Free adverting Bludgers

[RETIRED]

Keep it on topic please.

[joe greiner]

In the short time I've been on the forum, most of the links I've seen have been added to enhance the information requested. Isn't information enhancement the whole point of this exercise? And if a question is of the variety, "Where can I find a .... ?", how else can you do it, especially since the weird wild web may be the only source of "a ...."?

Joe

[Flowboy]

Hi Geoff,

Me being me, I tend to get involved in some of these issues. I have absolutely no qualms with people linking to other pages when they are upfront and transparent. If there's no reason for you to investigate the links then why bother. I do dislike situations where people try to come in "undernreath the radar" to try and gain an edge. As I've said before, many cowboys stumble on this site and think they've hit the motherload, all they have to do is fleece us. I think if George Bubbya had half the IQ of the people in these forums then we might have a reasonable US presence. Anyway, I find that either replying to the offending poster with facts, or reporting the offending post result result in an equitable result for everyone. The Mods and Admins here do a superlative job. Best you rethink how you approach the links that offend you, either jump to them or dont, your call.

Regards,

Rambling Rob

[Groggy]

I want to comment as a member (not as a moderator).

Firstly, it is hard to create hard-and-fast rules for advertising because, as soon as you do, someone will find a way to creep right up to the edge.

There is a quaint legal phrase of mens rea, or "guilty mind" which is what seems to unconsciously guide most members. By this I suggest that most people will get a 'feeling' that a post or advertisement is pushing the limit but may not complain. The second time they will probably say something. By the third time the moderators are being hailed with messages. This happens because the members decide at some point that the offender must know what he is up to (has a guilty mind) and they get fed up.

When this happens will also depend on 'who' is creating the ads. Some guys put in a lot of support and provide a heap of information for members about their company's products. UBeaut, Lee Valley, Felder, Carba-Tec,
Henry Bros, Kitchen and Plasterboard guys and a bunch of others. Members are less likely to react immediately if one these people were to advertise, than they would if a new member put up an ad on the first post.

In this way. it is not unlike real life; we know who puts-in, who the freeloaders are (were ) and those who hardly ever advertise but provide a lot of really valuable input to the board when they are able (Rob Lee is a good example, but there are many others). Because of that a bit of lattitude seems necessary, they more than earn their keep (so to speak).

It also really depends how the advertising is worded, if it is in your face, via a link or some other manner.

Sheddy, if I may use you as an example - I never really had an issue with your Cascade banner, other than its size makes your posts bigger. However, now that you have a link in it that jumps to Cascade, it has changed somehow and, to me (again, personally, and not as a moderator), it does not seem appropriate.

It is a subtle difference, and hard to explain, but there you go, that is where the balance shifted for me.

Now, speaking as a moderator, trying to determine where to say enough-is-enough is not easy. I usually go by the complaints unless it is easy to identify like the viagra, cell phones, sex ads etc. So, is a simple answer available? No, not really. Here you just need to trust the administrators and the moderators and remember that we are here to make the forum a good place to be for you, and a safe one for Neil, the owner, so he doesn't lose his shirt. Also remember the forum rules still provide fairly clear guidance.

[Coldamus]

As another who resents the intrusion of commercialism and bias caused by self-interest, I can relate to the original poster's point of view.

However I don't find it much of a problem here, certainly not as much as in the programming newsgroups that I also frequent.

I am surprised that nobody has mentioned that there is an easy cure for most of it here - just go into User CP and edit your options. You can turn off the display of signatures and avatars when browsing. I did that ages ago and find the forums faster and more pleasant to browse through with the clutter removed.

regards
Coldamus

[MajorPanic]

GeoffP,

If ya haven't noticed, there is a pretty vocal group of members who wouldn't hesitate to voice their disapproval at someone who is trying to make a free buck out of these forums (myself included)

There is a couple of reasons for this, 1.) we try to keep the forums informative & entertaining. This includes people or services that would interest other members without being an outright money grab!

2.) These forums are hosted by a very generous business person & I feel we should do what we can to 'protect' him & his business.

I'm sure there is a myriad of other reasons that I can't think of just now...... I'm sure I will later

[celeste]

Hi all

I am new to all these forums, I quite like the URL's - reasons

1. If I am asking a kitchen related Q's for example it is good to see they work in the trade, gives me more confidence in the answers.

2. If I have more specific Q's I know who I can ask directly, as some times I would like a quick answer.

Celeste

[QbnDusty]

Hi All
Well my post certainly generated some response. Perhaps I should have been a bit more specific, Namely
1. A lot of Forum members are in "The Trade" of one sort or another and are particularly valuable in answering questions from dumbo people like me who have a problem. Many have their own web sites which they include in their forum replies to posts. Absolutely no problem with that.
2. Agree the administrators and moderators do a good and valuable job and a lot of stuff gets sorted and ditched before we see it and as a result this is an excellent forum for all.

That said, I think it was Flowboy who said some may get under the Radar and it was one of those that triggered me off. Problem is I cannot remember now what is was.
There are several Forums I subscribe to and they are immeasurably worse for this problem.
Hope this puts all the ruffled feathers back in place.
Regards Geoff.