Mod post: Why does Artists_Beware stay on LiveJournal...

[kerstin-orion.livejournal.com]

...when there are so many newer, more popular social sites out there?

I've been asked that several times, even by my fellow moderators.

There are several reasons, but it mostly boils down to "Interaction".

LiveJournal offers a level of discussion rarely seen on other sites. Forums often have rather hard-to-follow comment threads (if they have threading of comments at all). Facebook truncates large comments, and formatting a post with the proper evidence would be next to impossible. Tumblr's comment system is rather...disorganized. Twitter has a character limit, though we're working on setting up a feed for notifying when a post is made. Art sites don't allow call-outs, which is what our 'bewares' are often called.

Finally, using a our own site would require users to create a login for yet another site. We feel that would discourage the level of discussion we have here on LiveJournal. Here, at least, you can log in with your Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ account, thanks to Livejournal's connect widgets. No LiveJournal account needed.

Because Artists_Beware isn't just about tossing up a post about a bad experience with an artist, commissioner, or business. We offer advice and suggestions on how to resolve these issues, sometimes even debunk the issue when other proof shows up due to members' questioning. That wouldn't happen with a "post-and-walk-away" site.

There are other reasons we stay on LiveJournal, and yes, there are also things we don't like about LiveJournal, but not enough to drive us away (yet).

Auction'd Item: Need Advice

[datgreenmonster.livejournal.com]

Alright, getting straight to the problem. 

I just recently auctioned off a hand painted munny vinyl toy I did recently to try to raise money to help pay off medical bills. There was only 1 bid, and I know the person personally. The bid was the base price of $30.00 and they won. I went to contact them about it, even though they kept pestering on how I did on the auction and to look to see who one, which was rather irritating since I already knew they won before the auction finished.

I talked to them about the payment and they tell me they will pay when they get back home, which I thought getting back home as in visiting their parents before flying off to France for the summer. Turns out they ment the end of summer so I won't be getting money from the auction till school starts back up. 

I'm rather frustrated about it, but not sure what to do in this situation. I plan to contact them and give them a fair warning before putting it back up for auction, but not sure if they will be easy to contact while they are in France. I've asked a few people about it and most of them say to re-auction the item, but others say to wait since it's just $30.00.

What do you guys think I should do? This is the first time i've had to deal with a situation like this.