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> No commercial solicitation
Brian Chandler
post Oct 8 2006, 10:00 AM
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There's been a (slight) change to the rules - it would help to know exactly what the change _is_, since it isn't obvious. Anyway...

I suggest it would help to clarify what "No commercial solicitation" means. Recently someone was trying to ask about their website, and was apparently unsure whether it is OK to post the URL. Well, I don't imagine that's the intent of the NCS rule.
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Christian J
post Apr 7 2007, 08:54 AM
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QUOTE(glenninoh @ Apr 7 2007, 01:23 PM) *

would it be improper to offer my hosting solution to this person?

Afraid so, commercial solicitation is not allowed.

However you can submit to the Hosting Providers forum.

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Brian Chandler
post Apr 7 2007, 10:20 AM
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Moved this post from http://forums.htmlhelp.com/index.php?showtopic=2816
/Christian J



QUOTE(Christian J @ Apr 7 2007, 10:54 PM) *

QUOTE(glenninoh @ Apr 7 2007, 01:23 PM) *

would it be improper to offer my hosting solution to this person?

Afraid so, commercial solicitation is not allowed.

However you can submit to the Hosting Providers forum.


Yes, but we've been here before - see http://forums.htmlhelp.com/index.php?showtopic=583

The only explanation of what "Commercial solicitation" means is that Darin or someone knows it when he sees it, and "hijacking of the board for commercial solicitation" will not be tolerated. Whatever that means, exactly.

If A asks how to do something, and B says "I suggest you pay C for xyz service", is this OK? (If not we are a bit stuck trying to help out people who need to get a proper hosting service.) But does that mean that if B and C are the same person this is someone not to be tolerated? How bizarre.

How about this? I recommend to the OP that he should see if glenninoh's hosting solution is the thing he needs. Now perhaps we're all ok: glenninoh hasn't offered, he's merely asked if it would be ok to offer, and I've just said that you could use something I have no personal commercial interest in.

I repeat my original point that I think rules that no-one can actually understand are an Extremely Bad Thing.
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John Pozadzides
post Apr 17 2007, 03:26 PM
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QUOTE(Brian Chandler @ Apr 7 2007, 10:20 AM) *

[I repeat my original point that I think rules that no-one can actually understand are an Extremely Bad Thing.

Brian,

I don't know what to say. I think this is one of the most difficult things to decide with regards to these forums, and that is why so far it has been arbitrarily enforced. Going back to your previous example, if someone asked a question about needing a service and it was one that you personally provide I wouldn't have a problem with you mentioning that. However, if some brand new person showed up and started answering only questions that would commercially benefit themself, and only with answers that are blatantly designed as advertising - well they are going to get banned.

So, how do we break that down into a rule which takes lots of things into consideration?
  • The reputation of the person posting the message.
  • Whether it seems "annoyingly spammy".
  • If it is appropriate to the readers here.
And I don't know what else.

The only thing that I can even remotely come up with would be that we could make the rule such that no one can link to any commercial interest that isn't specifically listed in the Service Providers forums. So, if you were both a participant here and a service provider you could post there first, then after it was approved you could gently point people to that approved message.

I also see problems with this because I don't want people to get a message approved and then hang around just to point to it repeatedly.

On the other hand, I'm not about to censor our trusted, long term members for making recommendations. If I trust you I'll take your opinion into consideration, if I don't I'll also take that into consideration.

So, I'm all ears. Help me find a way to cement the rule and I'll do it, but at this point I don't know how.

John
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