Solution to duplicate classifed postings

You'll notice a number of ads in our classified section that are posted multiple times - same ad, many duplicates.

I have experienced this myself when posting an ad, and here is what happens: you enter all the pertinent info for your ad, upload photos, proofread, then click on the final 'Publish ad' button. 'Publish ad' may not be the exact instruction, but it's something like that. After a long delay, a message pops up reading 'Error 503 - the operation you have requested could not be performed due to resources being unavailable or under maintenance'. Again, this may not be the exact message, but it's something along these lines.

Damnit!! what the ?? Son of a...so you create the ad all over again because your computer just told you clear as a bell that the operation you requested - publishing an ad - was not completed.

By the third time this happens to you, you're a bit toasty under the collar so, just to be extra sure, you pound really hard, slowly, and deliberately on the keyboard as you enter your ad for the fourth time.

Guess what? Each time you enter the ad, in spite of the "Error 503 - could not be performed" message, a new classified has been created. You've just posted four identical or nearly identical ads. In the immortal words of Ron White - "I know, I've seen me do it!"

So, my recommendation is that after your first attempt to post a classified ad, actually go to the classified section and look for the ad before you du-, trip-, quad-, or quint-post it.

Also, please review any vfrw classified ads you've already posted and check for duplicates - delete the extra ads. They waste space, don't help sell anything and caused eyebrows to be raised in your direction. Duplicate ads are like trying to teach a pig to sing: it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

Of course, this will all most likely y be moot after Michael presses out all the old bearings and replaces them with new ones this weekend.