Two posts have been removed from this thread for violations of the GK posting guidelines.

www.gokunming.com/en/pages/t/guidelines/

Regarding the requests for some sort of up/down system for comments and forums: A site update has been on its way for quite a while, but as GoKunming uses a custom-built Content Management System, introducing new features is unfortunately not always as easy as flipping a switch.

We are in the process of improving the homepage, introducing a brand-new 'global' search function, making the listings more navigable and adding some features to the forums based on user requests.

We'd like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding. Our main goal is to offer the best experience for both our users and our clients and all feedback is greatly appreciated.

The forums have been a source of constant conversation around the GoKunming office recently. Here is a frank assessment of the way things stand right now:

• The general consensus, both by site moderators and a great many of our users, is that the forums are borderline unusable.

• Dozens of users have told us in person and via email that they feel the forums have become unusable because of constant thread hijacking and ceaseless bickering.

• A small minority seem to believe the forums are their personal blogs where they feel impelled to try and settle anonymous personal disputes.

• It has always been the position of GoKunming that the forums were created for and exist, as stated in the Posting Guidelines, as a place for people to freely and respectfully exchange ideas, discuss current events, ask for crowdsourcing help and otherwise engage in constructive dialogue that is of lasting relevance to people living in or interested in Kunming, Yunnan, and, to a smaller extent, all of China.

So, in order to get things back on track, to make the forums a functioning place where people can get questions answered and exchange thoughts free from random hijacking, moderation for the foreseeable future will be more strict. This notice is a reminder that constant back-and-forth, serving no other purpose than getting the last word, is going to be removed.

Flame wars serve no purpose other than stifling legitimate conversation, and as such don't have a place on the site.

As a reminder, here are the full posting guidelines for GoKunming:

The GoKunming Forums exist so that GoKunming users can freely exchange information and discuss topics that are of sustained relevance to the community. Keeping this in mind, both the Forums and Classifieds sections are the territory of individuals, not businesses. The exception to this rule is when businesses post classified ads offering employment.

Users who would like to share information published elsewhere online should include a hyperlink instead of copying text verbatim.

Forum threads that veer wildly off topic, devolve into attacks on individuals or groups of people or use abusive language will be removed at the Moderator's discretion. Please remain respectful at all times.

Do not use all capital letters when posting. Posts written in all caps will be deleted.

Keep things civil and refrain from personal attacks.
GoKunming reserves the right to delete any post that we deem inappropriate for any reason.

By posting or commenting users agree to the above guidelines as well as GoKunming Terms of Service. GoKunming reserves the right to ban users who repeatedly violate any of these terms or conditions.

For announcing events, finding housing, job hunting, buying and selling, language exchange, and personals, please use the GoKunming Classifieds section. Do not use the forums to post advertisements for goods or services.

If you have a service to offer, consider becoming a GoKunming advertiser. Forum posts by companies for the purpose of promotion will be deleted. Any hyperlinks leading to advertisements will also be deleted immediately.

And, just for good measure, a bit from the Terms of Service:

You must not defame, stalk, bully, abuse, harass, threaten, impersonate or intimidate people or entities and you must not post private or confidential information via GoKunming — including, but not being limited to, your or any other person's credit card information, social security or alternate national identity numbers, non-public phone numbers or non-public email addresses.

You must not create or submit unwanted email, comments or other forms of commercial or harassing communications — ie "spam" — to other GoKunming users.

You must not attempt to restrict another user from using or enjoying GoKunming and you must not encourage or facilitate violations of these Terms of Service or any other GoKunming terms.

Any threads or classifieds that violate GoKunming guidelines, or promote illegal activities in China, will be taken down at the Mod's discretion.

Suggest this one-to-one conversation head over to the private message function where it belongs.

BTW, our mistake for not shifting the original post to the classified section immediately.

This thread is locked.