles of the Forum Pulse. I have no idea what it means.

It's usually for threads where they are slotting CWs. It means only the people pinged to that thread should request a slot.

thank you for your reply.

So a CW maker already doesn't have to sell to anyone they don't give a password to, and now in addition to this they're like "this is a local shop for local people" and "don't even talk to me"?

CW releasers may distribute their items however they wish. For instance, they may choose to make it open to everyone, or to allow their friends/supporters to get dibs, or even to keep the item to themselves. There are no rules obligating a releaser to make their items available to anyone.

I do not in any way claim that the releaser has to do anything like that.

Subeta does not take the communist block interpretation of Free Speech in which it means "I will speak because I am a member of the communist party and you WILL listen". No user has to respond to anyone who posts in their "pinged only" thread.

I sure don't want to post on any of those threads.

But they don't have to be directly nasty about it either, do they? I am asking what this means because I am curious that Subeta doesn't appear to be enforcing it's Be Nice rule here, and maybe Subeta doesn't even think it's an issue.

If the thought of someone only wanting to sell to certain people bothers you, then ignore them like you said you will. There's nothing nasty about a CW releaser wanting to ensure their closest friends, loyal customers, or any other specific group of users get access to a CW first. They're paying real money to get these items on the site, so they get to have a say so in how these items are distributed.

[ This post has been edited by staff due to Community Guidelines violations. ]

For what it's worth, I agree with you. The whole CW bit can be frustrating and more than a little elitist. I tend to lose my religion if I surf threads over there too frequently.

If you believe writing "pinged only" in the title is nasty, what would you suggest as a nicer way for releasers to let people know they are only slotting the pinged group at the moment?

private Forum Groups exist. If you want to only sell to your friends, you can do this. If you are making a public thread that is not a private Forum Group, you are quite specifically making it readable to everyone.

It isn't that I object (again) to them choosing their customers. High Fashion is EXACTLY like this. But if you walk into a RL public store in Rodeo Drive Beverly Hills and they kick you out for being "not one of us" you can sue their sorry asses.

yet again subeta and rl are like comparing apples and oranges. if it says pinged only in the thread, just keep scrolling. it's not hurting you in any way.

Private forum groups are useful, sure, but it doesn't always work for everyone.

Say I want to gift user X a CW. User X wants to open it up to their friends, but not everyone is in my forum group. So I use my public board, pinging Xs forum group, so they can view the board.

Then, if they want, or more slots are needed, I can open it up to the public, or pinging another forum group in to see too. Only one post is needed and is easier to keep track of, instead of the 2-3 all over the place, some in places I might not even be able to see.

create another private forum group for your friends (they're your friends, so they won't mind) and ping it too.

Yes, people can make forum groups, but if someone is in 10-ish groups that's going to scroll a lot on their forum page, even with the collapsible option. In the end, the forums are public and people can utilize them however they wish.

Basically, pinged only are a VIP type of thing. And if there are slots open after the fact, a CW releaser can ping whatever public groups to fill remaining slots. This is likely why they don't keep their releases to private forum groups. It is not at all like walking into a public store in a mall and getting told to leave.

If you don't want to see the CW threads, I'm sure you can remove the commerce section if not the CW threads from your forum pulse. Or, if you don't want to see this at all, you can add this to your custom CSS so you don't see the forum pulse -template, -template + .list-group { display: none; }

This is getting off topic, so if you want to discuss this more you can PM me or leave a comment on my profile.

Adding to what said. Most people that put "Pinged Only" are just giving first dibs to their friends before releasing the CW out to the public. It's not meant to sound elitist, it just literally means "Hey, friends get first choice" or "this is for friends". If you feel like it sounds elitist, then sorry? But it's straight-forward and gets to the point quickly.

Pinged only = pinged only. Simple.

Maybe move this to Site Feedback? It's seeming more and more like feedback rather than a genuine question.

Why not inquire politely and privately about being slotted if it’s a must have for you? People aren’t shy about asking me for commission slots, so I can’t imagine it’s unheard of for CWs.

I believe you. This has been my experience in the past.

Similarly to your own logic, people who create these pinged only threads can politely say sorry I can't slot you right now. Or, they could ignore certain slot requests or say in their first post that slots are not first come first served. It is possible for them to also be civilized.

That still wouldn't help in my example, sure my friends are already in my ping group. But what of Xs friends, who not all are in my group because they don't want to be, or we don't talk much, or whatever reason? X wants to ping them to my board, if I make a public forum, X can do that.

Creating private groups for friends of friends, or forcing everyone to be in friends of friends groups would get pretty confusing.

Adding on, those boards are civilised. I've never had anyone be rude just because I've asked for a slot on a pinged only item by either not paying attention or honest mistake. Pinged only doesn't automatically mean time to be rude.